Buenos Aires

Argentina·South America

Currency

ARS

Language

Spanish

Timezone

Argentina

Continent

South America

Our guide

Discover Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires looks like a European capital that washed up in the southern hemisphere — Haussmann façades, domes, cavernous bookshops — with an energy entirely its own. The Teatro Colón ranks among the world's finest opera houses for its acoustics. The Pink House closes Plaza de Mayo, where the country's political history has played out in the open. Recoleta Cemetery, a miniature city of vaults, holds Eva Perón's tomb. Tango is danced in San Telmo and La Boca, and watched everywhere else.

When to go

Southern hemisphere: the seasons are reversed. Spring, September to November, and autumn, March to May, are the two good windows — mild, bright, no extremes. Summer from December to February is hot and heavy, and the city empties in January when Porteños leave for the coast. Winter stays mild but damp.

Getting around

The Subte, opened in 1913, was Latin America's first underground; six lines cover most of the centre. A SUBE card is essential — it works on the metro and on the colectivos, the very dense bus network. Each neighbourhood walks well, but the city is vast: Recoleta and La Boca are not linked on foot.

Where to eat

Asado is an institution and the parrilla is where it happens. Empanadas are eaten standing, medialunas at breakfast, dulce de leche everywhere. Italian immigration left a pizza culture that is anything but incidental — Güerrín, on Avenida Corrientes, is its best-known address. The city protects its historic cafés under the bares notables label: the Tortoni, Las Violetas and La Biela are among them. No halal address is listed in our data.

Good to know

Spanish dominates and English thins out quickly outside the tourist quarters. The Argentine peso runs high inflation: prices move month to month, and any figure read in advance needs checking on the ground. Currency rules change often — ask close to departure rather than trusting an old article. Distances get underestimated: the city sprawls well beyond what a map of the centre suggests.

Smart Planning