Buenos Aires

• We did a city tour, I always recommend a city tour to understand the area. Buenos Aires is pretty spread out so a city tour provides an orientation of the things you want to see. You can organize a private or group tour through your hotel.

• Recoleta Cemetery This cemetery is worth going to. Go in the morning to avoid the line. Evita and other famous people are buried there. There is an incredible amount of history told in the life and death of the people buried there. I recommend a tour or listening in on the several happening. 

• San Telmo Market and area around there was my favorite neighborhood.

• La Boca has the best photo-ops with its colorful building (see photo above). It is ok to walk around during the day. At night beware per our guide. It is an old favela neighborhood originally created by dock workers using scraps from the shipyard and leftover paint. Hence, the colors and stacked structures. It is incredibly unique and fun to see.

• We did a food tour which was fantastic. We started with mate, the local hot beverage. We made a stop for empanadas and another stop at the San Telmo Market for charcuterie and fernet con coca.  We ended at a tiny local restaurant. We were very full.

• The opera house, Teatro Colon, is beautiful. If you can schedule a show, please go. It is closed in January for repairs. Since this was our timeframe, we just did a tour.

• We saw a tango show at Tango Porteno. It was exceptionally touristy, but the dancers were incredible and the show was great. The dinner was absolutely atrocious with rubber food and worse wine. If you go, just skip dinner or find a different show that is just tango. Find a bar to sneak into after because it will be hard to find a taxi or Uber. Most people organize transportation ahead of time.

• We also did a boat tour of the islands and Tigre Delta. I really liked this tour. It took about an hour to get to the boat. We scheduled a private boat, but this wasn't necessary. Ask your hotel concierge to schedule a private or public tour.

• We weren’t into the club scene, but I hear it is absolutely fabulous on weekends. In retrospect, I wish we would have researched some live music. Having all our Patagonia clothes on us we weren’t feeling so fashionable. We should have tried a bit harder to just get to an event other than a tango show. 

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Neighborhoods we explored

1. Recoleta. This is where we stayed. It is quiet with shops and bars an easy walk away. It’s extremely central for sightseeing. We did a lot of walking from here. I think it was a good neighborhood to stay in because it was pretty quiet.

2. San Telmo. This is where we focused our food tour. The Plaza de Mayo is worth seeing. Plaza Dorego has free salsa watching. People just put down boards and dance. San Telmo Market is beautiful and fun. We stopped for drinks and a charcuterie board here and there are loads of stands flowing with food and crafts. If you wander the cobblestone streets and you will find restaurants, shops, murals, and bars.

3. La Boca. There are lots of colorful Trendy boutiques and bars and Lot’s of murals. If you are young, the club scene is here (read as, if you are old like me, don’t get a hotel here because it might be loud).

4. Puerto Madero. This is the most expensive neighborhood in Benos Aires – Messi has an appartement here. To me it is worth a quick walk to see the Puente de la Mujer. This is a bridge inspired by a tango dancer. The area in general lacks soul in my opinion and the bridge is the main highlight. The river is brown from so much sediment so it isn’t particularly pretty.

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