A traveler's guide to Buenos Aires
Shift to the city's clock. Dinner is late. Lunch can be the feast. The afternoon is for walking slowly.
Buenos Aires stays up, eats beef, and looks like several cities remembered by people who missed Europe and built something else. Walk the neighborhoods. Book the asado. Hear tango only if it is music you want, not a show you think you should endure.
When to go
Spring and fall are ideal. Summer is hot and many people leave in January. Winter is mild and gray-soft, good for beef and bookstores. Tango festivals and holidays change the price of rooms in the pretty neighborhoods.
Neighborhoods
Recoleta and Retiro for the grand streets. Palermo for dinner and a long wander. San Telmo on a Sunday if you like markets, or on a weekday if you do not. Puerto Madero is a waterfront walk, not the soul of the city. The center by day.
Eating
Asado is the ceremony. Share it. Empanadas, a cafe con leche, and ice cream that is taken seriously. Vegetarian cooking exists and takes some looking. Wine is the right spend.
If you only remember this
- Dinner at 9 is early.
- Prices move. Confirm what you are paying.
- The subway covers a useful core. Taxis fill the rest.
- Sunday afternoon is quiet in the center and alive in the neighborhoods.