Buenos Aires

I had zero expectations of Buenos Aires. I had done minimal research before coming here and just figured with so much time up my sleeve Id figure it out once I arrived.

Arriving in Buenos Aires

Getting into our Airbnb was an experience, beginning at the airport.

Uber is not allowed to collect people from the front of the airport, so you must walk outside and to the right of the building may be 300m, which proved difficult when you still need the airport’s WIFI to keep your connection and your driver.

After losing a couple of drivers due to loss of connections and a few heated words with other passengers in the same situation, we finally were on our way.

This city is HUGE and once in the city we found ourselves on a huge Avenue, called 9 de Julio Avenue, which has multiple lanes of traffic on both sides, a tram line and gardens, paths and monuments in the middle including the Obelisk of Buenos Aires.

There were lights on all the buildings and the traffic was heaving….next minute our driver is being pulled over by the police. He hides all his Uber GPS equipment and starts talking to the police for quite a while.

This trip is becoming laughable, what else can go wrong!

After about 10 minutes of discussion with one officer and then his supervisor and a lot of hand gestures and hurried talking from our driver we were on our way again with no fine for the driver. The police believed he had rolled through a red light and he also informed us Uber is frowned upon in BA.

Our Apartment

My travel buddy had booked an Airbnb apartment in San Telmo, which is a real bohemian neighbourhood steeped in history. The building and apartment were just gorgeous. Spiral staircases, a hammock hanging in the living room, stained glass windows, bright colours, claw foot bathtubs…. ahhh just so nice

We were met by our Airbnb hosts neighbour, a fabulous English ex-pat, living and performing in BA as a cabaret singer. Check her out on Instagram and iTunes, she is charming, funny and extremely talented. DAMSELTALK.

Jenny settled us into our apartment and left us to unpack, shower and go out on the hunt for some food before climbing into bed. The day overall had been MASSIVE, and we were exhausted.

Our first morning till about 12 pm was seriously just about some personal maintenance, washing hair, shaving, tweezing etc. Having our own apartment provided a nice relaxing area to be able to do this, and we were also still tired from the day before and the previous 2-3 days of trekking Iguazu on both sides and the heat and humidity. It also gave us an opportunity to figure out what we wanted to do and get our bearings on this huge sprawling city.

My best bits for an 8 day visit.

Let me start by saying there is so much to do here, and it is so pretty. Yeah sure there is some pollution, graffiti and the sidewalks are a disaster (always watch where you are stepping. Missing pavers and dog poop everywhere!) but the buildings. My goodness! You’ll be forgiven for thinking you are in a European city. No wonder it is called the Paris of the South. They are ornate, they are intricate, and they are colourful.

There is also less crime and it is safer to walk around with your belongings than in Rio. We walked around at night and we were (and felt) safe. Obviously, remain vigilant and don’t go flashing your camera’s around but it is much safer overall. BA is the most visited city in South America and quite affluent in comparison to others. (Also very expensive!)

San Telmo – Neighbourhood

The neighbourhood of San Telmo is quite bohemian and similar to Santa Teresa in Rio. There are lots of little cafes, antique stores and markets where you can quite easily lose a couple of hours meandering through.

There is a street fair every Sunday that runs all day and into the night. Defensa Street from start to finish is completely blocked off to the traffic, with vendors spruiking their wares all day. Be sure to spend some time at Plaza Dorrego, where you can rummage through antiques, watch a Tango performance or just sit back and have some lunch while you people watch. We spent a solid 6 hours walking around and looking at every single stall as well as a lunch stop. Make sure you sample some Dulche de Leche too. You can thank me later!

La Casa Rosada (The Pink House)

This was the official office of the President of Argentina, and where Eva Peron (Evita) would make her speeches off the balcony. It can be found in Plaza de Mayo. There are free English tours every Saturday/Sunday and public holidays at 10 am and 12 pm (1 hour) they’re free tours but you need to register your spot beforehand on the website www.turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar you can’t just show up and don’t forget to take your ID

La Recoleta Cemetery and surrounding suburb

Although it might sound morbid to suggest you wander around a cemetery, this is no ordinary cemetery and a definite must-see. Spend a morning or afternoon wandering around the graves and Mausoleums of notable people such as presidents, entertainers, army generals and of course the most famous and most visited gravesite of Eva Peron. There are approx. 6400 Mausoleums in the graveyard, so you won’t see them all, but it is easy to lose an hour or two wandering around looking at the grand and not so grand resting places. It’s awesome, a little creepy too, and make sure you really peek inside the tombs. The entrance is free. If you would like a map it is 3 pesos and Free walking tours are available Tuesday and Thursdays at 11 am.

We visited in the morning, and on a Saturday, so once done in the cemetery there was a market outside in the garden’s that surround the cemetery, so we were able to spend some time browsing through the stalls before heading across the footbridge to look at Floralis Generica. This is a HUGE mechanical flower that has been designed and built to open and close with the sun. It’s quite amazing. It is free to wander around and spend some time in the park.

A few other options available to you in this suburb is the Recoleta Cultural Centre, the Art Gallery, Palais de Glace, the Museum of Architecture and Design and The National Museum of Fine Art to name a few. We did not attend these so it’s best to research pricing on their applicable websites.

As you can see there is quite a lot to see and do in Recoleta and everything is an easy stroll to the next. If you are staying in a different suburb the best Metro stop to get here is Las Heras 

La Boca Neighbourhood

This is the over the top colourful suburb. It’s super touristy but fun all the same, definitely spend a morning/afternoon there getting some photos in front of the colourful walls and buildings. Wander down Caminito and all the little alleyways surrounding it and browse through the art shops and listen to the buskers. It also holds the home ground, to the famous Junior Football Team Boca, La Bombonera. It is free to walk around just beware if you have a photo with the Tango dancers be ready to cough up some Pesos for the pleasure. There are also walking tours available in English, Monday to Saturday at 11 am. No need to book just show up at the corner of Caminito and Magallanes. The tour is approx. 2 hours and costs 200Pesos. Beware there are no ATM’s in La Boca. Come prepared with cash

Palermo Neighbourhood

This is a huge suburb made up of smaller little districts such as Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood. We chose to wander around leafy green Soho. There are a lot of sidewalk cafes, boutique shops and street art to check out here as well as great nightlife.

El Zanjon Tunnels

These tunnels are extraordinary. Please visit www.elzanjon.com.ar for an overview of the complex and full insight into the buildings and tunnels.

You will find these tunnels under Buenos Aires back in San Telmo and in a nutshell during excavation work on a rundown old Mansion that had been walled up and abandoned, the new owner discovered a series of tunnels that used to redirect water out to sea back in the 1800s. It is considered an archaeological site and has been masterfully and lovingly restored and transformed into a museum over the past 20 years. There are three buildings located across the Complex in San Telmo, comprising of Los Patios, which is the main building and where guided tours begin, El Puente and Casa Minima, which is the narrowest building in Buenos Aires. The history given during the tour is fascinating and I cannot recommend this tour enough. You cannot walk around on your own you must take a guided tour, but it is well worth it for the facts and history you receive, not only on the building’s past life and tunnels but Buenos Aires in general.

60-minute English tours are Monday – Friday 12 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm for 300Pesos and Sundays for 40 minutes that depart every 30 minutes beginning at 11 am until 5:30 pm for 250Pesos

Florida Mall

If you’re up for some shopping, then Florida Mall is where it’s at. This paved Mall is for pedestrians only and has a plethora of clothing shops, ice cream parlours and men yelling Cambio, Cambio every 2 steps. (my advice, go to a legit currency exchange, not these blokes)

Hop on Hop off Bus

DO NOT DO IT. It is overpriced, the schedule is not adhered to, there are only 14 seats inside and if you’re unfortunate like us and select a rainy day, everyone is crammed inside. This is due to the fact the open-top bus doesn’t have an awning to pull over the seats in poor weather and they do not offer rain ponchos. The windows fog up due to the number of people crammed inside, so you can’t see a thing out the windows. There are 3 bus routes due to Buenos Aires being so big. You are left at bus stops well beyond the timeframe given to wait for the next bus. It was very disorganised and not worth the money at all, in my opinion.

The Metro system is easy to use, it’s clean and safe. You need to purchase a SUBE ticket from the officer for ARS$25 and then each trip is $7.50. If you use the public buses it does allow you to go into debit on the card as the drivers do not accept cash and won’t reload it. When you hop onto a bus just tell the driver the suburb you want to be dropped in and he will update your card with the correct fee to be charged. The next time you use the card on the subway you will need to repay what you have used and load up more for future journeys.

The city is easy to navigate using the metro and buses, so much better and cheaper option than the tour bus.

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