Our highlights of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires isn’t a city that we immediately fell in love with, but once we started exploring it and looked beneath its surface we realised it’s actually got a lot to offer.
Here are some of our highlights..
La Boca – this area did not disappoint. We were first hit by the football stadium and got our mandatory tourist selfie at the entrance and then headed to the colourful streets filled with tango and music, where we sat watching the action with a cafe con leche and empanadas.
Recoleta – this is a must on a Saturday for the local market. It has a cool arts and culture vibe to it and you can find the streets lined with relaxed restaurants and craft beer bars. Make sure you visit the cemetery (it’s free!) – this even had Laura speechless! Sounds a creepy tourist attraction but it’s amazing – it was the first public cemetery in BA with the likes of Evita and many famous Argentinian presidents buried there.
Palermo – this is such a cool area and totally different to everywhere else in BA. Think Camden vibe – shops, bars and restaurants everywhere, filled with people of all ages. We are coming back to BA in a couple of weeks and hitting up this area for a night out for sure!
Reserva Ecologica – to escape the city head here, just a 10 minute walk from Casa Rosada. We went for a run through here, took in the wildlife and finished with food from the many street food stalls.
Football match – just incredible! We watched River Plate vs Atletico Tucuman. The Argentinian’s passion for the game was like nothing else!
Tango night – we went to Complejo Tango for an hours lesson, three course meal, unlimited wine and a tango show. This was so much fun, even though the class was a little overcrowded where only the basic steps were taught! To our delight we were chosen to demonstrate our new found skills to the rest of the class only to be told we had psycho eyes only looking at each other and not where we were going!
Top Tip: get your hands on a tourist map of the city – we used it the whole time!
Food recommendations:
La Desnivel – for an awesome traditional Argentinian parilla and wine at good value for money. On the edge of old town, it’s definitely not an obvious choice from the outside but so worth it!
Merci – If you find yourself in old town and a bit hungry this little French cafe does a sandwich so big that even Nav had to share it with Laura. A cool little gem.
Barota – this restaurant in Recoleta serves good food and drinks. The kiwi Lemonade is a must! Head there in the night for beer pong in its craft beer rooftop bar, Boca A Boca, with its graffiti meets warehouse decor.
La Cabrera – higher end Argentinian restaurant in Palermo. Head here before 8pm and get 40% discount as it’s not cheap otherwise (we paid approx £50 for a meal for 2 including wine)! We watched the locals queuing to get in on a Monday so it’s a definite must. THE best empanadas and steak we have had since we got here and trust us we have tried many this week!
