Free Spirit Travel · Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Nose First
The first thing Buenos Aires does is smell you. You step out of Ezeiza and the city takes you in. Wood smoke, cut grass, old coffee. By the time you reach the centre, you belong to it.
Follow the wood smoke
Porteños are the people of the port, and I reckon they live nose-first. Around lunchtime the city tilts towards its parrillas, where the beef cooks slowly over embers. Wood smoke, warm fat, a whisper of oregano. You could follow that smell down a street without ever looking at the number on the door.
On Sunday, an asado can be the whole point of getting together. If you’re invited to one at someone’s home, leave the next few hours clear. Dinner has no interest in your diary.
Start with a medialuna and café con leche at a marble table. Try a hot empanada at a bakery counter and a milanesa, a breaded cutlet that can take up most of the plate. For dinner, order bife de chorizo with chimichurri and a glass of Malbec. Then there’s dulce de leche. I’d start with the ice cream and see how the evening develops.
The little gourd that stops the day
Yerba mate smells green and grassy. It’s traditionally brewed in a gourd and drunk through a metal straw called a bombilla. When a group shares a gourd, it usually goes back to the person pouring between turns. In a traditional round, gracias signals you’ve had enough. A handy word to know, and a very good reason to hold it back until you mean it.
Five neighbourhoods, five different days
San Telmo. Give Sunday to the antiques fair around Plaza Dorrego if you can. The cobbles, old cafés and market deserve a wander even when the fair isn’t on.
Palermo. Parks and the botanical garden for the morning, shops and dinner later. Pick a pocket of Palermo before setting off. It’s a large barrio and your feet will notice.
La Boca. Go to Caminito in daylight for painted façades and street tango. Stick to the busy visitor streets and check current travel advice before you go.
Recoleta. Make time for the cemetery and its elaborate mausoleums, including the Duarte family tomb where Eva Perón is buried.
Puerto Madero. Walk the old docks and cross the white Puente de la Mujer, designed by Santiago Calatrava. I’d go for a change of pace after the older streets.
Where should I stay in Buenos Aires?
I’d start with Recoleta for a gentler evening or Palermo if I wanted dinner on my doorstep. San Telmo is worth a look if the Sunday market is the reason you’re coming.
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A tango you can watch or join
Tango grew out of working-class communities on both sides of the Río de la Plata, in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Argentina and Uruguay share its 2009 UNESCO inscription. For a social dance, find a milonga and check whether it welcomes beginners or spectators. If you’d rather sit back and watch a show, look up the programme at Café Tortoni, which dates to 1858.
Five details worth looking up for
- Avenida 9 de Julio. Give yourself a traffic-light cycle or two to cross. The Obelisk makes a useful landmark while you wait.
- The Subte. Line A opened in December 1913, giving the Southern Hemisphere its first underground railway.
- The theatres. Put Teatro Colón or an evening on Avenida Corrientes on the list. There’s plenty to see without getting into a theatre-counting argument with London.
- El Ateneo Grand Splendid. Browse books in a former theatre, then look up at the balconies. It’s the sort of bookshop where you can forget what you came in for.
- Palacio Barolo. The city’s architectural guide traces its 100 metres to Dante’s 100 cantos. Mario Palanti also designed Palacio Salvo across the Río de la Plata.
One more while you’re at Plaza de Mayo. There’s an old story that the Casa Rosada’s colour came from a paint mix containing cattle blood. The palace is definitely pink. The story has more than one version.
Buenos Aires visitor FAQs
What would you do on a first Sunday?
I’d start in San Telmo, give Plaza Dorrego and the market time, then sit down for lunch before deciding what to do next.
Which airport should I book my transfer from?
Check the airport code on your ticket. EZE is Ezeiza and AEP is Aeroparque. If you have a connection, check both codes before assuming the flights use the same airport.
Should I see a tango show or visit a milonga?
Pick a show for a seated performance. Choose a milonga for social dancing, and check the venue’s policy if you’re new or would rather watch.
Where should I stay on a first visit?
Start with Recoleta for quieter evenings, or Palermo if dinner is a big part of the trip. See the neighbourhood comparison for the trade-offs.
Go hungry. Go slowly. Let the city smell you first.
Explore my Argentina travel guide or read Tranquillo Argentina.
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