South America
Welcome Kit
Argentina
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, the birthplace of tango, is the great cosmopolitan gateway to South America.
Its bohemian atmosphere, the different personality of each of its neighborhoods, its eclectic architecture, its wide variety of restaurants that range from the most sophisticated to the most casual, its energetic nightlife and its fabulous shops makes Buenos Aires an amazing destination that waits to be discovered.
Highlights
If you go in good weather, take advantage of the parks and gardens that the city offers. Most of them located in areas further away from the downtown area.
Live the Argentine customs by going to one of the best grills and restaurants in the city to taste a barbecue with wine. At the end you can go to a milonga to listen to live tango and, of course, join the dance floor as well.
Soccer lovers have two must-sees: The River Plate field, the “Monumental”, and the Boca Juniors field, the “Bombonera” Weekends are the best days for sightseeing in Buenos Aires, as most tourist attractions, parks, and central avenues are lined with craft markets, street concerts, and other cultural activities.
General Facts
Buenos Aires, city and capital of Argentina. The city is situated on the shore of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is one of Latin America’s most important ports and most populous cities, as well as the national centre of commerce, industry, politics, culture, and technology. Buenos Aires locals are referred to as porteños (“people of the port”) because so many of the city’s inhabitants historically arrived by boat from Europe.
Buenos Aires has a total area of 203 square kilometers (78 square miles) and with a population of 13 million (including surrounding areas)
Map Location
Documentation
A valid Passport.
Most countries in America and Western Europe do not require a visa.
Insurance information.
Best Time to Go
The weather in Buenos Aires is usually very humid, and temperatures vary greatly depending on the season of the year.
The best time to travel is in spring (from October to December), since you will avoid the oppressive heat of Buenos Aires summer and the cold of winter.
Autumns are usually rainy but they also have a pleasant climate.
Clothing
Buenos Aires is a city for walking. For that reason we recommend you to bring comfortable clothes and shoes, since you will spend many hours walking while discovering its most fascinating corners.
July is the month where the lowest temperatures of the year will occur. Although there are usually no frosts, during the winter season it is necessary to wear warm clothes when walking around Buenos Aires.
In summer the weather in Buenos Aires is rather humid, with warm mornings, very hot noons and pleasant afternoons. When the sun goes down, the temperature usually drops slightly, although never enough to need a coat.
Autumn and spring are the rainiest seasons, this is between the months of March and June and from September to December, respectively. During rainy days in Buenos Aires, a raincoat or umbrella will be enough to enjoy the city, since strong storms are not frequent in the region.
Healthcare
Packing
Argentinean flights allow, as their restrictions are limited to 33 pounds (15 kg) per person.
Currency
Peso Argentino.
Major credit cards are widely accepted.
Electricity
Buenos Aires: 220 V – 60 Hz.
Plugs Type C / I
Local Taxes
Foodie
In Buenos Aires the meat is of excellent quality as characterizes Argentina. The asado (BBQ) should be highlighted: the different cuts of beef are generally accompanied by sausages, sweetbreads, chinchulines and blood sausages and other cuts of meat from other animals.
Pasta
Another Buenos Aires tradition is pasta, since Italian cuisine is very widespread in the region, and family gatherings on Sundays in which a plate of noodles, gnocchi, cannelloni, sorrentinos, lasagna or ravioli is usually a tradition.
Pizzas
Italian immigrants, precisely the Genoese, were the ones who popularized the pizza recipe at the end of the 19th century, first in La Boca neighbourhood and, little by little, throughout the city.
There are many types of pizzas: wood-fired, stone, mold, medium dough, but a true Buenos Aires pizza must include a lot of cheese. Usually, the restaurants accompany the pizza slices with fainá (a chickpea flour bread garnished with olive oil) and with a glass of moscato (sweet wine).
Sweet
The gastronomy of Buenos Aires is also characterized by having a great variety of sweet products such as facturas, cakes of many varieties, alfajores, etc.
Empanadas
This is a dish that has become popular throughout Latin America and where each province also has its own version of empanada criolla that can be baked or fried.
The classic Argentine empanada “porteña” is stuffed with meat, but there are others such as Salteñas, Tucumanas, Catamarqueñas, Patagónicas or Cordobesas. The truth is that they can have other fillings and you can taste the flavuors of potatoes, onion, chicken, paprika, tomato and even raisins.
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Activities
Caminito and La Boca
Caminito is a museum street and a traditional passage, of great cultural and tourist value, located in the La Boca neighborhood of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The place acquired cultural significance because it inspired the music for the famous tango “Caminito” (1926), composed by Juan de Dios Filiberto.
On the contrary, the lyrics of the well-known tango, written by Gabino Coria Peñaloza, is inspired by a footpath in the town of Olta, in the province of the Rioja.
The wood and sheet metal houses that face the Caminito, respond to the style of the traditional Boquense conventillo, a type of precarious popular housing that characterized the neighborhood from its origins at the end of the 19th century, as a residence center for Genoese immigrants.
La Boca is a neighborhood of the City of Buenos Aires, in Argentina, and its name is due to the fact that it is located at the mouth of the Riachuelo in the Río de la Plata. Among other reasons, the neighborhood is known for hosting the Boca Juniors club stadium.
The Riachuelo vicinity is one of the sectors of the city most visited by tourists because it is closely linked to the tango mythology.
The Delta del Tigre
The “Delta” is the Paraná river´s mouth. The large accumulation of sediments the current drags creates a zone of constant growth, a laberynth of innumerable islands, creeks, rivers and canals.
But beyond all the activities that can be developed, it is fair to mention that its main attraction is the renowned Puerto de Frutos.
The port has three inner docks. Daily catamaran excursions leave from one of them to the Delta.
In the central dock they concentrate the boat-warehouses that supplies the inhabitants of the islands with the most varied products. In the port is the outdoor market whose colourful streets are decorated with the rustic knitted clothes Furniture, ornaments and accessories made of cane and wicker, delicious homemade sweets and honeys, bright flowers and, of course, all the variety of local fruits coexist in absolute harmony.
Estancias (Ranches)
A different type of tourism from the City of Buenos Aires, can be done in the numerous Estancias, where you can enjoy country days and various activities or longer stays The province of Buenos Aires offers many country alternatives when it comes to accommodation, there are Estancias near Capital Federal (some just 1 hour away), with different levels of service, many of them with swimming pools and country activities such as horseback riding, Typical Argentinian barbecue and polo.
Palermo Neighborhood
Palermo is mainly a residential neighborhood, although with office buildings that have been increasing in the last decade. It is the largest in the city and stands out for its elegant houses and tree-lined streets.
Along the avenues that flank it are elegant residences, embassies and apartment towers.
The forests of Palermo, the green lungs of the city, are located in this zone. It is an extensive park-like area, in one of the richest areas of the city, and within its limits it contains a golf course, a polo field, the Galileo Galilei Planetarium, a velodrome, and the Japanese Garden, in addition, the old Paseo del Rosedal and a lake.
In Palermo there are also the Botanical Garden, the hippodrome of the city, the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA) and the National Museum of Decorative Art.
Neighbourhood of San Telmo
San Telmo is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the City of Buenos Aires, which was originally inhabited by the aristocratic families of Buenos Aires, until the yellow fever epidemic of 1871 forced them to move north. It was then that these families that owned the houses of San Telmo began to rent them to migrant workers.
San Telmo is one of the best preserved areas within the ever-changing Buenos Aires, and is characterized by its colonial houses and its streets, many of which are still paved with cobblestones.
Among the many attractions that can be visited in this neighborhood, there are numerous old churches, museums, antique shops and a semi-permanent antique fair “Feria de San Telmo” that takes place every Sunday of the year.
Saturdays in the evening and Sundays throughout the day, Defensa Street turns into a
pedestrian walk where you will enjoy different street artists, puppeteers, magicians and living statues.
Tango Show
Tango is a musical genre and a River Plate dance characteristic of the cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo (Uruguay), of strict urban nature and renown worldwide.
The choreography is designed starting from the couple’s embrace which is both highly sensual and complex. The lyrics are composed based on a local language called lunfardo and they usually express sadness, especially in the love felt by men and women.
In 2009 it was included in the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICP) of humanity by UNESCO.
In Buenos Aires there are a large number of places where you can observe professional dancers, have a drink, have dinner and even participate dancing in the called Milongas.