Tango A trip to Buenos Aires is not complete without some sort of experience of the Tango, national dance of Argentina. Tango is best experienced not in La Boca and on Calle Florida, but in the Milongas. A milonga is both a place where a Tango dance will take place, as well as a specific type of tango dance.

There is a monthly magazine put out in Buenos Aires called "El Tangauta". It is the bible of everything Tango going on in Buenos Aires. Every group lesson and milonga is in there.

Milongas Milongas take place either during the day or late at night. "Matinée Milongas" usually start in the early afternoon and go until 8-10pm. Made popular by tourists who may struggle staying up until 5am every night, you will find many locals here as well more than willing to show you how to dance. the night Milongas officially start at around 11, but don't fill up until around 1:30. They may go on until 5 or 6 in the morning.

• Confiteria Idéal Suipacha 384 (just off of Corrientes, near Calle Florida). A good place for beginners to check out authentic tango, but skip the overpriced confitéria. Shows start around 30 pesos.
• Salon Canning,
• El Beso
• Porteňo y Bailarin

Lessons You can start learning tango through the group lessons offered at many studios. Some popular schools are at the Centro Bourges Culturel, on the very top floor. It can be very hard to find the actual place as there are some stairs you have to go up, and go through a museum. Ask the security people where the "Escuela de Tango" is. It can be very hot in summers in the room. The Centro is within the Galerias Pacifico, the overpriced American-style mall near Calle Florida on san Martin.

The best way to learn even if you do not have a partner is with private lessons. You can find instructors who charge as little as 50 pesos per hour, all the way up to ones that will charge 100 dollars per hour. Many of the more 'famous' instructors command a premium price. Be warned if you start taking tango lessons: it will seduce and consume your life and you will make many pilgrimages back to Buenos Aires to dance.

We do not want to fail to mention that Buenos Aires has became, in recent years, the favourite gay destination for international gay travelers, turning the "Paris of the South" in the gay capital of South America. For further info refer to Buenos Aires gay guide and activities

If you are a fan of walking in open green spaces and parks in big cities like Buenos Aires, be sure not to miss a promenade in Palermo, a beautiful area in the eastern part of the city. Here you will not only find open spaces to walk in, but a large lake where you can rent paddle boats and an immense flower garden with free entry!

Another great place to walk along and experience Argentine street life in a safe area (during the day only, folks - interesting characters emerge here at night!) is El Puerto de Buenos Aires.

The National Immigration Museum is not open on the weekends like Moon Guidebooks says. Use the Retiro subte.

La Boca has the Caminito pedestrian street with arts and crafts. There is also a river cruise you can take from there. There is a huge metal structure across the river which is picturesque. Tango dancers are in the cobblestone streets. You may try to catch a rowboat to Avellaneda on the other side of the water for 0.50 pesos (0.125 euros), but the rower may not allow you to if you are a tourist, citing it's dangerous (peligroso). There is no subte to La Boca, but many buses go there. In addition to tango, La Boca is famous for its football, and you may also take a tour of the La Bombonera Stadium. The buildings are painted in bright colors. You can also take pictures with you and a tango dancer for a small price! But if you want a true tango experience that is not put on a sliver platter for a European or American tourist, read below and experience the true Buenos Aires Tango experience.

The prices for most everything in La Boca is 2 to 3 times what it is in the rest of the city. It's been over tourist-ified, but is enjoyable if you just feel like being a tourist. Don't even think about coming here at night. It's safe during daytime in the Caminito neighborhood.

The Cementerio de la Recoleta: This is where all the rich families in Buenos Aires have their final resting places, usually in above the ground tombs. Check out the calico cats who have haunted the cemetary for generations. Be sure to visit the tomb of Eva Perón, the bastard daughter of an aristocrat who, despite having the most visited tomb in the cemetery, is considered by many to be too "low class" for eternal interment in Recoleta.

The Palermo Viejo district: This is a trendy neighborhood with charming cobblestone streets, bookstores, bars and boutiques; definitely better than the touristic San Telmo area for a nightime excursion. The Plaza Italia station is the closest metro stop.

More information is available at the Buenos Aires official tourism website, including suggested itineraries.

By plane

Ezeiza International Airport (IATA: EZE) (ICAO: SAEZ)

Ricchieri Highway, Km. 22. Tel. 5480-6111 - International and some domestic flights use the Ezeiza International Airport (referred to as Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini), located in the suburban area named Gran Buenos Aires, about 30-45 minutes from downtown by highway. Planes fly to most countries in South America, the United States, and Europe. Non-stop service to the U.S. is available from Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (AA until 03Sep), Dallas (AA), Miami (AA), Houston (Continental),New York (AA, United & AR) and Washington, D.C. (United).

Some flights from Aerolíneas Argentinas to Ushuaia leave from Ezeiza during peak season, so check which airport you fly into or leave from.

There is also a useful Aerolínas Argentinas flight direct to Sydney, with a stop in Auckland and a twice-weekly Malaysian Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur via Cape Town and Johannesburg. Direct flights to Europe are available with British Airways (with a stop in Sao Paulo) [1], Lufthansa [2], Iberia [3], Air France [4], Air Comet [5] and Aerolíneas Argentinas [6]. Also Air Canada flies from Toronto via Santiago. There is a departure tax of $18 USD (about 54 pesos) for all international flights.

From the airport there are the usual taxis, private cars (remises), buses and minibuses.

The cheapest way to get downtown is to take the 86 bus. The stop is just outside terminal B arrivals, you need to walk 100 meters. the bus will take almost 2 hours to get to the Mayo square, going straight on Rivadavia Avenue an then on Hipolito Yrigoyen street. It will cost less than 2 pesos to get downtown, and be ready to have coins to use them on the bus, you may get some asking for change at the counters where the airport tax is paid or at any shops. If planing to go from downtown to the airport, be sure to ride the 86 bus that says "AEROPUERTO" as there are several 86 buses that go to other places. the bus stops all along Mayo Avenue and then Rivadavia Avenue.

Trips on the comfortable Manuel Tienda León [7] coaches from EZE to Retiro cost 35 pesos (as of May 2008). The coaches leave every half hour - less frequently during evenings. From the Retiro Terminal, a smaller van will deliver you to any downtown address for an additional 3 pesos. Manuel Tienda León also offers transfers between EZE and Aeroparque. Tickets can be purchased from their booth just outside of customs.

Prepaid taxis (remises) from EZE to downtown cost about 75 pesos. Hailing a non-prepaid taxi is not recommended for tourists, but if doing so, be aware that there is a 2 peso toll and a 0.80 peso toll if the driver goes by the autopista; the driver will inform you as you approach the toll booths.

If you do speak some Spanish, you may find it cheaper to walk outside of customs, find a taxi that is dropping someone off, and hop in. You may see the taxi drivers slowly driving through. Put your bags in, and tell the driver "Al reloj" ('to the meter', meaning you want to pay price reflected on the meter instead of negotiating a price for the ride). You may have to pay the aforementioned tolls, but it works out to around 50 to 55 pesos to downtown.

When you wish to return to the airport when you leave, you can talk to any cab driver and tell him that you need a ride to the airport. Frequently you can negotiate. They will come pick you up from your apartment or hotel and drive you to the airport. Some of the best insights about Buenos Aires can be gleaned from taxi drivers. If you are new to the city, it's probably good also to have a map out, so that the driver knows he or she can't go in circles.

Another alternative is that some of the prepaid remises will provide you with a 20% discount coupon for your airport return. If you manage to hold on to this coupon, dial them directly to come and collect you and save yourself 20%. You must also keep the original receipt, as they need reassurance that you used the remise from the airport originally.

Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (IATA: AEP) (ICAO: SABE)

Located in the Ave. Rafael Obligado. 4576-5300 extension 107/122 (Information: 4576-1111). Most domestic flights use the smaller Jorge Newbery Airport (referred to as Aeroparque), 10 minutes away from the downtown area. You can take a taxi (25 pesos) or bus from there.

By train

There are national railways, but they are scarce. The terminal stations are the same from suburban transportation. From Retiro station you can take the train to the Tigre Delta. There you can do a boat cruise and see the wetland and recreational area of the porteños.

There are some long distance domestic services. Buses are usually faster and more comfortable, but also three times as expensive. There are several main stations in the BA area (see below).

Retiro - Córdoba (overnight): departs Mon. & Fri. 20:10, arrives 10:25

Córdoba - Retiro (overnight): departs Thu. & Sun. 16:30, 07:33 (25 pesos - tourist class)

Retiro - Tucumán (overnight): departs Mon. 10:05, arrives 10:40

Tucumán - Retiro (overnight): departs Wed. 18:00, arrives 19:20 (35 pesos - tourist class)

By car

You can get to Buenos Aires from any of the neighboring countries by car, but it is far away from most of the borders. It is only common to travel there from Uruguay and southern Brazil.

There are four main highways entering the city, those permit fast communication with the huge suburban area and access to the national routes. As with the trains, the most important routes are centered in Buenos Aires, so you will have no problem driving to and from the rest of the country.

Heading to Rosario city, you can travel by highway all the way (north access highway, then route 9), from here you can keep going to the north by a good route (Panamericana), or turn right about 150km from Buenos Aires and go to the Mesopotamia region.

To the west, you can drive to the Cuyo region using the north access highway, then the route 8.

Going out with the west access highway, you can follow by routes 7 and 5, heading to the west and southwest, respectively. For visiting western Patagonia, the route 5 is a good choice.

Finally for visiting the Atlantic shore of Buenos Aires (province), you head to the southeast access highway and the the route 2, a very good highway to Mar del Plata city.

By bus

There are very good services parting from Retiro bus station, covering the whole country. By buying the most expensive tickets, you can get very comfortable seats with completely reclining back rests and you will be served meals and drinks by an attendant on board.

Almost all the long-distance buses use the huge and well-organised Retiro bus station on the northern edge of the city centre. The buses are mostly modern and the roads are good; there are frequent services to most parts of the country and international bus services to neighbouring countries. A second bus terminal is situated in the Liniers neighborhood, but it is much smaller and not connected to the subway.

You may catch taxis from Retiro bus station, and the subte (underground) also stops there. There are many local buses that stop outside the station as well.

There are numerous operators. The basement level is for cargo and package services. The ground level holds waiting areas, cafes, shops and services including a barber. On the upper level you find a large number (close to 200) of ticket offices, or boleterias. The upper level is conveniently divided by color into geographic areas for companies which serve the place you want to go, including an international area. Look for the signs.

Cama Suites or Dormi Camas lie completely flat and some have dividing curtains. With these services, the seating arrangement is one seat one side and two seats on the other side. Semi-Cama services are laid out two and two, and do not recline as far. Companies usually have photographs of bus interiors. Make sure the journey you choose has the service you want. Most buses are double decker.

Bus travel times to/from Buenos Aires:

• Mendoza: 13-17 hours
• Córdoba: 9 hours
• Bariloche: 22 hours
• Iguazú: 20 hours
• Rosario: 4 hours

Terminal de Omnibus de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

• Address: Antártida Argentina avenue & Ramos Mejía
• Phone: 4310-0700
• Subte: Retiro (Linea C)

To find out which companies are available for a specific destination you can consult the official webpage of the terminal Retiro and an online information system for buses from Buenos Aires to the main national and international destinations.

By boat

There are daily journeys to and from Colonia and Montevideo in Uruguay.

Two companies operate this service.

• Buquebus - Puerto Madero terminal - Córdoba avenue & Madero avenue. 4316-6400/6500/6550.
• Ferrytour - Dársena Norte terminal - Viamonte & Costanera Sur - 4311-4700

The services are now coordinated by Buquebus. The ferrytour ship is the slower one, used for Colonia. You may still make a fast trip to Colonia, at a higher price.

From the official city site:

The City is an important destination for the maritime and fluvial cruisers industry of South America. The Benito Quinquela Martín Passenger Terminal, a few blocks away from downtown, at Ramón Castillo street between Avenida de los Inmigrantes and Mayor Luisioni street, has a surface of 7,100 square meters, a boarding room for 1,000 passengers and baggage facilities with capacity for 2,500 suitcases. In addition, it provides tourist information, handicrafts shops, snack bars; and Migration, Customs, Interpol and Prefectura (Coast Guard) Offices.

You may also take a boat from nearby Tigre to Nueva Palmira in Uruguay. Trains leave from Retiro Station to Tigre frequently. Boat services to Nueva Palmira also connect to Colonia del Sacramento by bus.

There is also a service from Montevideo-Carmelo-Tigre-Buenos Aires. It costs around 10 dollars one way for the whole shebang. Get the tickets and depart from Tres Cruces in Montevideo. The price includes bus to Carmelo, boat to Tigre and bus to the centre of Buenos Aires. The official website is http://www.cacciolaviajes.com and they often have very good special offers that include some nights in hotels in Buenos Aires.

By freighter

From Europe:

Grimaldi Lines - Freighter Travel operates a bi-monthly freighter link from Europe to South-America via Africa. Five freighter ships do the rotation and each accept 12 passengers. The journey lasts about 30 days (60 days for a round trip) and port calls include: Hamburg, Tillbury, Antwerp, Le Havre, Bilbao, Casablanca, Dakar, Banjul, Conakry, Freetown, Salvador de Bahia, Vitoria, Rio de Janeiro, Santos Zarate, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Paranagua, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Dakar, Emden and back to Hamburg. Only the stops in Europe and at Buenos Aires accept embarcation and disembarcation of passengers although all the port cities are accessible to the passengers for visit. All the port calls are subject to change depending on the loading and unloading needs of the ship. Tickets for a cabin on a Europe to BA trip start at 1450 euros/pp for a double cabin and 1890 for a single cabin (more expensive luxury cabins are available).

The public transport in Buenos Aires is very good, although crowded during rush hour. The metro network is not very large, but reaches most tourist attractions of the city, and there is a large range of bus routes and several suburban railways used by commuters.

Finding your way around is easy. Most of the city grid is divided into equal squares with block number in the hundreds. Most streets are one way with the adjacent parallels going the other way, so beware that the bus or taxi won't follow the same route back. Going by taxi, you simply need to tell the driver the street and block number, eg. "Santa Fe 2100"; or two intersecting streets, eg. "Corrientes y Callao".

City maps are issued by many different publishers (Guía T, LUMI) and the local tourist authority. They are indispensable for those wanting to use public transportation, since they include all bus routes. Be aware that some maps are bottom up (South on the top of the map). This is true for the maps at the official taxi booth at Ezeiza airport.

By taxi

Taxis are not the quickest option for moving around in the most congested areas at rush hours, as traffic jams are common. Still, you will find that taxis are usually rather inexpensive, convenient, and exciting (in a white-knuckled, the roller-coaster-seems-to-have-some-pieces-missing kind of way.)

It is safest to have your hotel or host call for a radio taxi. If you must hail a cab on the street, watch out for private operators disguised as commercial services. Also avoid paying in large bills as there have been cases of counterfeit change.

If a taxi driver says that your money is counterfeit and says that he will take you to an ATM, just tell him you want to get out there. There are many stories of travelers (especially when they spoke little Spanish and were coming from the airport) being robbed under this premise. It also helps if you see a police officer nearby because if they are trying to rob you they will probably be scared off. If you are headed to a hostel or hotel, the receptionist will usually understand the situation if you honestly do have counterfeit money, and will lend you money to pay the cab.

Also, if the cab "breaks down", it is recommended that you just get out and find another cab.

Also recommended is keeping your luggage in the seat with you if possible in case a situation arises in which you want to get out of the taxi.

By bus

The principal means of public transportation within the city, are the buses (colectivos). They have a cheap maximum fixed price as long as you are moving inside the city borders (1 peso). Tickets can only be bought on the bus, through a machine that accept coins only.

There are more than one hundred lines, covering the whole city. They work 24 hours a day, the whole year; but run less frequently on holidays and at late hours. For each route the bus is painted differently to make them easier to distinguish. The best way to figure out the bus system is to buy a Guía "T". It's essentially a little book with a directory of streets, which correspond to map pages, and have a bus listing on the facing page for each map. Once you get your hands on one, it's very easy to figure out, but give yourself fifteen minutes the first few times you use it to plan a route. These can be bought at many kiosks around the city, or subway stations.

Otherwise, visitors who are comfortable with speaking a little Spanish can call 131 toll-free from any phone for help finding which colectivo to take. You just have to tell the corner (or the street and the number) where you're at and the one you want to get to.

On most services, board the bus and tell the driver your destination (or do what Argentines do -- just say "un peso, por favor" meaning you'll be traveling a normal distance and want to pay 1 peso); he will press a button instructing the coin machine to take a certain amount of money for you, which will then appear on the machine as the amount to insert. Step a bit further back into the bus and insert coins into the machine which now knows your destination and has calculated your fare because the driver punched it in. You will receive change and your ticket automatically, collect it at the bottom of the machine.

If you see a little metal knob on the coin machine, it's not for dispensing your ticket like the candy/toy machines in grocery stores in the U.S. ... it's the door to the inside of the machine to change the paper and whatnot. Don't turn it!

You can also use buses to move to and inside the suburban area (Gran Buenos Aires), but the fares are higher (up to 2 pesos, depending on the distance and service). The suburban-only lines (you can differentiate them because their line numbers are above 200) have lower standards of comfort, and many of them don't run after 11 pm.

By metro (subway or underground)

The city has a metro network ("subte", short form of "subterráneo", which means "underground"). It is very efficient - you can gain a lot of time by using it - and very cheap too (0.90 pesos for any combination). If you need to be somewhere by 9 am or 9.30 am on a weekday, however, the Subte will be incredibly crowded and depending on where you are catching it from, you may have to miss several trains in a row before there is space for you. Once on board, during peak hours it can get very crowded. Factor this into your timing arrangements to make sure that you make your meeting on time.

The lines converge to the downtown area and connect the main bus and train terminals.

In the southeast branch (the E line), the service is extended by a trainway known as premetro, but beware, it goes to some of the least secure places in the city. Premetro is 0.60 pesos (approx. 0.15 euros), or 0.70 with a Subte Transfer.

The subte works approximately from 5 am to 10 pm, except on Sundays, when service starts at 8 am.

The A line is a destination on its own because of the old wooden carriages. It was the first subway/underground built in Latin America (1913). The subte article on Wikipedia [8] has some information on this.

Many subte stations have interesting murals, tiles and artwork. Transferring between lines is indicated by combinación signs.

You may purchase magnetic stripe tickets encoded with more than one fare. This saves the time of individual cashier transactions; and you may also buy a rechargeable card at some stations. Tickets are not swiped upon exiting stations, therefore you may use one magnetic stripe ticket for more than one traveller, as long as it has the required number of fares.

The subte and premetro services are under Metrovias S.A. control. You can reach their Customer Service personnel by calling -toll free, within Argentina- to 0800-555-1616 or by sending a fax to 4553-9270.

• Buenos Aires metro map

By train

There are a good deal of railways connecting the suburban area in a star shape. The quality of the service ranges from excellent to very bad, depending of the line; ask before using them at nighttime.

The main railway terminals are Retiro, Constitución, Once and Federico Lacroze. From all of these you can then use the metro and bus network to get right into the centre. The suburban fares are very cheap.

More information:

• Metrovias: Urquiza trainway and metro
  • Good service, safe for travelling at any hour.
• Metropolitano: San Martín, Roca, Belgrano Sur and other trainways.
  • Usually the worst service, and the least secure one. Used to be an acceptable service, but there are corruption issues.
• TBA: Sarmiento and Mitre trainways
  • Good service and mostly good trains. The Sarmiento line is so far the most used one, is totally overhauled and can be very difficult to use in rush hours; also covers unsafe places. The Mitre line, in one of its branches (which covers the richest zones) has the best trains seen here and in Latin America, featuring air conditioning, internal heating and very comfortable seats. This branch takes you to some really beautiful places like "Tigre", a very picturesque small town with old french-style little houses and a beautiful walkside by the river near a theme park, Parque de la Costa in the north of the suburban area.
• Trenes del Litoral: From Posadas (neighboring Paraguay) to Estacion Frederico Lacroze throught Paso de los Libres (neighboring Brazil) and Concordia (neighboring Uruguay).
  • Fair service, depending on the price. All cars are a little dirty and the train is very slow (20 hours). Tourist Class has bad service, but First Class or the Dormitory Class are fairly comfortable. It is better to go by bus, using the "coche cama" service. About 11 hours from Posadas to Buenos Aires or by plane in 1.5 hours.

By car

If one is truly adventurous (and has a bit of a death-wish), cars are available to rent in Buenos Aires. There are several things to keep in mind before renting a car in Buenos Aires. First, Buenos Aires is such an excellent city for walking that if something is within 20 or 30 blocks, it is often worth the extra effort to go on foot and get to know the city on a more intimate level. The terrain is flat...get out there and put those legs to work! Second, if you aren't (or can't be) much of a walker, the public transportation system in Buenos Aires is cheap and efficient. It can get you anywhere, and fast! Third, and perhaps most important, is that the traffic in Buenos Aires is extremely chaotic. Stoplights, signs, traffic laws...for many porteño drivers, are just suggestions. Picture yourself trying to get several thousand heads of cattle to move down the street and stay inside the lanes, and you have a decent idea of driving in Buenos Aires. The best advice? Take the bus! Otherwise, lots of luck to you. Argentina has one of the highest motor vehicle accident mortality rates in the world.

Money

The Argentinian currency is the peso. The exchange rate is currently holding steady around 3 pesos to the US dollar, almost 5 pesos to the euro and over six pesos to the UK pound. A$100 peso bills are notoriously hard to break-- avoid changing round numbers so you get some change (e.g. ask for A$90 instead of A$100). Coins are rare and required for buses, so try not to spend them in stores.

Money can be exchanged at Banco de la Nación Argentina at the airport and at any of the cambios along Florida or Lavalle, but, if you have the time, shop around for the best rate. Traveller's checks are rarely used and may actually be difficult to exchange, but there is an American Express office at San Martin Plaza. ATMs are your best source of cash.

Banks: Banks open from 10 to 3 pm., only on weekdays. Banelco or "Red Link" ATMs can be found around the city, but banks and ATMs are few and far between in residential neighborhoods like Palermo. Try major roads near metro stations. Fees depend on your hometown bank and so there are few hidden surprises because the ATM can switch to English. Sometimes the machines also dispense dollars for international bank cards that are members of the Cirrus and PLUS| networks. Visitors from Brazil can find many Banco Itaú agencies all over the city.

Souvenirs

• The mate: It is a sort of cup made from different materials, commonly from a dessicated vegetal core, sometimes with silver or gold ornaments; which is used to drink mate, the most traditional social non-alcoholic beverage. The mate is drunk in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil.
• Other gaucho items: Traditional clothes, knives, etc.
• Leather items: The cow is totally used here: meat, milk, sausages, and leather; all of that is high quality. You can find excellent coates and other leather products in Murillo street.
• Alfajores: These traditional cake/ cookies, often containing dulce de leche, are delicious.
• Tango Shoes The zona de calzados is just Past Diagonal Norte on Suipacha. You will see many shops grouped together that sell tango shoes. As with many things in Buenos Aires shop around and make sure you are not getting the gringo price. Men can buy excellent hand made leather shoes for around US$50. For those of you with time on your hands you can ask them to make you a pair. They will draw your foot on a piece of paper and you can design your own shoe for the same price. Do be aware that if they tell you that it will be ready in a week, that probably means about 10 days.

Shopping Districts

• Florida Street and Lavalle Street (from 500 up to 1000) are for pedestrians only, are the main tourist's shops in MicroCentro. At the intersection of these two pedestrian streets, there is often some sort of interesting street performance going on, especially at night.

• The Palermo Viejo in Palermo has many shops that will appeal to young or artsy people (think New York's SoHo). Nearby is Murillo Street, a block full of leather houses.

Markets and Fairs

There are many artisans' fairs, most notably the weekend Recoleta fair located in the Francia park, near Recoleta cemetery (which is an excellent place for photography) and on Sundays the San Telmo market. In every fair you will find some excellent hand made products, but beware, also there are industrialized products disguised as "hand made".

Saturdays and Sundays are great days for the outdoor markets, especially in the summer. The Feria Recoleta (in Plaza Francia) is an assortment of all sorts of artesania, from jewelry to shawls; and Plaza Serrano in Palermo viejo comes alive in the afternoon with a feria of artesania in the plaza and freelance designer clothes in the bars surrounding the plaza. Another nearby Plaza (in Palermo viejo) between Malabia, Armenia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua streets has stalls with items for sale. Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo offers tango and antiquities. Defensa street on Sunday from Chile to San Juan comes alive performers and vendors. The crowds are thick, watch your pockets.

In the Corrientes Ave. from the Obelisco (big obelisk landed in the intersection with 9 de Julio avenue) up to Callao Ave., you will find a lot of cheap bookstores where you can find many books mostly in Spanish. "El Ateneo," a massive bookstore with a reasonable offering of books in English, is at Santa Fe 1860.

The Último Taller at Jorge L. Borges 1975 (between Soler and Nicaragua streets) sells funky candles and street address plates and markers; there are charming cats, and photos can be etched onto these plates as well. The shop is open Monday to Saturday 10am-9pm; and its telephone number is 4831-4135. There are other stores that sell nice candles in this area as well.

In Buenos Aires, and in the rest of the country, beef is king, but it's not your only option in this cosmopolitan city. Italian food is pervasive but in neighborhoods like Palermo pizza joints are seeing heavy competition from sushi, fusion, and even vegetarian bistros. Just about everything can be delivered-- including fantastic, gourmet helado (ice cream).

If you're not vegetarian, you will want to try asado (beef/steak barbecue) at a parrilla, restaurants specializing in roasted. There are relatively expensive parrillas, and more simple ones. The bife de lomo (tenderloin) is unbelievably tender in comparison to US beef and is more reminiscent of European cuts.

The Italian and Spanish food are almost native here, as the cultural heritage heralds in great part from these two countries. Other popular meals are pizzas and empanadas (small pastries stuffed with combinations of cheese and meats). They are quite a popular home delivery or takeaway/takeout option.

The pizza is excellent in Buenos Aires, due to the Italian immigrant heritage. Pizza comes al molde (cooked in a pan, usually medium to thick crust), a la piedra (baked in a stone oven, usually thin to medium crust), and a la parilla (cooked on a parilla grill, very thin, crispy crust).

One incredible and typical Argentinian kind of "cookie", is the alfajor, which consists of two round sweet biscuits joined together with a sweet jam, generally dulce de leche (milk jam, akin to caramel), covered with chocolate, merengue or something similarly sweet.

Budget

There are a lot of al paso (walk through) places to eat; you eat standing up or in high chairs at the bar. Meals vary from hot-dogs (panchos), beef sausages (chorizos, or its sandwich version choripán), pizzas, milanesas (breaded fried cutlets), etc. Don't forget to indulge in the perennially popular mashed squash - it is delicious and often comes with rice and makes a full meal in itself. It is perfect for vegetarians and vegans to fill up on.

Mid-range

You can go to a huge variety of small restaurants, with cheap and generous servings, most notably the ones owned by Spanish and Italian immigrants. There are also many places which offer foreign meals, mostly Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Arabic, Spanish, and Italian.

Siga la Vaca - several locations throughout the city, notably in Puerto Madero and Costanera, offers buffet-style asado fresh off the grill and includes a well-stocked salad bar. Including wine, approximately $10 per person.

• Las Cholas, Arce 306, ☎ 4899-0094. Great parrilla specializing in Northern Argentine found in Las Cañitas. The rooftop seating upstairs is a great environment. Don't expect to see many tourists here, just a lot of Porteños out for a three hour weekend meal. Try the Humita (made with mashed corn, cheese and spices) and Tamales (a sort of flour with minced beef) or anything off of the parrilla is great. Do not skip dessert. $10.  edit

• Guerrin (pizza), Corrientes 1368, ☎ 4371-8141. Go for a great pizza in a really noisy environment 20$.  edit

• El Farol, Estado de Israel 4488 (y Rocamora), ☎ 4866-3233. "Typical argentinian food": spanish + italian + meat. Very high quality. 30$.  edit

• La Biela (near the Recoleta cemetery). very nice cafe edit

• Café Tortoni, Ave. de Mayo. Famous in its own right; it is an old, classic and luxurious cafe. There is also a pool hall; buy a token (ficha) from a waiter for 2 pesos (0.5 euros). Coffee is 4 pesos (1 euro). They also have a tango show twice a week for around 25 pesos. You must book in advance. edit

Splurge

The most expensive and luxurious restaurants are found 0170.20.11.116 17:12, 23 July 2008 (EDT)n the Puerto Madero zone, near downtown, heading to the River Plate. But the nicer places in terms of decoration, food and personality are in Buenos_Aires/Palermo.

The main areas to go out are: Puerto Madero, close to the Casa Rosada, renovated harbour full of restaurants, some hotels and nice for a walk. Safe during the day and night. Recoleta area close to the famous cemetery, restaurants, bars, cinema complex, used to be trendy, now mainly for tourists. Palermo SoHo and Palermo Hollywood, full of trendy stores, restaurants, and bars; young and trendy, nice for a walk, eating and drinking. Palermo Las Cañitas is another nice area close to the Polo stadium.

Buenos Aires has a popular cafe culture.

• Cafe Tortoni Avenida de Mayo 829 between Piedras and Tacuari. Opened in 1858. The hot chocolate is incredible.
• Confiteria Richmond Florida 468 between Lavalle and Corrientes. Mentioned in Graham Greene' The Honorary Consul. Opened in 1913. It has been modified.
• La Biela Quintana 596 nand RM Ortiz. Luxurious. You can sit outside underneath a huge ancient rubber tree for a little bit extra.
• Confiteria Ideal is ancient and less modified. It is located on Suipacha.
• The unidentified cafe on the corner of Uriarte and Honduras in Palermo viejo (towards Santa Fe) has an incredible European ambiance with good food and lots of newspapers and magazines to read. Also try the community centre across the street named "Club Eros" that serves great lunches and dinners for ridiculously low prices (expect to pay 6 pesos for a menu including steak, salad, glass of wine).
• "La Violeta" is also a lovely cafe, a bit off the beaten (tourist) path but you can take the oldest subway line in the city, Linea A, to get there. Well worth the trip.

You may want to try lágrima, a "tear" of coffee on a cup of milk.

Try mate: You can buy a mate in any Coto or Norte (these are the names for two of the many supermarket chains available, like K-Mart or Wal-Mart; anyway, this last one you can find in Buenos Aires as well) for 3-5 pesos (0.75 to 1.25 euros) and then a metal or bamboo "straw" (called a "bombilla") for around the same. Don't forget the yerba, the actual "tea" you drink; an excellent brand is Nobleza Gaucha, "Taragui", or "Rosamonte". Anyway, ask a local to help you in preparing and drinking the mate, since it's not as easy as it seems. Many visitors take mates as a gift when they go away and they become big fans (locals tend to drink it bitter (amargo), but foreigners generally like it sweet (dulce)). Outside the country, you can find yerba in Argentine stores in big cities like New York, Madrid, London, Paris, Miami, Tel-Aviv, and others.

Clubs & nightlife

For many, Buenos Aires has the best nightlife in the world, a great variety of bars, clubs and discos, that are opened until late hours (6am or 7am).

The Palermo Barrios (SoHo, Hollywood, Las Canita or simply "PalVo") have many hip restaurants that turn into bars as it gets later.