Sightseeing in Bariloche
The alpine town of San Carlos de Bariloche has some must see's but once you've visited them, there are some other ways to spend your free time. From cycling the Circuito Chico, …
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Discover Buenos Aires
Take a guided tour
On arrival, we highly recommend taking a guided tour, whether it be a sit-in bus style tour, a walking tour or a cycling tour. These are great ways to orientate yourself in the city, learn a bit of background history and culture and get some insider tips from a Porteño (a local).
You will visit locations such as the 80m obelisk, that stands proud in the middle of the enormous Avenida 9 de Julio, the Government Palace is locally known as the Pink Palace, the Recoleta Cemetery where Evita was finally laid to rest, and the artistic tango neighbourhood of La Boca.
David says
Buenos Aires is a city you immediately fall in love with. You may find yourself wanting to live there, and I actually did! Huge steaks, dulce de leche ice cream, beautiful boulevards, blissfully warm days and friendly locals – what's not to love?!
David Hilton Patagonia Product & Partnership Manager
Explore the city after your guided tour
Avenida de Mayo
Walk the Avenida de Mayo from the Casa Rosada to the Plaza de Congreso, stopping on the way to stop for a coffee in the Café Tortoni (825) – a great way to get a feel for what Buenos Aires would have been like in the early 1900s.
Teatro Colon (Opera House)
This world-famous building sits proudly on the very wide Avenida 9 de Julio. The inside is breathtaking and a tour not only takes you into the auditorium and many rooms of the Opera House but also gives you a great overview of the history of Buenos Aires at the time it was built.
Language: Tours in English
Time: On the hour, every hour lasting 50 mins from 09:00 – 19:00
Cost: $130 Argentine pesos
The entrance is on the left-hand side of the building on Tucuman.
La Boca
The southern neighbourhood of La Boca allows you to see a very different side of Buenos Aires to the leafy streets of Palermo or the elaborate facades of Recoleta. La Boca is vibrant in every sense; fascinating street art and graffiti, quirky snippets of cultural history, craft markets, and live tango in the streets.
At the centre of this colourful district is El Caminito – a street of brightly-painted houses that are typical of the end of the 19th century. Today, the works of several Argentine artists are a part of the street museum, which is a favourite with visitors to the city.
If you’re looking for a fun and interesting way to get under the skin of this fascinating, vibrant, sometimes restless city and learn a little about the Porteños themselves, then a graffiti tour will be an excellent addition to your itinerary.
If you do book a tour, you won't be told about the founding of Buenos Aires or given a complete history of the city, or Argentina. What you will be given is an alternative city tour, gaining in-depth information into some aspects of Argentine history, through the context of the street art that you are seeing. For many, this form of associating historical facts and events with incredibly powerful visual art is a far more interesting and memorable way to get to grips with the complicated and fascinating history of Argentina.
The colourful sites of La Boca
San Telmo
San Telmo is where the bohemians of Buenos Aires hang out. This neighbourhood was traditionally where the upper classes lived until 1871 when an outbreak of yellow fever drove them away. Nowadays, you can still see some of the traditional 1800s architecture, plus antique shops and occasionally tango dancers in its square.
There are some great cafes – La Poesia, Chile/Bolivar & El Federal, Peru/Carlos Calvo, and Plaza Dorrego for people watching, some handicrafts and maybe some tango.
Train lovers...
Metro Line C – for metro lovers, the stations along these lines have some fantastic mosaics.
Retiro Station – a grand old station with its tea rooms still running.
Ecological Reserve
Beyond Puerto Madero, you find the extensive Ecological Reserve, which is quite good for bird spotting and escaping the hustle and bustle of the city. Take a picnic, plenty of water and watch the ships as they sail up and down the River Plate.
Palermo
It's worth heading to Palermo (take metro line D and get off at Plaza Italia) and visiting these four spots, all of which are within relative proximity to one another:
Museo Evita
Location: Lafinur 2988
Opening times: 11am – 7pm
Cost: $20 Argentine pesos
MALBA (Museum of Latin American Art)
Location: Avda. Figueroa Alcorta 3415
Opening times: 12pm – 8pm
Cost: $45 Argentine pesos
Palermo parks
Location: Various
Opening times: 24/7
Cost: Free
Plazoleta Cortazar (Cortazar Square)
Where all the trendy young locals can be found along with quirky clothes shops, some great street art and cafes.
Galerias Pacifico
A beautiful old shopping centre, on the busy (quite tacky) pedestrianised street Florida but with this one great highlight, 100% worth a look inside.
Puerto Madero
The newly developed dock yard is a great place for strolling and also has 2 old naval ships docked in docks 3 & 4 that you can visit. A wonderful place to come in the evening as it is well lit, safe and has plenty of restaurants.
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