I recently visited the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina; or as many locals call it, “Baires.” I spent 6 nights there, and completely fell in love with it. Here you can find my suggested itinerary to help you plan your own trip to Baires!
Day One: Palermo, Soho & Hollywood
From the recommendation of a local, I stayed near Plaza Serrano, in Palermo, and I can not explain how much I loved this area. I felt incredibly safe walking alone during the day or night and loved visiting the specialty shops, delicious restaurants, craft beer bars and discos. The hostel I stayed at, Malevo Murana Hostel, cost me $16USD and offered a great happy hour, the best hostel breakfast I’ve ever encountered, cold A.C. and remarkably comfortable hostel beds. I’d suggest staying in Palermo if you’d enjoy a neighborhood that is packed full of cafes, bars and shops. If you choose to stay in another part of the city, I would still take one day of your time in Baires to walk around exploring Palermo, which can be easily reached by taking the metro to the Plaza Italia station. Tip: Everyday at 5pm there is a very fun and informational wine tasting held at JA!, but be warned, it is not cheap. It was my most expensive experience in Baries, costing $1900 pesos.
Day Two: The City Center
In the city center you can visit Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada, the Latin Art Museum and Puerto Madero. As a general rule I usually stray away from things that scream “touristic,” but I’d highly recommend checking out the free 2.5 hour walking tour that meets every day at 3pm at the gate of The National Congress. This tour offers Spanish and English speaking guides and was a great way to learn the layout of the city center and about the history of Baires. Information about this tour can be found here, just don’t forget to tip your guide! At the time I visited Baires (December 2018) there was a lot of construction around Puerto Madero and it was near impossible to navigate getting there on foot. I’d suggest taking an Uber from one of the other nearby attractions if there is still construction when you visit. Tip: Behind Casa Rosada is a museum about the house that is always free, and if you visit the Latin Art Museum on Wednesday it is half price.
Day Three: Le Tigre
There are many ways to visit the island town of Le Tigre, located about 28 km north of Buenos Aires city. Although local tour companies and websites like Viator offer various private and group tours, it is cheap and easy to reach Le Tigre on your own by using the subway and train system. The cheapest way to get to Tigre from the city is by the Linea Mitre train which begins at Retiro station which can be reached by the city subway system. Trains which leave every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 20 minutes on weekends cost 1/3 the price if you have a Sube (subway) card. At Le Tigre you should be sure to visit the Peurto de Frutas, which actually has nothing to do with fruit, and take a boat ride up the river. You’ll have your pick of various boat tours that will take you around the delta or up to the river destination of your choice. We chose to take the public taxi boat (150 pesos round trip) to visit the island of Tres Bocas where we relaxed and shared a beer for an hour.
Day Four: Recoleta
Recoleta is a downtown residential & commercial district, known for having some of the priciest real estate in the city. If you don’t stay in the Palermo area, this would be my second recommendation. Here you can visit the Recoleta Cemetery, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (fine arts museum), the popular pedestrian shopping street “Calle Florida” and the very alternative, Galeria Bond Street mall. Tips: The fine art museum in Recoleta is free, and there’s a great Brewery called Buller Brewing Co across the street from the cemetery that’s worth a visit if you dig craft beer.
Day five: San Telmo & La Boca.
San Telmo is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Baries and is the heart of the city’s Tango culture. If it works with your schedule you should ideally visit this part of the city on a Sunday to explore the giant Sunday market and I would suggest making time to visit the modern art museum & the history museum. La Boca, an area known for its brightly colored homes, is not far from San Telmo. Much of La Boca is considered seedy, so travel there by car, do not venture beyond the few blocks that are packed with people, and do not go here after dark. Tips: The history museum is located just 4 blocks from the modern art museum and is always free.
Do you want to know more about navigating Baires, or traveling throughout Argentina? I’d love to help! Just contact me here.
The Ambitious Passport 