BUENOS AIRES
Buenos Aires is hot, sexy and goes under your skin. The city never sleeps, famous for its phenomenal nightlife, which ranges from traditional neighbourhood taverns to award-winning cocktail bars, big clubs, hidden gig venues, and underground nightspots catering to every niche.
Vintage market San Telmo
San Telmo
La Boca
Street in Palermo Soho
WHERE TO STAY?
If you visit Buenos Aires for the first time, we recommend to stay in Palermo Soho. This neigborhood is filled with great restaurants, cute bars and hip shops.
GO HERE,
YOU'LL THANK US LATER : )
These are some of the best spots in Buenos Aires. Amazing food, great drinks and delicious ice cream.
El Preferido de Palermo
From the beautiful pink-painted house dating back to 1952, El Preferido de Palermo serves home-made comfort food at the highest quality. It is a very popular restaurant and especially during the weekend you might have to wait a while to be seated. But the wait is absolutely worth it!!!
Jorge Luis Borges 2108
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
instagram.com/elpreferidodepalermo
Don Julio
Voted best restaurant of Latin America in 2020, Don Julio truly raised the bar through its commitment to regenerative Argentine cattle farming. What you get is some of the best steak in the world.
Guatemala 4699
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
parrilladonjulio.com
La Alacena Trattoria
Homemade Italian food at it best. Whether you're looking for a quick coffee and pastry, a hearty pasta lunch, a go-to brunch spot, or to crush into decadent desserts, La Alacena checks all the boxes.
Gascón 1401
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
instagram.com/laalacenatrattoria
La Carnicería
Meaning ‘butcher’s shop’ in Spanish, La Carnicería is a carnivore’s paradise. Taking the classic Argentine parrilla steakhouse and turning it on its head, this tiny restaurant puts its own twist on some of the classics, adding pear and greens to grilled provoleta cheese and putting the ‘sweet’ into sweetbreads.
Thames 2317
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
instagram.com/xlacarniceriax
RAPA NUI ICE CREAM
After a long day in the city sit down in this little garden and treat yourself to some amazing ice cream.
Malabia 2014
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
rapanui.com.ar
NICKY HARRISON BAR
A very stylish speakeasy cocktail bar & shushi restaurant. Make sure you reserve.
Malabia 1764
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
nicky-harrison.com
GRAN DABBANG
Indian food with a latin twist. It may have a tiny store front on a busy Palermo avenue, but don’t let looks deceive: Gran Dabbang is bursting with taste and creativity.
Av. Raúl Scalabrini Ortíz 1543
Palermo, Buenos Aires
instagram.com/dabbang_
OBRADOR FLORIADA
A little ice cream "boutique" with am amazing flavours and great toppings.
Soler 5063
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
instagram.com/obradorflorida
TRES MONOS BAR
Award winning cocktail bar with casual atmospehere and affordable prices.
Guatemala 4899
Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires
instagram.com/3monosbar
THINGS TO DO
TEATRO COLÓN GUIDED TOUR
Book a tour to visit the amazing Teatro Colon. You can buy tickets at the theater for the same day (go early because the tours sell out) or buy them online. The tour is about 50 minutes.
Book tickets here
LUNCH AT SAN TELMO MARKET
In the heart of San Telmo you find this great market with a great choice of delicious snacks and food. The market is especially crowded on Sundays.
Gral Simón Bolivar 970
SAN TELMO SUNDAY MARKET
On Sundays San Telmo is hosting a big arts & craft market. The quality of the products is surprisingly good. Many things are handmade by local artists.
Money Money Money
Money in Argentina can be pretty confusing. Due to the high inflation and the constant financial crisis, Argentina has developed a very unique system and depending on how you pay (cash vs. credit card) you get different exchange rates.
Here is how it works:
THE OFFICIAL RATE (Red Dollar):
The official exchange rate is what you see on sites like Booking.com. At the time of our travels that was around 190 Pesos for 1 US$. But don't worry, this rate will never apply.
CREDIT CARDS:
It used to be that when you paid by credit card they would charge you the official rate. Which was the reason that no tourist ever used their credit card and tried to pay everything in cash. But in November 2022 the Argentinian government introduced a special tourist credit card rate to encourage people to pay more by card (which leads to more tax earnings for the government). At the time of our travel that was around 340 pesos for 1US$. It is still not as good as the rate you get for cash payments, but still much better than the official rate.
We noticed on our credit card statement that first they deducted the official rate but then refunded some of that money.
This also works for booking things online. As long as you use a Non-Argentinian Caredit card (Mastercard & Visa).
CASH (Blue Dollar):
Cash is king in Argentina but also pretty annoying. You can either take US$ and/or Euros (doesn't matter which one) with you from home and exchange them in Argentina or you can use the Western Union App to send yourself money and then pick up the cash in Argentina. (The WU app works very well and you can send the money within minutes. Just make sure you clear the identification process before you travel otherwise your limit is 1000€). At the time of our travel we would get around 390 Pesos for one 1US$ via the WU app.
HOW TO BOOK?
The easiest is to book through i.e. Booking.com but then choose "pay cash at location" as payment method. (BTW: Airbnb does NOT allow you to pay cash at location. You need to pay through the Airbnb system and therefor don't get the great exchange rate.)
TAKE A BIG WALLET:
Since the biggest bill in Argentina is 1000 Pesos (Which equals around 2,50€.) you will carry big bundles of cash. So make sure you take an extra pouch when exchanging money.
