¡Buenos Días!
The first trips of the year are always special!
This year I landed in Buenos Aires (BA), Argentina in mid-January as part of my year long 40th birthday celebrations whereby I purposed to visit one international destination each month!
Arriving after midnight in Ezeiza international airport Buenos Aires (and South America) for the first time, solo, I was excited and apprehensive at the same time.
I had booked myself into a local-run guesthouse in Recoletta (an affluent residential neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina), but hadn’t given much thought into any list of must do must see things to do in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
When the airport taxi pulled into the parking lot and the driver tried calling the hostess to no response, I immediately knew I was screwed up.
The driver was kind enough to hotspot me his internet and on logging into my www.booking.com profile, I soon learned that the guest house had cancelled my booking.
Having been traveling for the past 24+ hours, I wasn’t in the mood for any arguments to I quickly searched for the next available hotel in the neighborhood and I stumbled upon the last room left at Up Recoleta Hotel. Overall it was a great experience, the only downside is that the hotel doesn’t serve breakfast.
Some of you have asked me for a Buenos Aires travel guide, with specific ideas on the best places to visit in Buenos Aires, best things to do in Buenos Aires, what to do in Buenos Aires and my recommendations of places to visit in Buenos Aires as a first – time solo traveler.
So behold, all my travel highlights that will make you fall in love with Argentina’s capital city too:
What's Covered in This Article
Pay the “world’s most beautiful bookstore” a visit
Since its inception 100 years ago (in 1919) —first as a lavish performing arts space graced by tango dancers and the most popular plays of the age, transformed into a cinema, and most recently a bookstore and café —the El Ateneo Grand Splendid has proven itself befitting of its majestic title as the world’s most beautiful bookstore.
Though El Ateneo Grand Splendid has undergone several renovations over time, it has retained its original fresco ceilings, ornate theater boxes, elegant rounded balconies, detailed trimmings, and plush red stage curtains!
While the the staggeringly opulent display of books on offer is mostly in Spanish, as a non-Spanish speaker, it was worth reveling in this wondrous monument of a bygone era as I browsed the shelves and even did a subtle photo shoot while at it 🙂 admired the red velvet stage curtains, ornate balcony boxes and frescoed ceilings.
To add some oomph to your experience, indulge in a classic porteño breakfast and live piano music on the very center stage where Argentinean tango legends such as Carlos Gardel, Francisco Canaro, Roberto Firpo, and Ignacio Corsiniof tango once performed during the Teatro Grand Splendid’s glory days.
Av. Santa Fe 1860, 1123, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Breakfast in Buenos Aires
Forget about the tea and bread or ngwaci and nduma y’all are accustomed to here in the city in the sun.
Breakfast in BA is a whole new ball game.
For this post, I will stick to what was my daily while in the city: facturas.
The literal translation for Facturas, is “bill” or “reciept,”. These essentially are the whole genre of delicious sweetness on offer at nearly every local panadería you will set your eyes on.
Facturas are often filled with either Dulce de leche (a type of caramel, a sticky and sweet Argentinian specialty), Dulce de membrillo (a light red jam), or Crema pastelera (a vanilla-flavored cream often found on cakes).
Dulce de leche was my favorite and I had it on just about every factura I laid my hands on.
My favorite breakfast spot was La Panera Rosa and they make the most sumptuous pancakes with dulce de leche, bananas and strawberries….yummm!
Experience a football match in the city with the most football stadiums in the world
In Argentina, the home of Maradona and Messi, football is the are the very heart and soul of the people.
Here, people live for football!
Nowhere is this more true than Buenos Aires where the fiercest rivalries of this sport exist, the Argentine Superclásico, Boca Junior vs River Plate.
To immerse yourself in the real Argentine culture, make sure to catch a match at at either the Boca Juniors stadium or the River Plate stadium.
To rule out any chances of getting conned, ask your hotel concierge for assistance in scoring a legit ticket to a football match at La Bombonera stadium, Barrio La Boca in Buenos Aires, where Diego Maradona once ruled the pack.
Try Argentinean steak
If you visit Argentina and not try the steak have you even been to Argentina?
Most Argentinian cattle feed on natural grass on the pancake-flat Las Pampas, resulting in a naturally low fat, yet tender, delicious meat rich in more omega-3 fatty acids.
Argentinian beef’s combination of meat quality and recipes (it’s rarely seasoned with anything but salt) makes the whole thing a non-contest.
And most Argentine steaks is slow-cooked in a ceramic/stone grill known as a parilla. The parilla is fueled exclusively by wood or charcoal briquettes.
So now worries about cholesterol or heart disease.
With juicy steaks on every menu, it’d be a shame to leave Argentina without getting a taste of the beef in all its forms and sizes.
Experience firsthand the quote ‘it takes two to Tango’
As the tango dance capital and the home of countless milongas, aka Argentinian tango clubs, you would be doing Buenos Aires an injustice if you didn’t swoon over one.
The appeal of this sensual partner dance is alluring and inexorably meshed to the city’s identity.
While there’s tonnes of professional tango shows in Buenos Aires where you get to see dancers doing the deed the way it was meant to be done; taking an introductory lesson to the dance and trying it for yourself may be the best way to experience Tango.
For a better experience, go beyond the tango shows and explore underground milongas and live tango orchestras on the streets.
Swoon over Buenos Aires’ architectural styles
Buenos Aires’ mix of wide avenues, leafy boulevards, Parisian-style café culture, buildings and monuments reminiscent of typical European cities, and swinging nightlife give it a unique Pairisian feel. Hence nicknamed the Paris of South America.
The buildings and monuments not only make for an architectural feast of the sights but are also great photo shoot locations.
I had photo shoots at both the remarkable University of Buenos Aires Law School in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, which showcases a menagerie of Latin-American art; and also at the El Palacio de Aguas Corrientes aka The Water Company Palace.
Discover the great urban canvas of one of the world’s street art capitals
As a sucker for street art, I was in my element in Buenos Aires, is renowned for its vibrant street art culture, as one of the top cities in the world to see urban art – which adorns private and public buildings alike.
Unlike in many other cities, all an artist usually needs to create their work is the property owner or residents’ association’s permission. Easy peasy!
This has attracted a wide quadrennium of big shot street artists from around the world, and also made it possible for local artists to make a name for themselves.
The Buenos Aires city government itself has commissioned several large-scale pieces as a contribution to urban art in BA.
For colourful and quirky street art in Buenos Aires, you may want to go to off-the beaten track towards the northern neighborhoods of Colegiales, Chacarita, Villa Crespo, Villa Urquiza and Palermo Hollywood.
In the south, you get a treat of both the colorful houses of La Boca and Barracas, as well as giant murals – usually inspired by the politics of the day.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_a6WJFn3X/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Hang out in one of Buenos Aires’ many parks
If lounging in the shade, strolling along flower-lined paths, or enjoying a picnic lunch in outdoor spaces, are your go-to pass time activities while visiting a city, then Buenos Aires has heaps of impressive public parks such as El Rosedal, the Botanical Gardens, the Ecological Reserve, among others, in store for you.
While in BA I had the privilege of visiting a couple parks such as Plaza de las Naciones Unidas (United Nations Park) and the Jardin Japones Buenos Aires
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8gaQYAFEsc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Drink Yerba Mate
Pronounced yer-bah-mah-tay, this hot beverage made from the leaves and twigs of the Ilex paraguariensis plant is a daily staple among Argentinians and locals walking around with the distinctive hollow gourds, thermos, and bombilla straws is a common sight.
With 24 vitamins and minerals, and 15 amino acids and antioxidants, yerba mate is believed to be one of the most nutritious plants on earth according to a The Pasteur Institute 1964 study.
As the mate is more than a drink, it is normally shared among friends and family.
Besides, in Buenos Aires, even complete strangers are treated like old friends. So when someone offers to share their mate with you as an outsider, just take it graciously.
Take the opportunity to learn not only more about #Argentine society, but also more about the person offering to share.
I was fortunate to have shared mine with @wander.portraits and she made me feel like I truly belonged.
Experience divine comedy at Palacio Barolo
The Palacio Barolo, once South America’s tallest building for more than a decade until the construction of the Kavanagh Building in 1936.
It is a landmark office building, located at 1370 Avenida de Mayo, in the neighborhood of Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina full of history and great architecture.
According to Wikipedia:
“The Palacio Barolo was designed in accordance with the cosmology of Dante’s Divine Comedy, motivated by the architect’s admiration for Alighieri.
The building is 100 meters (330 feet) tall, one meter for each canto of the Divine Comedy.
Although the owner planned to use only three floors, and to rent the rest, the building has 22 floors, divided into three “sections”:
- The basement and ground floor which represent hell,
- floors 1-14 which represent purgatory, and
- floors 15-22 which represent heaven.
There is also a lighthouse at the very top of the building which is visible all the way from Montevideo, Uruguay.
I went on a guided tour, and, like Dante’s work, we progressed through hell, purgatory, and heaven as depicted in Dante Alighieri’s ” Divine Comedy ” using a combination of last century elevators and lots of very narrow stair cases to reach the rooftop whereby we were treated to most amazing views of the city’s skyline below.
Well, if you haven’t been to Buenos Aires, which of the above activities do you look forward to experiencing?
If you’ve been, which was your favorite experience?
Let’s continue the conversations in the comments below.
