Attraction
Teatro Colón
Buenos Aires' great opera house, opened in 1908 with Verdi's Aida and famed for its acoustics, with daily 50-minute guided tours of its halls.
Most of the things to do in Buenos Aires are spread across a handful of very different neighbourhoods. The historic centre around Plaza de Mayo holds the Casa Rosada, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the cafés of Avenida de Mayo, while San Telmo keeps its cobbled streets, antique shops and Sunday fair. La Boca has the painted alley of Caminito, Recoleta has its famous cemetery and grand museums, and Palermo, the largest district, combines parks, the Japanese Garden, MALBA and the city's liveliest restaurant and bar scene.
Buenos Aires is a city for eating and staying up late. Parrillas grill beef over wood and charcoal, old pizzerias on Avenida Corrientes serve thick pizza al molde, historic cafés serve coffee and medialunas, and dinner often starts after 21:00. Tango is everywhere, from dinner shows to neighbourhood milongas, and the Teatro Colón ranks among the great opera houses. Four or five days is enough to see the main sights at a comfortable pace, with a day or two more for a trip across the river to Uruguay or out to the Tigre delta.
Attraction
Buenos Aires' great opera house, opened in 1908 with Verdi's Aida and famed for its acoustics, with daily 50-minute guided tours of its halls.
Attraction
A walled city of 4,691 above-ground vaults opened in 1822, where Eva Perón, presidents, Nobel laureates and writers rest among ornate tombs.
Attraction
The pink presidential palace on Plaza de Mayo, created by joining two 19th-century buildings, with a museum built around the remains of the old fort.
Attraction
Buenos Aires' neoclassical cathedral on Plaza de Mayo, home to the mausoleum of General José de San Martín and linked to Pope Francis.
Attraction
Argentina's national fine arts museum, open since 1896, with the country's largest collection of Argentine art alongside works by Goya, Rembrandt and Van Gogh.
Attraction
A modern museum of Latin American art opened in 2001, with works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Tarsila do Amaral and Antonio Berni.
Café
The oldest café in Buenos Aires, founded in 1858 and named after its Parisian namesake, with marble tables, a literary past and tango in the basement.
Café
A grand confitería opened in 1884, with French stained glass, Carrara marble and bronze chandeliers, famous for its generous afternoon teas.
Café
A Recoleta café on the corner of Junín and Quintana, named after a racing driver's broken connecting rod and home to statues of Borges and Bioy…
Café
A spice shop and tea room on Avenida Corrientes, open since 1927, with oak counters, Thonet chairs and coffee roasted and ground in view.
Café
A San Telmo Bar Notable in a 19th-century former general store on the corner of Perú and Carlos Calvo, serving picadas, sandwiches and homemade ravioli.
Café
A speciality coffee bar founded in 2015 in the Microcentro, with its own roastery and barista school, ranked among the world's 100 best coffee shops in…
Hotel
A grand five-star hotel on Avenida Alvear in Recoleta, with 207 French-style rooms and suites, a rooftop bar, heated pool and spa.
Hotel
A Park Hyatt hotel combining a restored 1930s Recoleta palace with a modern wing, set around gardens, with 165 rooms, a spa and a wine and…
Hotel
A five-star hotel in Puerto Madero with marble bathrooms, a spa and hammam, a pool bar, a cabaret venue and several restaurants.
Hotel
A four-star, 32-room hotel in Palermo Hollywood designed by Adolfo Suaya, with solid wood furniture, marble tables and stained-glass panels.
Hotel
A 20-room boutique hotel on a quiet Palermo Hollywood street, opened in 2005, with a garden pool, spa treatments and a restaurant popular with locals.
Hotel
An 11-room boutique hotel in a former Palermo Soho tenement, with each room named after an emblematic Argentine figure such as El Gaucho or El Tanguero.
Bar
A basement cocktail bar entered through a hidden door in a Retiro flower shop, created in 2013 and a long-standing name on the World's 50 Best…
Bar
A playful Palermo cocktail bar opened in 2019 by Florería Atlántico alumni, ranked among the world's best bars and making its own spirits and wines.
Bar
A relaxed bar and restaurant in Recoleta, open since 1999, mixing cocktails and tapas with live music and an arts programme.
Bar
A San Telmo tango bar operating since 1967, with a traditional show of musicians, singers and dancers from Monday to Saturday in an intimate room.
Bar
A Palermo Soho jazz club founded in 2014, with two live shows most nights featuring Argentine and international artists, plus food and wine.
Bar
A Palermo music venue and nightclub with more than 25 years of history, hosting Argentine and international live acts and long-running parties such as Club 69.
Restaurant
Palermo's celebrated parrilla, holder of a Michelin star and Green Star, serving dry-aged Angus and Hereford beef from a cellar-backed corner house.
Restaurant
A pizzeria on Avenida Corrientes founded in 1932 by Genoese immigrants, famous for thick pizza al molde and open until late every night.
Restaurant
A San Telmo parrilla founded in 1992 by Hugo Echevarrieta, known for beef so tender it is cut with a spoon and a dining room full…
Restaurant
A La Boca bodegón opened in 1954 by two young Spanish brothers to feed port and factory workers, now famous for its huge milanesas and home…
Restaurant
Gonzalo Aramburu's two-Michelin-star Recoleta restaurant, serving a single surprise tasting menu built on Argentine ingredients.
Restaurant
Tomás Kalika's Palermo restaurant reinventing the Jewish immigrant cooking of his grandmother's generation, famous for its ten-day pastrami.
Thing to do
A 100-metre painted alley in La Boca, transformed by the artist Benito Quinquela Martín from a disused railway line into an open-air street museum.
Thing to do
The Sunday antiques fair on Plaza Dorrego, started in 1970 to revive San Telmo and now spreading to more than 200 stalls of old objects and…
Thing to do
A bookshop inside a 1919 theatre on Avenida Santa Fe, with the original boxes, a painted ceiling and a café set on the old stage.
Thing to do
An evening tango show in a café that opened in 1890 and counted Carlos Gardel among its regulars, with dinner-and-show or show-only options.
Thing to do
A covered market hall built in 1897 by Juan Antonio Buschiazzo, where butchers and greengrocers still trade beside antique dealers and two historic bars.
Tour operator
A Buenos Aires food tour company founded in 2011, leading English-language walks through parrillas, empanada shops and ice cream parlours in several neighbourhoods.
Tour operator
A street art organisation working with Buenos Aires artists since 2009, running walking tours of Colegiales, Palermo Hollywood, Chacarita and La Boca.
Tour operator
A Buenos Aires tour company offering themed private walks through neighbourhoods such as San Telmo, La Boca and Recoleta, plus day trips to Tigre and the…
Tour operator
A Buenos Aires bike tour and rental company running daily guided rides through the north and south of the city, the riverside and the Tigre delta.
Tour operator
A tip-based walking tour company with daily routes through Recoleta, the city centre, La Boca and Recoleta Cemetery, plus San Telmo walks on Sundays.
Four or five days covers the historic centre, San Telmo, La Boca, Recoleta and Palermo at a comfortable pace, with time for a tango show and a few long dinners
Palermo suits travellers who want restaurants and nightlife, Recoleta is elegant and central for museums, and San Telmo is atmospheric and close to the historic centre
From Ezeiza, the main international airport, most visitors take an official taxi, a pre-booked transfer, a ride-hailing car or an airport bus service, allowing about an hour depending on traffic; Aeroparque is much closer to the centre
Costs change quickly with inflation and exchange rates, so check current prices before you go; the city has options for most budgets, from neighbourhood pizzerias to luxury hotels
Most visits are trouble-free, but pickpocketing and phone snatching happen in busy areas, so keep valuables out of sight, use official taxis or apps at night and stay on the main tourist streets in La Boca