So, here’s the thing – there truly is no definitive guide to spending a week in Buenos Aires because there are literally countless things to do in this beautiful city and, if you’re doing it right, will find that there’s no amount of time available on this planet to truly soak in all the magic of BsAs. (Some folks may try to convince you otherwise, I urge you to pay them no attention).
With that said, I’m currently in the throes of absolute nostalgia for my last visit to Argentina. This is in part due to two things: Argentina’s success in winning the World Cup today (!), as well as what is now becoming my end-of-year clean-out of personal images I’ve taken. What this means is: a travel photo dump! But also, this does mean I should finally get around to sharing a bit more about the things I love to do there for those who haven’t been.
Let’s say you have a week. And you decide to go in the summer (this is especially a nice time to go if you are living in the Northern Hemisphere like myself and are dying to get out of the snow). While I probably could go into detail and create an itinerary, I think it would be most helpful to offer a list of options – in a sort of choose-your-own-adventure way.
Here’s the list of things I would absolutely recommend:
- Sunset sailing. We found a wonderful host via Airbnb Experiences the day we landed at the last minute and had a great time (albeit a bit windier than I anticipated?) traipsing by boat over the widest river in the world. There’s a few hosts that offer this, but here’s the one I went with.
- Wandering around neighborhoods, namely Palermo (Soho during the day for shopping and snacks, Hollywood at night for dinner and drinks, and if you’re dancing – plenty of that there too!).
- Get around by Collectivo. There are Subtes if your point A and B are convenient and you’re crunched on time, but I promise you – the bus network is a far wider network (I’ve yet to find a route that is not available to me by bus) and you get to do some fantastic passive exploring by gazing out the window rather than sitting in a train with no view.
- Xul Solar Museum. There’s plenty of incredible art museums in Buenos Aires that Google will tell you to visit. One I would absolutely not miss is this one, though. It’s small enough that it won’t take up your whole day, but so so great. Xul Solar (for those of you not acquainted with this perfect weirdo and brilliant brain) was an Argentine painter, sculptor, writer, and inventor of imaginary languages. The museum is out of his old home and tons of old notes, drawings, works of art, etc, can be found there. My personal favorite is his three-keyboard piano he created that linked musical notes to colors.
- Evita Museum. If you’re a bing bong like me and really only associated Evita with Madonna previous to visits to Argentina (I knew a little more than that, but to be honest – not a ton more), this museum is a great opportunity to learn a bit more about the Former First Lady of Argentina. Also, the neighborhood that this museum in is absolutely charming and has some pretty incredible restaurants, so it’s an easy half-day to spend out there:)
- A day horseback riding in el campo. This one was harder to find because so many of the Airbnb Experiences (where I leaned on for new things to do outside my regular day-to-day comfort zone) were either really far out, or a bit more touristy than I wanted to spend money and time on. We wound up finding Argentina Polo Day (link here) and now I don’t imagine I could recommend a better day out than this. If you’re already on the site, I’ll preface this with: no, I did not go and play polo. (The mental image is incredible though??) We had reached out to them to ask about a sunset horseback riding program, which they actually do facilitate, and at a reasonable price at that. We had a ride to/from the city and spent a full day at a beautiful ranch where the staff had prepared homemade donuts, mate on arrival. We went for a horseback ride and got to know the grounds a bit more, had mate by a stream, and then rode around a bit longer before we ended our night with empanadas and wine by a bonfire. It is a full day affair and it is totally worth it.
- A day out in El Tigre. El Tigre is another great day trip opportunity if you are looking to get out into nature. The majority of El Tigre is an amazing network of rivers and wetlands, and a great amount of the community is settled on the River Delta, where you can kayak around pretty much endlessly and enjoy a bit of shade from the lush green as you meander by water. People (note: I am “people”) refer to it as a sort of Venice in Argentina, if that gives you an idea of the vibe there. Our last visit here, we had simply taken a bus out to El Tigre and gotten some snacks and wandered around town shortly before happening upon a kayak tour of the neighborhoods.
- Botanical Garden visit in Palermo. If you’re anything like me, there really should not be too much more to say about this. The botanical garden is absolutely beautiful! It’s also free (I think only an extra cost to visit the Japanese Gardens), so this should be an easy stroll to work into a day of shopping at Palermo Soho, where it is located next to.
- Chinatown and Barrancas de Belgrano. Hear me out – because I know you probably aren’t in Buenos Aires for sushi – go to Chinatown (many downtown buses will either start or finish their lines here, so it’s easy to get to) and get a sushi burrito from the grocery store there. No, I don’t know the name of the grocery store. Chinatown is about one block long and there’s only one. And their sushi burritos are glorious. Next, take that sushi burrito and a book (maybe one you bought from the corner bookstore on Juramento street??) and read on a sunny hill at the Barrancas, next to Chinatown. This may not sound like a must-do, but I’m putting this on my list because it’s a must-do for me. And I would like everyone to experience the bliss of a sushi burrito, literature, and some of the most prime people/dog watching I’ve ever encountered in my life.
- Tango dancing! My husband was not as great a fan of this as I was initially, but I would like to think that he wound up enjoying this. We found an incredible studio by Abasto Center, headed by the kind and easygoing Luciana. We had snacks, wine, and finally, a fantastic tango lesson. All in all, it felt way more laid back than your typical class (almost like going to a friend’s house to hang out but they are also teaching you something too!), and the small class vibe made the experience super intimate and not at all stressful. I honestly would come back regularly if I lived there. Her site can be found here.
Finally, you should wander. A lot. If it helps, find a few empanada shops you want to visit and walk to them all. Get some delicious faina (I personally love Tonno in Las Cañitas). Go to las ferias (Sundays in San Telmo or Recoleta by the also incredible cemetery are popular ones, but there are several throughout the city) and get some artisanal goods to take home. Go to a Freddo (or other ice cream shop) and get some gelato (I personally recommend dulce de leche w the chocolate bits in it, but I did once get lemon sorbet and dump a scoop of it into my champagne on the rooftop of my Airbnb, and it was GLORIOUS).
Days of lazing about there and hanging out at coffee shops were some of my favorites. Buenos Aires is truly one of the most incredible cities for people-watching, eating, and enjoying life at quite literally any pace you choose.
In any case, please find below an extensive dump of some photos I took along the way in my last week there <3