The 12 best things to do in Buenos Aires for first-time travelers and returning visitors
Buenos Aires is a city that combines old-world European elegance with South American passion and charm. When you join us on one of our Buenos Aires tours, you’ll wander along wide, regal avenues, admire sultry tango dancers, and join real-life cowboys for steak cooked over an open fire. Buenos Aires truly is a melting pot of cultures and experiences.
“Our day touring Buenos Aires with a night of tango was so immersive and memorable,” said traveler Alex after joining our Chile to Argentina: Santiago, Patagonia & Buenos Aires tour. “So many cultural experiences all in one day, so much to take in!” If you’re visiting Buenos Aires, especially if it’s for the first time, chances are you’ll want to experience a little bit of everything. Below, you’ll find our list of the best things to do in Buenos Aires for first-time visitors—though we think chances are good that you’ll want to come back and experience them again and again.
1. Attend a tango show
If you’re trying to figure out what to do in Buenos Aires, it doesn’t get much better than this. Tango performances are among the best of what Buenos Aires has to offer and are a must-see, especially if this is your first time in the city. Buenos Aires is the birthplace of tango, and you won’t have to look too hard to find dancers lost in this passionate art form. Join the Tango Show & Dinner excursion offered on our Buenos Aires tours to watch a dinner performance by accomplished tangueros, or tango dancers, or learn some basic steps on the Buenos Aires Tango Lesson, Show & Dinner excursion on our Chile to Argentina: Santiago, Patagonia & Buenos Aires tour. “I loved the optional tango excursion on my tour,” said staffer Valerie after joining our Grand Tour of South America: Brazil, Argentina & Peru. “That dance is impossibly cool, and the performances were really impressively done.”
2. Soak up art, history, and science in the museums
Buenos Aires is one of our favorite cities for world-class museums. The accessibility of renowned artwork is one of the many reasons why Buenos Aires is often called “The Paris of South America.” Spend some free time on your trip to Buenos Aires perusing the extensive collection at the National Museum of Fine Arts, or pop into the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (or MALBA, for short) to see works from modern South American masters such as Frida Khalo, Diego Rivera, and Antonio Berni. If science or history is more your speed, check out the Museo de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia (the city’s oldest science museum) or Museo Evita instead. “I consider myself a museum lover, and while studying abroad in Buenos Aires, I visited close to 50 different museums!” said staffer Julietta. “One of my favorites was Museo Evita, which immortalizes the life of Eva Perón. She was more than a political presence, and she was one of Argentina’s most-loved first women.”
3. Visit the tomb of Evita
In the heart of Buenos Aires’ elegant Recoleta neighborhood lies Recoleta Cemetery, a tranquil labyrinth of intricate tombs, mausoleums, and statues. The cemetery feels more like a city than a graveyard, with shady stone walkways winding through densely packed above-ground tombs. When you join one of our Buenos Aires tours, we’ll take you to admire the Art Deco, Baroque, and Neo-Gothic mausoleums that house some of Argentina’s most influential figures, including Eva Perón. If you want to explore more of the impressive Recoleta neighborhood during your free time, head to the nearby El Ateneo Grand Splendid. This former theater is now one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world and even features a cafe on its stage where you can sip coffee while you read.
4. Hang out in the parks of Palermo
“I grew up in Buenos Aires, and the parks in the Palermo neighborhood are my favorite because I used to go there with my grandparents,” said staffer Gustavo. “There is an area of one park with a beautiful white bridge, and it’s a great place for family fun. Go to ride peddle boats, eat garrapiñadas (candied almonds), and relax in nice picnic areas.” When you join our Grand Tour of South America: Brazil, Argentina & Peru, you’ll have the opportunity to stroll through some of South America’s most gorgeous parks and gardens, including those in Buenos Aires’ hip Palermo neighborhood. We especially love Parque Tres de Febrero (also known as Bosques de Palermo or the Palermo Woods) for its sprawling green spaces and picturesque El Rosedal (which translates to Rose Garden), and the Jardín Japonés, or Japanese Garden, for its arched bridges and Shinto gate.
5. Take a stroll through Plaza de Mayo
Plaza de Mayo, the birthplace of 1810’s May Revolution, which saw Argentina split from Spain, is the oldest and most historically significant public square in the city. One of our favorite things to do in Buenos Aires is stroll through the plaza and stand beneath the famous “Evita balcony” on the Casa Rosada, or pink house, Buenos Aires’ presidential palace. It’s where Juan and Eva Perón stood to address the people of Buenos Aires. Join us on a tour of Buenos Aires to visit the square and pop into the Metropolitan Cathedral, where Pope Francis led mass when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.
6. Admire the view from Palacio Barolo
A short walk down Avenida de Mayo from Plaza de Mayo, you’ll find the architecturally fascinating Palacio Barolo. The landmark building was inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy and is split into three parts: inferno, purgatory, and paradise. Although Palacio Barolo is mostly populated with offices, tours of the building are open to the public, and you can join one during your free time on a tour of Buenos Aires. There’s a lighthouse tower at the top of the building that offers spectacular views of the city from a glass dome.
7. Explore the La Boca neighborhood
The Italian-influenced La Boca neighborhood, with its iconic El Caminito, a narrow street of technicolor houses, is one of staffer Jamie’s favorite places to visit in Argentina. “One of my favorite days on tour in Buenos Aires was the day we walked through the La Boca neighborhood, which is as colorful and lively a place as I’ve ever seen,” she said after returning from our Chile to Argentina: Santiago, Patagonia & Buenos Aires tour. “This is surely one of the best places to visit in Argentina. La Boca is an old Italian port, an artist haven, and a hub for both tango and soccer. One of my favorite things was looking up at the colorful houses and seeing life-size puppets standing on the balconies—everyone from soccer legend Maradona to the famed Evita, former First Lady of Argentina, were represented.” If you’re a sports fan, be sure to check out the Boca Juniors’ La Bombonera soccer stadium when you’re in the area—it’s just a five-minute walk from El Caminito.
8. Sip coffee at a quaint cafe
Buenos Aires’ cafe culture rivals that of some of the major cities in Italy and Spain. Everywhere you turn, you’ll find streets studded with historic cafes, each more charming than the last. Don’t let your trip to Buenos Aires go by without sipping an espresso or a cortado on a leafy, streetside patio—especially if it’s your first time in this effervescent city.
9. Browse the Mercado San Telmo
San Telmo is the oldest barrio in Buenos Aires and is a lively neighborhood characterized by historic mansions, colonial architecture, and cobbled streets. Pass through on our Rio, Iguazú Falls & Buenos Aires tour to admire the welcoming cafes and antique shops, or pop into the historic Mercado San Telmo on our Food & Wine: Flavors of Chile & Argentina tour to sample empanadas, shop for souvenirs, and try some of the best coffee in the city. If you happen to visit San Telmo on a Sunday, you’ll find the cobblestone streets lined with stalls selling antiques, crafts, and street foods at the weekly Feria de San Telmo.
10. Step inside one of the world’s most beautiful opera houses
The Teatro Colón, located in Buenos Aires’ city center, is considered one of the greatest opera houses in the world for its stunning architecture and near-perfect acoustics. Construction of the building began in 1889 and took nearly 20 years to complete, with two out of three of the theater’s architects meeting untimely ends before they could finish the project. Despite the tragedies and delays, the theater opened in 1908 as one of the most stunning opera houses in the world, with seven levels of intricate woodwork, gilded decor, and hand-painted frescoes. When you join our Food & Wine: Flavors of Chile & Argentina tour, you’ll have the opportunity to step inside the building and admire the stage, which has been graced by artists such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, ballerina Anna Pavlova, and famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
11. Walk across the Puente de la Mujer
The Puente de la Mujer, or Women’s Bridge, is one of the most famous Buenos Aires, Argentina, attractions. The striking pedestrian-only bridge stretches across the port of the city’s Puerto Madero waterfront district and was designed to represent a couple dancing tango. The bridge’s mast rotates, swinging the bridge open and allowing boats to pass through. When you explore Puerto Madero during a free afternoon on a trip to Buenos Aires, be sure to check out one of the neighborhood’s many high-end restaurants and cocktail bars.
12. Enjoy an authentic asado
One of our top things to do in Buenos Aires is to enjoy the city’s epic food scene, and there’s no better place to do that than at an authentic asado, a social barbeque. Head to the Pampas, the countryside outside of Buenos Aires, on the Estancia Visit: Argentine Barbecue & Gaucho Show excursion offered on our Buenos Aires tours to enjoy a barbecue lunch as you watch gauchos (traditional ranch hands) put on a show on horseback. If you don’t feel like leaving the city, join the Argentinian Cultural Dinner excursion on our Food & Wine: Flavors of Chile & Argentina tour to try your hand at making local specialties before sitting down to a dinner of steak and with a glass of malbec. Regardless of where you are, if you’re a meat-eater in Argentina, you have to try the beef. “The steak in Buenos Aires was unforgettable,” said traveler Eric after returning from our Grand Tour of South America: Brazil, Argentina & Peru.
Things to know before you go
There are a few things you should keep in mind before you join us on a trip to Buenos Aires, especially if it’s your first time visiting this dynamic city.
- Days start late, and nights run later. Porteños, or people of the port, as the locals call themselves, tend to be night owls. Many shops around Buenos Aires won’t open until 10 a.m., and some restaurants don’t open their doors until 8 p.m. Locals tend to go to dinner around nine or ten, and clubs run from midnight to well after the sun comes up.
- Cash is king. More and more places accept credit cards, but we strongly advise you to keep some local currency on hand for smaller establishments and street vendors that may not.
- Keep your valuables secure. Like any major city, Buenos Aires has its fair share of petty crime. Be wary of pickpockets and keep your valuables safely hidden.
- Buenos Aires is pretty big. The different neighborhoods within the city are generally very walkable, but if you set out on your own during your free time, you may want to consider hopping on a city bus or using an app like Uber or Cabify to get around.
- Learning some Spanish is always a good idea. When you join us on a tour of Buenos Aires, your expert Tour Director will be there to introduce you to many of the best things to do in Buenos Aires, but it never hurts to learn a few key Spanish phrases so that you can communicate should you choose to set out on your own.
Whether you’re ready to visit Buenos Aires for the first time or the fiftieth, join us on a tour today!
