What follows is a set of recommendations I always give to those going to Buenos Aires; although there’s very little tango and football (or soccer, if you’re American), as I personally don’t dance (tango or any other dance, really) or play football.
Sightseeing
Things to see in Buenos Aires, personal recommendations:
Teatro Colón: totally worth a visit. At the corner of 9 de Julio Avenue and Calle Viamonte. They have guided tours. Take one.
Kavanagh building: near the Plaza San Martín and Retiro train station. It used to be the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere for a while. The neighborhood around is quite posh too.
The National Museum of Arts has a surprising collection.
La Recoleta Cemetery. Yes, it’s weird to recommend a cemetery to tourists. Welcome to Argentina.
San Telmo: try to go there when the flea market is open; also go to the Mercado San Telmo, in Calle Defensa between Estados Unidos and Carlos Calvo, absolutely lovely place and great food stands. Get a choripán. You’re welcome.
La Boca: beautiful neighborhood, polluted river. Legend has it Captain Cousteau cried when he saw the Riachuelo River for the first time.
The Boca Juniors stadium (aka “La Bombonera”) can be worth a visit if you’re into football. There are other 19 big football stadiums in the city (19!) including the largest in South America (River Plate’s “Monumental Stadium”, roughly as big as Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium) and the stadium of Pope Francis’ and Viggo Mortensen’s favorite team, San Lorenzo de Almagro. (Yes, Viggo Mortensen, of “Lord of the Rings” and “Captain Fantastic” fame, grew up in Argentina, and speaks uncannily good Rioplatense Spanish, just like Anya Taylor-Joy, and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. Argentina is quite good at exporting celebrities.)
El Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore; the most beaufiful bookstore on Earth, no doubt about that, in Avenida Santa Fe 1860. It’s an old theatre transformed into a bookstore. Hard not to go there and leave with a bag filled with beautiful books.
Transportation
Some tips and tricks:
Buses, trains, and subway (the latter affectionately called “Subte” because… “Tren Subterráneo”) all work with the same travel system, a prepaid card called “Sube” (meaning “Hop on” in Spanish) that you can reload in most kiosks in the city. Very convenient. Just stick the card to the reader for a second, and take a seat. You can use one card with two people, just pass twice the card on the reader.
Cash: take dollars with you, not Euros nor Swiss Francs. Dollars. And only bills of 50 and 100 in good shape (not wrinkled, broken, etc). You won’t be able to change bills of lower denomination, or damaged ones, at all. You’ve been warned. The UBS automat dispensers at the Zurich airport give you good bills, very new, very acceptable in Argieland.
Credit cards, Apple Pay, Android Pay, etc: they all work pretty much everywhere in the city, and are quite safe, even for small amounts. Incredible what the pandemic did.
Do not grab random taxis on the street; it might be dangerous, particularly if you don’t speak Spanish. Ask your hotel for their preferred taxi company (usually also referred to as “Remis”, a word whose etimology is beyond my knowledge) and call to ask for a car. They’ll tell you the plate number and it’s infinitely safer. Otherwise I can recommend Radiotaxi Pidalo (+ 54 11 4956 1200), Taxi Premium (+ 54 11 5238 0000), or call Ruben Dario at +54 11 6707 6740: I have traveled with him personally and can recommend (I don’t know if he speaks English, though).
Calle Lavalle and Calle Florida are 100% pedestrian streets. Not a lot too see there, apart from some great restaurants, but always beware of pickpockets particularly in those big gatherings close to street performers.
Avenida 9 de Julio is the widest avenue on Earth (or so says Guinness): 110m from side to side. You can’t cross it in one take even if running. Also: don’t run, traffic is crazy, they’ll run you over. Cross in two steps, first to the middle of the avenue, and then wait for another green light. Meanwhile, enjoy the view. The world-famous Obelisco is right there, can’t miss it.
Speaking about traffic: it’s crazy as I said. Priorities: motorized vehicles and then living things, in that order. Cars don’t stop to let anyone pass, sometimes not even other motorized vehicles.
Upon arrival in Aeropuerto de Ezeiza, be mindful: you’re 70 km away from the city. Do not take a cab! Right after exiting customs and before leaving the transit area, you can rent transportation directly inside, and I recommend using the Manuel Tienda Leon company for that. They also have buses (every 30 minutes, dropoff at various locations downtown). The trip from Ezeiza to downtown can take up to 1h30 at rush hours. It’s a biiiiiiiiiiig city and there are far too many cars.
If you’re traveling by airplane to another city in the country, you will most probably use the other airport of the city: Aeroparque Jorge Newbery. It’s located 20 min from the center, next to the river. Very convenient and well setup, but you need a taxi to get there; it has no train nor subway stations. Manuel Tienda Leon also takes you there in bus from downtown (as you can imagine, Manuel Tienda Leon has kinda monopoly on airport transfers, but they do a fine job in general.)
Food
Restaurants I recommend in Buenos Aires: pretty much all of them. Food in Buenos Aires is, in general, outstandingly good, a mix of Italy, Spain, and France, but with better meat (‘f course!). Also, mediterranean food. Buenos Aires is the 3rd largest settlement of Italians outside of Italy (after New Jersey and Rio de Janeiro) so the italian influence is everywhere.
There’s a true “Bodegón Argentino” in downtown Buenos Aires: Bodegón La Pipeta, in Calle San Martin 498, almost corner Calle Lavalle. They have great meat, but at noon it’s packed. And I mean it. You might want to go there around 13:30 or later (particularly on weekdays) or reserve a table. Great ambience and a fantastic collection of works of art in the style of “Fileteado”, very typical of the Rio de la Plata area. Also great pasta and fantastic “flan con dulce de leche”. Get one of those I beg you.
Pizzeria Banchero: probably one of the best pizzas in the planet, their speciality is the onion-muzzarrella pizza, called “Fugazzetta.” Think focaccia with mozzarella. I know, I know. Located at the corner of Avenida Corrientes and Calle Talcahuano, 200 meters away from the Obelisco. I used to live in the same block, around the corner, from 1998 to 2001.
On the Avenida de Mayo, which by the way is a beautiful place to walk around, You should not miss in any way the glorious Café Tortoni – best hot chocolate with churros of the Southern Hemisphere.
Also in the Avenida de Mayo there are lots of Spanish restaurants; at the corner of Calle Libertad, you will find Restaurant Plaza Asturias – very, very good.
Pizzeria “El Cuartito” in Calle Talcahuano between calles Paraguay and Marcelo T. De Alvear. A legendary pizzeria, visited by the most famous Tango legends like Anibal Troilo or Juan D’Arienzo, that looks like it hasn’t changed since 1942 and apparently was a meeting point for those tango players. The pizza is outstandingly good and probably one of the best examples of a typical Argentine-style pizza. (Dear American readers: BA pizza is closer to the New York City in spirit than Chicago, but infinitely better than both.) Try the Roquefort pizza, with a slice of Fainá on top. Or my preferred: “jamón y morrones” (ham and pepperoni) with lots of creamy, hot steamy mozzarella. GOSH WHAT AM I DOING HERE.
Very important: alfajores Havanna. You are going to love them. I personally consider this my addiction: I don’t do drugs, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink (that much), but I can have a whole box of alfajores and ask for more. There are plenty of Havanna Cafés all over the city and they sell the most national of all candies, the “alfajor”. Personally I love the dark chocolate-coated ones, but everything they sell in these shops is addictive to me. I can’t go there alone. I can’t. omgomgomgomg