Argentina’s capital city is not known as the Paris of South America for no reason. Arts, culture, late nights and je-ne-sais-quoi abound, four days in Buenos Aires will take you around the city’s hallmarks: steak restaurants, football stadiums, tango, and the famous brightly coloured houses.
Day 1: central Buenos Aires
Where better to start exploring a city than right in the middle? On the first of your four days in Buenos Aires, you’ll explore central Buenos Aires’ colonial history and architecture.
Central Buenos Aires is a display of colonial architecture and grandeur. Start in the Plaza Lavalle, where you’ll find numerous examples of the grand, Spanish architectural style. The plaza has two theatres: the Teatro Nacional Cervantes and the Teatro Colón. It is home to the Supreme Court of Argentina, a building so large and laden with Corinthian columns, vast stone engravings, tall windows and balustrade balconies that it could well be multiple buildings in one.
Two blocks away is the busy Avenue 9 Julio. Five lanes of traffic on each side wind together into a complex junction incorporating the Plaza de la República, home to Buenos Aires’ soaring white Obelisk.
Walk south east to the Plaza de Mayo. This is the location of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, named for its distinctive pink stone. A colossal Argentinian flag flaps from a towering flagpole in the middle of the plaza.
From Casa Rosada, walk north to the Calle Florida. This is a busy shopping street where numerous black market money exchangers call out “cambio, cambio!”. Rumour has it that they give the best exchange rates in the city. However, I’d advise getting your money from a more legitimate source such as a Western Union!
Stop for a cake at Confitería Ideal. Or browse for books in El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a theatre converted into a bookshop.
Later on, hop across to the Puerto Madero area. This is Buenos Aries’ waterfront development: renovated nineteenth-century industrial warehouses converted into bars and restaurants overlooking a glamorous marina, bisected by the distinctive slender white mast of the Punta de la Mujer. Behind this, a mass of skyscrapers housing global corporations and apartments complete Buenos Aries’ skyline along the river shore.
Day 2: La Boca
On the second of your four days in Buenos Aires, I recommend a walking tour of La Boca. We booked with Free Walks Buenos Aires and it was a great experience.
La Boca district brings to life the scene that springs to mind when you think of Buenos Aires. Brightly painted, strung with coloured bunting and decorated with street-art caricatures of all things Argentine, artistic La Boca bursts with energy. Add to that the mouth-watering scent of grilling meat wafting down every street, and the shouts of local artists seeking buyers for the artworks they have pegged up on frames on the Caminito, and you have a sense of what it is like to wander around La Boca.
Football fans will recognise La Boca as the home of the Boca Juniors. In the streets around the club’s stadium, everything is painted in the bright blue and yellow of the club’s colours, and you’ll find club kit sold at every shop in the area.
Although it is something of a tourist hotspot, La Boca is one of Buenos Aires’ poorest areas. Consequently, its residents are vehemently against gentrification as it would inevitably increase prices, forcing the residents out. This is worth remembering when wandering around La Boca.
Day 3: Palermo
On your third day in Buenos Aires, explore Palermo.
Palermo is Buenos Aires’ edgy, younger district, fuelled by café culture, night life and modern restaurants.
Spend your day snacking on Palermo’s variety of food. Every few doors seems to lead either to a café or a pastelería, cakes stacked temptingly in the windows. The delicious scent of coffee wafts out to the busy pavement. You are also spoilt for choice of steak restaurants – I recommend La Cabrera and Las Cabras.
For a large and busy city, great effort has been channelled into maintaining green spaces in Buenos Aires. This is especially evident in Palermo. Trees line most of the streets, offsetting the fumes of the endless traffic. There is a network of parks to the north, some of which contain botanical gardens or mini zoos. Some of these require an entry fee, but others are free, including the Parque Tres de Febrero. The lake’s perimeter is a prime spot for runners, so the area has a healthy outdoorsy feel.
Day 4: Recoleta and tango
On the last of your four days in Buenos Aires, visit Recoleta and attend a tango performance.
Recoleta’s main draw is the Recoleta Cemetery. This is filled with elaborate graves of deceased wealthy Argentinians. You can walk around by yourself or book a tour.
I personally chose not to go into the cemetery. I felt that the area around its walls was too geared towards entertaining tourists. Right outside the cemetery gates, buskers were performing and stalls were selling gaudy souvenirs. It seemed too much like this graveyard had become a spectacle, losing its seriousness and significance, which made me uncomfortable. However, you should form your own view – by all accounts the cemetery contains some cool graves of some interesting people.
On a more light-hearted note, when in Argentina it’s obligatory to see some tango, as the genre originated here. So on your last evening you can attend a tango show! I recommend Tango Porteño off Plaza Lavalle. You can book to eat dinner in the theatre before the show, or opt for a wine-and-empanadas package to enjoy during it. The dancers and band expertly perform an energetic variety of tango sub-genres and it’s true entertainment. Even if you don’t think tango is your thing, this tango show is well worth it as a display of something fundamentally Argentinian.
Where next?
Where to next after your four days in Buenos Aires?
From Buenos Aires you can travel easily to lots of other places in Argentina. I recommend:
Patagonia
Go to Patagonia for incredible mountain scenery and strenuous hikes.
San Carlos de Bariloche
Choose Bariloche for a wholesome and more chilled-out experience among idyllic lakes and mountains.
Mendoza
Travel to Mendoza for its famous wine and for easy access to the Andes.
Salta
Choose Salta for access to Argentina’s geologically-unique Jujuy region, Chile’s Atacama Desert and Bolivia’s beautiful southwest.
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