Must Do’s In Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is an incredible city full of delicious food, great nightlife, beautiful sights and some hidden splendors. It has brightly mismatched architecture that really pops during the hot and sunny summer months. It is a very large city with a lot of diversity - the more time you can spend here, the better!  

Some tips for getting around: Taking the metro is really affordable and a convenient way to explore the city. It can be overwhelming getting used to. If you are looking to save a little bit of money, Uber is cheaper than taxis in most cases. If some destinations are in walking distance, try walking to your next adventure. It will allow you to see a little bit more and save a few dollars along the way. We personally did this quite a bit, even if sometimes it meant we were walking for 45 minutes to our destination. It was a great way to get to see the city and get an on-the-ground feeling for the different neighborhoods!

Tango Show

While Tango is not popular among the younger generation, you will still find it being performed in the street or at plenty of Tango Clubs. So if for you a Tango Show is an absolute must see, there is one in the galleria that we heard is incredible. We unfortunately didn’t manage to check it out but if you have the time, I recommend seeing it! 

City Walk

There are plenty of options for city walks and they are free (hello budget friendly!) This is one of the best ways to see what the city has to offer and I usually recommend doing one of these at the start of your trip so you can make some plans to visit the areas yo enjoyed on the walk. You get to see where all the delicious cafes are and some of the less touristy spots, which are usually some of the best places! You can also look for local photo walks. Photo walks are great because you know you will get to see some beautiful destinations and get that perfect Instagram shot you have been searching for. 

La Boca

La Boca is one place that everyone raves about.  The La Boca neighborhood is full of those iconic brightly painted buildings, work of local artists, and tango dancing down the street. It’s a big tourist attraction so keep that in mind when visiting - you can easily get suckered into spending more money than you intended. But it’s still a great spot to sit, have a coffee, and watch the crowds walk by - always a cheap way to enjoy something and one of my favorites! It can get a little sketchy when the sun goes down which can be easy to forget. Remember to keep your wits about you when wandering around! 

AirBnB Experiences

Yep, I’m a total advocate for these and not just because I have hosted my own :). This was one of my favorite things to do in Buenos Aires and the locals we met gave us a whole new understanding of the city and the people. Here are a few links to the ones we enjoyed and some basic info on them.

Take an Argentine Cooking class - this was such an incredible experience, hosted in a local chefs apartment. We learned how to make a full 3 course meal including empandas and what the different folds mean. It was educational and delicious! From $29 per person

Play Soccer with a Local - this was by far the coolest experience, and Gabriel the host was absolutely lovely. He invited us to try Mate and then we went to a soccer complex where my partner took part in a game. It felt like a truly local evening. From $29 per person.

Take a Photo Walk - I love doing photo walks in new cities because not only do you get a local to walk you through their favorite and most picturesque parts, you usually also get tips and amazing photos as memories. From $24 per person.

Another must do in Buenos Aires is to try one of the many Parillas, or Steakhouses. Grilled meat is a staple here and you will find it everywhere. An expensive tourist option for this is ‘La Carniceria’. It is very pricey but will always be recommended to you as a visitor. We went and my partner who is a meat lover said it was one of the best steaks he’s ever had. ( As a vegetarian I struggled through my portion of meat so am not a reliable source here - but on that note, there are plenty of vegetarian options available at most restaurants so you won’t be stuck for choice in this city of meat eaters).

Since I work remotely while traveling, we only had about 3-4 full days to explore, but you will see that there are a ton of wonderful things to experience here. The adventures above are what we did (minus the tango show, even though we caught a demonstration of Tango, so I’m going to count that). In a short amount of time it felt like we got a great feeling for the city and an understanding of why it is such an important place in Argentina.