Travel Guide to Buenos Aires, Argentina

When planning our time in Argentina we knew we wanted to go down to Patagonia and figured since all flights leave out of the capital city we would give ourselves a few days in Buenos Aires beforehand. After spending time in this amazing city we are kicking ourselves for not having more time! Here is our travel guide to Buenos Aires, Argentina so you have time to do everything!

Buenos Aires, Argentina is one of those cities where after only being there for a few hours we both looked at each other and said how much we liked it. There are so many cool neighborhoods to explore and so many good foods to try. It felt very modern and very comfortable. Maybe we felt this way since we were coming from the desert in Bolivia and were excited to be back somewhere a little more familiar. Regardless we were especially sad when it was time to leave but we definitely think it’s somewhere we will be back to soon!

Getting to and from the Airport

Most international flights come into the Ministro Pistarini International Airport or sometimes called Ezeiza Airport. It’s about 30 km south of Buenos Aires. There are a few options for getting from the airport to the different neighborhoods within Buenos Aires. You can take a taxi and there are taxi stands inside the arrivals area of the airport as well as outside.

We took the Tienda Leon bus which is a bus company that runs from EZE to downtown. There is a Tienda Leon stall in the arrivals area of the airport where you can buy your ticket. We walked up, gave the address of our apartment and they gave us two different tickets. You take a large bus from the airport to their bus stop near Puerto Madero. Then from there depending on where you’re staying you get into smaller cars to go straight to your accommodation. It sounds complicated but it’s really not! It cost 500 Pesos per person so 1,000 Pesos total or about 22 USD.

Travel Truth: Once we got to our Airbnb, our host told us that he always uses Uber to get to and from the airport because it’s easier and much quicker. So to get to the airport leaving we called an uber and it was really easy! We were able to get one within a few minutes at 4:00 AM as well as a few days later. So we would say Uber is the faster and more efficient option. We were a little surprised because Uber was not nearly as common in a few of the other countries we had visited but it is very easy to use in Argentina!

While still being in Buenos Aires, it had a completely different feel than other areas we visited. It was quiet with trees lining the streets and so many interesting buildings! There are lots of bars and restaurants there if you’re looking for a nice meal or a night out!

Visit Recoleta Cemetary

It might sound odd to visit a cemetery but the Recoleta Cemetary is pretty remarkable. It is located in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires and it also happens to be completely free to enter! For us traveling on a budget it was awesome to be able to visit without touching our wallets!

The Recoleta Cemetery hosts rows and rows of mausoleums. Some have statues, some stand about twenty feet in the air, some are open but all of them have intricate iron gates and doors. Classified as one of the best cemeteries in the world, you will find thousands and thousands of vaults arranged like blocks of a city. You could easily spend a few hours going up and down the rows looking at the different types of architecture.

• We simply walked in through the main gates and then you’re in! You can opt for a guided tour that will give you information about some important people buried there or simply walk around on your own.
• We went at about 3:00 PM and while there were definitely other people there, we had no problem finding rows with no other people.

Travel Truth: Looking for another free option in Buenos Aires? The Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays is a large botanical garden located in the Palermo neighborhood and is free to enter and enjoy! You will find plenty of green space to sit and enjoy this slice of nature.

Roam Through Mercado San Telmo

We actually ran into Mercado San Telmo by accident and were so pleasantly surprised! It is an indoor market in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires that is definitely worth checking out!

Inside you will find fresh produce, antiques and clothing items, bakeries, bars and restaurants. Over 100 years old, the market sits in a historical building with lots of character. We walked through the aisles of the market looking at all the different types of goods.

• There are many bars and restaurants that have stands selling traditional choripan (a sausage sandwich), empanadas, coffee and pastries. We sat at one and had empanadas. Though these were a bit more expensive than others we had found, the atmosphere was worth hanging around for a little longer!

See La Casa Rosada

La Casa Rosada, or the Rose House, is the President’s office similar to the White House in the US. Except in Argentina the President doesn’t normally live in La Casa Rosada. The distinctive rose color and its ornate details make it a building that you can’t miss. There are guided tours of the mansion as well as a museum showcasing items throughout the history of the country.

It sits at one end of the Plaza de Mayo which is the main square within the city. It has historical significance and still to this day is surrounded by important buildings such as La Casa Rosada, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires, the Buenos Aires City Hall building, the Buenos Aires Cabildo, as well as the national bank headquarters.

Even if you aren’t interested in museums or touring mansions, it’s worth a visit to the Plaza de Mayo and La Casa Rosada. There are many impressive and beautiful buildings and you will find lots of other people just sitting and enjoying the area.

Walk to Puerto Madero

Puerto Madero is a very modern neighborhood along the waterfront that has completely changed in the last twenty years. When construction of the New Port of Buenos Aires completed in the 1920’s it left Puerto Madero to sit and fall apart. After sitting in disarray for over 60 years, plans to revitalize the area started coming to fruition. In the the last twenty years the area has completely changed from an abandoned port to an industrialized, modern waterfront neighborhood. Warehouses on the west side were refurbished to contrast the modern, high-rise buildings across the water.

Now you will find luxury apartment buildings, restaurants, hotels and impressive skyscrapers in this once deserted area. It is a stark contrast to the more traditional buildings you will find in Recoleta and Palermo.

• We stayed in Recoleta and debated how to get to this part of the city. It’s about 5 km southeast so it’s a bit of a walk. All over the city we saw bikes to rent and thought that could be a fun way to get there a little quicker. But after some research we discovered its hard to rent one of those bikes as a tourist and after 1 hour you have to re-dock it. You can also take the subway but ultimately it was a nice day so we opted for the long walk!
• On the way back we tried to take the bus back to Recoleta. We got on the correct number bus, however, the bus driver tried to tell us we needed a Subte card which we didn’t have. After we tried to give him the money for the tickets, he simply told us to sit and we rode for free!

Eat & Drink…A lot!

There are so many delicious foods to try in Argentina so we had to include some of them in this guide! We usually aren’t ones to rave about food but we found so many delicious things in Buenos Aires that were also really affordable we couldn’t not share them!

Empanadas- delicious stuffed pastry

An empanada is basically a stuffed pastry. You can find them stuffed with carne (usually beef), chicken, ham and cheese, cheese and onion, humita (corn), vegetables and so many more variations! You will see them all over Buenos Aires so no need to search high and low. We found a small empanadas restaurant that we went to 3 days in a row because we couldn’t get enough of both the taste and the price!

Our recommendation is to go to Don German Empanadas on the corner of Calle Juncal and Calle Sanchez de Bustamante. When you look on Google Maps it comes up as a different name (with no information) but it was delicious and the empanadas are 20 Pesos or about $0.50 USD.

Alfajores- dulce de leche filled cookie

We found Alfajores in multiple other countries before we got to Argentina but there we found they were everywhere and we quickly got hooked! Dulce de leche is very similar to caramel so it’s like two sugar cookies with caramel in the middle and then sometimes (depending on where you get it from) the whole thing is covered in chocolate. We found them everywhere from packaged ones in the grocery store to homemade versions in bakeries.

Choripan- sausage sandwich

Choripan is a traditional sandwich of sausage in a crusty bread. It’s kind of like a hot dog but with much better meat and much nicer bread. We tried it at Nuestra Parrilla on Bolivar right at one of the entrances to the Mercado San Telmo which is how we found the market. It’s a no-frills place but it was so good and for 100 Pesos or about $2.50 USD it made for a delicious lunch!

Steak & Wine

Dave’s favorite wine happens to be Malbec which primarily comes from Argentina so we made sure to splurge one night on a nice meal at a traditional parrilla. We had bife de lomo, bife de chorizo, grilled vegetables, French fries and a small bottle of Malbec for 2,200 Pesos or about $48 USD at Calden del Soho in Palermo. While it was a big splurge for our budget right now, a meal like that back home would have easily cost double or triple!

How Many Days Should I Spend in Buenos Aires?

We spent 3 full days and 1 half day in Buenos Aires and honestly wish we had more time! We could have easily spent longer trying more empanadas and exploring more areas of the city. It has everything a big city has to offer but while walking around you can find pockets of quiet, tranquil streets. Hopefully from this travel guide to Buenos Aires you’ve noticed how much we liked this city so we would suggest spending around 3-5 days there depending on your other destinations.