36 Hours in Buenos Aires

I was in BA only once but highly recommend a food type you can only get there in quality and variety - empanadas! There are shops that sell such creative variety that they look like french pastry shops. Absolutely fabulous for a lunch while you walk around the city. Add malbec and it's a feast. Subway very efficient. Empanadas are also sold by street vendors but these are modest. Do miss the kids playing soccer.

Brought back memories of our 36-hour stay in Buenos Aires. We were on our way back to Quito after a couple of weeks on the west side of the country in San Carlos De Bariloche. (On the side, that is a beautiful city surrounded by lakes and mountains.) We arrived in BA late Thursday and flew out Friday night. We stayed in a condo across the street from the British Embassy and around the corner from the Hard Rock Cafe. Spent Friday walking around - saw the huge flower petal sculpture, and the memorial to Evita Peron. Then wound up at a huge mall before going back to the condo. A beautiful city, at least in the Recoleta district where we stayed.

We are in Buenos Aires right now and had dinner the other night at Al Carbon, which is near the Univdersidad de Buenos Aires at Reconquista 875. This place is amazing! The best steaks you will ever eat in your life, done to perfection, served by excellent career waiters, the kind of guys who have been there for years and years. Filled with locals, business men, couples. Lots of male customers - men like steak?? It’s the Centro district. Really good prices too. Two people can feast, with drinks, for $40 total. Highly recommend.

Favorite Sunday: Brunch at the bar at the Alvear Palace Hotel, followed by a sunny afternoon at the Hipodromo Argentino for some beautiful horse racing at one of the finest facilities in the world!

Very good article. There's so much to see and do in beautiful Buenos Aires that I'm sure this article would need more paragraphs to write about more exciting and great places the City has to offer. One of our favorite places to tango was at 'Confiteria Ideal,' where part of the 1966 movie 'EVITA,' starring Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce, was filmed - but it's closed for renovations. Another favorite is 'Feria de Mataderos,' on the outskirts of the city in the working-class barrio of Mataderos, this excellent folkloric festival happens on Sundays and national holidays. If you go to Buenos Aires - you may not want to go home.

I highly recommend a visit to Argentine Patagonia, especially Bariloche, Ushuaia at Tierra del Fuego. You can also safely visit the islands of Malvinas Argentinas. There are cruises again. You can take a cruise starting in Río de Janeiro, Brasil, stopping in Buenos Aires and several ports along the coast, ending at Malvinas and returning. BTW, Bariloche came 4th. in Forbes magazine top 20 places to visit during 2020 in the world! Infrastructure is poor, especially for the disabled, but good hotels at very low prices will provide everything a disabled person may need. All nationalities are visiting nowadays, as the prices are a giveaway for foreigners. Not for me, as I live outside of Bariloche, on the slopes of a pretty hill with views of Lake Nahuel Huapi, an extraoridnary lake with water from the glaciers. Enjoy!

The city is so much more than the article shows. If one were to take it at heart and do only the things recommended one would miss most of BA’ soul and the shamefully enormous number of slums in the capital of Argentina! That would include walking in the city, taking the bus to explore its neighborhoods, not eating steak at Don Julio, and visiting the BA museum of modern art, to name but a few must-do things to understand a place crumbling from lack of funds and where the class differential is staggering (e.g., puerto madero with Calatrava’s pedestrian bridge vs. the villa miseria Plaza Constitucion next to the Constitucion Railway station). Last but not least the ecological reserve and Baqueano, a small restaurant focused on local produce and meat where you eat extraordinary food under the tutelage of the husband chef and the wife somelier.

Regarding the Espacio Memoria, it was inclusive of all genders back then, too. Does that make the junta progressive?

Beautiful city. Also check out the Teatro Colon opera house, truly a music setting of grand proportions. The steakhouses are amazing.

As a native porteño, I can say the article it’s pretty good but lacks some really good places anyone would recommend: El Ateneo (huge bookstore in Recoleta), Recoleta Cementry, Teatro Colon (even if it’s only the tour), Villa Ocampo, Waterways in Tigre, Mercado de San Telmo, Fortabat Art Collection, Museo de Bellas Artes, Café Tortoni, etc. Even though it’s more subjective, for eating/drinking, I would add i Latina, La Mar, Elena, Florería Atlantico (speakeasish, among the best bars in the world), Tegui and any ice cream shop. For accommodation, a well priced boutique hotel in Palermo: Home Hotel. Finally, I would recommend taking free tours around downtown, and a street art one in Palermo. Regarding safety, if you are aware of your surroundings, don’t wear fancy watches or jewelry, and don’t walk at night off the beaten path, you would be great. Nothing different from any other major city. With the economy going haywire in Argentina (nothing new!) everything will cost you a song! If you are in doubt, go! It’s a beautiful and passionate city full of art, culture, sports, eateries; you won’t regret it!

I'm actively planning an organized tour trip to BA, Salta, and Mendoza this year. I'd love to wander around BA during free hours, but I'll be honest - these criminals specifically targeting tourists concerns me (even though I'm a big guy who doesn't dress fancy, tries to blend in, and has good street smarts). How do small merchants/cafes typically charge in American currency - bills or coins? Also, where is the best place to withdraw small amounts of cash without ridiculous ATM fees? Thanks for info. from those knowledgeable.

Just came back from 5 days in BA. Had a great time. Small inexpensive boutique hotel (Let Sun) in Palermo. Interesting local restaurants. Private city tour with a local tour guide for one day and a private tour of the Jewish area with a local Rabbi tour guide the next day. We didn’t wear jewelry, carry bags, or cameras. Never had a problem and learned a lot.

I'm actively planning an organized tour trip to BA, Salta, and Mendoza this year. I'd love to wander around BA during free hours, but I'll be honest - these criminals specifically targeting tourists concerns me (even though I'm a big guy who doesn't dress fancy, tries to blend in, and has good street smarts). How do small merchants/cafes typically charge in American currency - bills or coins? Also, where is the best place to withdraw small amounts of cash without ridiculous ATM fees? Thanks for info. from those knowledgeable.

I visited last year. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, it is like Rome, Paris, and Madrid mixed together. The scary thing for the Argentines is inflation which erodes the standard of living.

Was very happy to read about the "good translations" at the Espacio Memoria, as I was one of the translators!!! Nice article, though heavy on the north side of the city and as a private walking tour guide here, I have always been partial to the south side of the city: Boedo, Barracas, and of course San Telmo and Monserrat.

I've been living in BsAs for almost 2 years now and I think these places are fine if you're visiting for a month or two. But not a must, especially if you only have 36 hours -- except for MALBA and Don Julio (also maybe order Bife de Chorizo or Lomo instead of fish, I'm sure the fish is good but you prob want to take advantage of one of the best steakhouse). All the recommendations from David in another comment are legit and cool places/things to see. Also please be cautious about your belongings when walking on the street, the situation now is improved much better, but you should still research which zones are safe and which ones are sketchy. There is nothing wrong with all these places in the article. But you can find them anywhere in Buenos Aires -- you don't have to go all the way to Belgrano for "yogurt with honey and spices, eggs and avocado, and a fresh green juice" for breakfast.

The comments reflect some of my memories of BA, as well as my feelings of how these destinations are portrayed in The Times. I have had some great, wild adventures in BA worthy of such a piece while making stopovers on my way to Andean ski resorts. I think to interject some first-person adventure into the otherwise blase endless listings of places to visit would certainly give readers and potential visitors more useful, invigorating insights. Such things as typical pickpocket scams and the true usefulness of a good taxi driver-guide who knows the ins and out of the town can make a visit much safer and insightful, acting as an interpreter, and helping you not blunder into places and situations that might not end well. One striking disparity about BA is the blatant local v gringo pricing of many things, most notably hotel prices. Once out of BA and into more native parts of Argentina, prices plummet to a traveler's joy and surprise. At $100 plus a night for most hotel rooms in downtown BA, that price can drop to $25 in the southern Tierra del Fuego enclave of Ushuaia, where the best seafood in the world is caught just north of Antarctica. Rooms are even less in the wine country headquarters of Mendoza, where the Malbec far exceeds expectations and the prices....OMG. Next trip, I want to take the train north to Bolivia, crossing the vast expanse of this absolutely gorgeous and diverse country at the end of the world.

BA’s hip Fierro (for the “gourmand”) is worth a visit, if not an overnight. Compelling food, wine and views along with a fun location merit attention. Tap to explore in the amuz app.

Argentina? Everybody has a good time when they're drinking. No thanks, you can keep it. And you can keep "36 Hours," as well.

36 Hours in ... wherever ... looks the same each week. Photos of inviting bars, restaurants, and bookstores are nice. Except almost everyplace has those types of places now. I would like to see more of what a place looks like and why someone would want to visit. Landscape, iconic architecture, climate, and unique historical sites are things that differentiate.

I'd recommend a street art tour to learn more about all the stunning art dotting the city. A very interesting way to see parts of the city you might not see.

I am fortunate to have spent five fabulous visits in BA and environs since the first one in 1975. The culture, the level of education and the openness of the "porteños " is near intoxicating. Some highlights not included in this "36 Hours" include Evita's tomb in the Recoleta cemetary; opera or concert in the Teatro Colon; the weekly weird flea market with locals staging scenes from past and present; a BBQ with music, dance and horse riding at a nearby estancia, and a train ride (if it still exists) to neighboring Tigre. Of course a "futbol" match is like watching Aida from the front row. But keep your distance from excitable fans. I haven't been there since about 2000, and I'm ready for 2020. My wife, however, is swayed by reports and rumours of street crime and disinclined to visit. Any news or suggestions out there?