Buenos Aires is the perfect place to wander and there's always something new to discover. Stroll the cobbled streets of Palermo, admire Barrio Norte's Parisian-style architecture, or get swept off your feet by tango in San Telmo. Punctuate visits to Argentine art galleries with great value gourmet dining and Buenos Aires' vibrant nightlife.
The south of Buenos Aires is the older part of the city, where narrow streets lead to antique stores, tango joints, and traditional cafes. In the background look out for the crumbling pastel-coloured mansions, used as tenements by the city's massive European migrant wave in the late 19th century. The northern districts are where wealthy porteños work and play. Aristocratic Recoleta is famed for its French-inspired mansions and bombastic cemetery, while trendy Palermo is the place to go for gourmet restaurants and lively bars.
Buenos Aires is a 24-hour city. Kick off with coffee and pastries in an elegant Belle Èpoque confitería cafe-cake shop in Monserrat, followed by a visit to the modern Buenos Aires Museum of Latin American Art in Palermo. Shop in the boutiques of cobbled Palermo Viejo in the afternoon then dine on steak and fine wine in the converted dock area of Puerto Madero. Round off the day in a Palermo Hollywood nightclub or a Corrientes theatre.
Leave the streets for some nature. Take a boat trip amid the subtropical vegetation of the River Paraná in Tigre or admire the rose garden and Andalusian patio in Palermo's lovely Parque 3 de Febrero. Surprisingly close to central Buenos Aires, you can spot birds among the reeds of the green Reserva Natural. Back among the crowds, soak up the atmosphere at a sporting event. Whether you plump for popular football at Boca's La Bombonera Stadium or upper-crust polo at the Campo de Polo, you'll see world-class athletes.
