Argentina · Buenos Aires
Plan your Buenos Aires trip
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Palermo Soho & Hollywood
Best for first-timers who prioritise food and nightlifeThe city's design, food and nightlife engine — leafy streets, boutique hotels in converted townhouses, and the highest concentration of good restaurants and bars in Buenos Aires. Slightly removed from the historic centre but the easiest base for eating and going out well.
A boutique hotel in a converted Palermo Soho townhouse
Look for a small, design-led property near Plaza Serrano for walking access to the boutique and bar strip.
$$$A quieter guesthouse toward Palermo Hollywood
Crossing the old train tracks trades a bit of buzz for calmer nights and easier access to the neighbourhood's best dinner tables.
$$Recoleta
Best for a classic, comfortable, well-connected baseGrand, old-money and residential, with wide French-style boulevards, the cemetery, and a genteel calm after dark. It costs a little more and has fewer restaurants on the doorstep, but it is elegant, safe-feeling, and central.
A grande-dame hotel near Plaza Francia
This is Recoleta at its most postcard — expect polish, older architecture, and proximity to the cemetery and museums.
$$$$A boutique apartment-hotel toward Barrio Norte
A short walk from central Recoleta with softer rates and easy Subte access into the centre.
$$$San Telmo
Best for history-lovers and repeat visitors who want atmosphere over polishCobblestoned, bohemian and historic, with tango halls, antique shops and the Sunday street fair. Grittier and more atmospheric than Palermo or Recoleta, with real character but a bit more street-smarts required at night.
A restored colonial-era guesthouse near Plaza Dorrego
Original tiled floors and high ceilings are common in this barrio's converted mansions; book one with good reviews on street noise.
$$Puerto Madero
Best for comfort-first travellers and business tripsThe newest, shiniest part of the city — converted brick dock warehouses and glass towers along a marina, with a noticeably calmer, more corporate feel and the best modern infrastructure in town.
A modern high-rise hotel overlooking the docks
Trades neighbourhood texture for river views, newer buildings and an easy, safe walk into the historic centre.
$$$$Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Recoleta Cemetery
A walled necropolis of marble mausoleums, Greek columns and weeping angel statues so ornate it functions as an open-air sculpture museum.
Tip Grab a free map at the entrance and specifically ask for the Duarte family vault — Evita's grave is unmarked from the main paths and genuinely easy to walk past.
Teatro Colón
One of the finest opera houses on earth acoustically, and arguably the most beautiful building in Buenos Aires — gilded boxes, a…
Tip Take the guided tour even if you can't catch a performance; the backstage and rehearsal-room sections are as impressive as the auditorium itself.
Caminito & La Boca waterfront
A short pedestrian street of houses painted in salvaged ship paint, in every clashing colour, built by Genovese immigrant dockworkers a century ago.
Tip Stick to Caminito itself and the immediate blocks around the stadium, go in daylight, and take a taxi or rideshare directly there rather than walking in from a…
MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires)
The best single collection of 20th-century Latin American art anywhere, with major Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Antonio Berni pieces in a crisp,…
Tip Wednesdays have a reduced-price evening ticket and the museum stays open late, with far thinner crowds than weekend afternoons.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
A converted 1920s theatre turned bookshop, with the original stage now a café, the balconies stacked with shelves, and the frescoed ceiling still…
Tip Head straight to the upper balconies and look back down at the stage — the ceiling fresco is the whole show, and most browsers never look up.
Feria de San Telmo
A sprawling Sunday street market down Defensa and through Plaza Dorrego, packed with antiques, leather goods, street tango performances and food…
Tip Arrive by mid-morning before the crowds peak, and watch at least one impromptu tango performance in Plaza Dorrego — the informal ones outclass most paid shows.
Bosques de Palermo & Japanese Garden
A genuinely large park system with a boating lake, rose garden, planetarium and a serene, well-kept Japanese Garden with koi ponds and a proper…
Tip Rent a bike at the park entrance on a weekend; the roads close to cars and the whole area becomes a cyclists' and picnickers' commons.
Café Tortoni
Buenos Aires's oldest café, open since 1858, all dark wood, stained glass and marble-topped tables, with a history of hosting the city's writers,…
Tip Skip the queue by going for a mid-afternoon coffee rather than the busier lunch or evening slots, and pair it with the classic churros con chocolate.
Casa Rosada & Plaza de Mayo
The pink presidential palace where Evita once addressed the crowds from the balcony, facing the square that has hosted every protest, celebration and…
Tip Free guided tours run on weekends and need booking a few days ahead online with your passport details; otherwise the balcony and facade are worth the square alone,…
Day trips from Buenos Aires
Tigre & the Paraná Delta
An hour by train north of the city, Tigre sits at the mouth of a vast river delta of subtropical islands, wooden boathouses and slow brown water.
Day tripColonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
A one-hour high-speed ferry across the Río de la Plata lands you in a UNESCO-listed Portuguese colonial town of cobbled streets and sunset views back…
Day tripSan Antonio de Areco
The heartland of gaucho culture, about two hours west by car or bus: silversmiths, saddle-makers, an old pampas town square, and estancias where you…
Day tripEverything to do in Buenos Aires
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around, and the money question
The Subte, Buenos Aires's century-old subway, is the fastest way to cross town and the oldest metro system in Latin America — you can feel its age in the wooden-carriage Line A cars and the tiled Belle Époque stations.
Flights
Compare fares into Buenos Aires and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire from Buenos Aires
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.