Buenos Aires, Argentina’s largest city and its capital, is a unique city filled with gorgeous European architecture and rich culture. It is a truly remarkable city and here are our Buenos Aires highlights!
NOTE: As Argentina’s economy has been unsteady with rapid inflation, costs listed in this post may not be accurate after it was written in December 2018.
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The neighbourhoods are diverse and interesting
No matter what neighbourhood you visit in Buenos Aires, you will be treated to something interesting and unique. Check out our related post “Our Favourite Neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires“ for an overview!
Changing money can be a fun adventure
Unfortunately, Argentina has endured a massive financial crisis in recent years that has caused inflation rates to soar! Even in our short five weeks in the country, we noticed the value of a peso drop almost daily. There were noticeable increases in the cost of items in grocery stores, restaurants, and even public transit. Most menus had stickers over the original prices, as they could change at a moment’s notice.
Since we were well aware of the inflation, we only changed $100 USD at a time. To put it in perspective, one U.S. dollar yielded 34.5 pesos on November 8, 2018, our second day in Argentina. Six days later, on November 14, we got 35 pesos for a dollar. The value of the peso kept getting worse from there! We received 35.4 pesos per dollar on the 22nd, 36 on the 26th, and finally 36.8 on our last transaction on December 7.
In the downtown area on the pedestrian street of Florida, there are dozens of people shouting “cambio” at every passerby. This is the “blue market”, the illegal, yet not really policed, currency exchange that offer a marginally better rate than the official counters. We negotiated a rate with one of the “cambio guys” (larger bills that are blemish-free provide a better rate) and were taken down a back alley to a small room beside a sex store with nothing inside but a single desk and a money counter. Hilariously, as our transaction was coming to a close, the grinning cambio guy exclaimed, “Welcome to Latin America!”.
To note, it is incredibly important to check your bills carefully. We heard of people being shortchanged or given a 10 peso bill in a stack of 100s! If the blue market isn’t your thing, be sure to walk around a look at the official rates at all the currency exchange centres, as they can vary significantly!
We recommend bringing USD or Euros and changing money as needed during your time in Argentina. Using ATMs is possible but not advised due to the high fees and limited amount you are able to withdraw at a time. Our friend withdrew money from an ATM and was charged $365 pesos ($12.84 CAD) plus the fees her bank charges. Those fees are astronomical in Argentina – two people can have lunch for $365 pesos, or you can order 3 pizzas for $365!
People are very generous to the needy
Despite the major economic problems in Argentina, many are still willing to hand over their hard earned pesos to help others in need. Whether it be buskers on the metro, individuals selling random items on the subway (ranging from candy to sweatsocks), or simply hardluck beggars, the locals never hesitated to help out. It gave us a lot of optimism about the resilience of this country’s people and their ability to take care of each other.
Everybody wants to get to know you!
Identification is everything in Argentina. It is nearly impossible to use a credit card without a physical piece of identification. We once went to the grocery store to buy water and a few apples and were denied because we only had a picture of our passports on our phone, and the physical passport was required. Needless to say, grocery store lines take an awfully long time. There is a lot of bureaucracy in order to do anything in Argentina. Even to get a gym membership, a doctor’s letter is required! On the bright side, if someone ever stole my credit card, they wouldn’t be able to use it anywhere!
Meat is their specialty
If you are a meat lover, Argentina is the place to be! People love barbequing meat on a simple iron grill called a parrilla. In fact, you cannot walk anywhere, especially on weekends, without the smell of barbequed meat in the air, whether from restaurants or people’s homes. We especially enjoyed chowing down on a giant platter of meat at La Clotilde in Palermo. However, our favourite way to enjoy parrilla was at an asado (a South American barbeque) with friends! Luckily, one of our Argentine friends is a chef and cooked us delicious beef!
You have extra time to prepare for dinner
In Argentina, dinner is the biggest and most important meal of the day. Most do not eat until at least 9:00pm or 9:30pm. On weekends, dinner may be as late as 11:00pm. We found it funny that the senior’s early bird specials were at 7:00pm and happy hour specials usually ended around 8:00pm.
Happy hour specials
You will be challenged to decide on a place for happy hour drink specials in any neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. Most specials usually end around 8:00pm. We appreciated that drinks at any bar always came with peanuts to snack on!
Our favourite spot for happy hour was the awesomely hipster barbershop slash pub in Palermo called The Barbeer, which offered two pints of craft beer for a mere $100 pesos (approx. $3.50 CAD) on weekdays and $130 pesos on weekends. The food was decent and it is easy to go for a haircut or beard trim (which of course includes a beer!). Please note that due to the inflation crisis in Argentina, these prices may not still be accurate.
Porteños are committed to their futbol feud!
Two of the biggest futbol teams in South America are both in the same city, and the rivalry is fierce! Porteños, residents from the port city of Buenos Aires, are passionate futbol fans. We were lucky to be in Buenos Aires for the final of the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League. It was intense, to say the least, as the two biggest teams, River Plate and Boca Juniors, were competing.
After the first leg of the match needed to be rescheduled due to torrential rain, the teams came out of the game at a 2-2 tie. The final game was also rescheduled, as River fans attacked the Boca team bus! The game was ultimately moved to Spain two weeks later. Even if someone did not watch the game, it was easy for anybody in Buenos Aires to to discover that River won, as fans honked their horns, screamed from their balconies and partied well into the night!
The city has an interesting story
Taking the four-hour Free Walking Tour was a great way for us to acquaint ourselves in a city rich with history. It was interesting to hear about the silent protest by the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. They had children go missing between 1976 and 1983 during the state terrorism by the military dictatorship of the time.
The tour took us to other areas of the downtown such as the famous Obelisk, the national congress building (Congreso), and the Pink House (Casa Rosada), Argentina’s executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina. Interestingly, the presidential residence is located in Olivos, just north of the city.
Wine is Insanely Cheap
Like in Chile, wine in Argentina is super cheap, less than a bottle of beer or pop. We purchased mid-range bottles of wine for $3-4 CAD, although there were lots of cheaper options! We tried different varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec.
Aside from wine, the Italian liquor, Fernet, is extremely popular in Buenos Aires. We had a few Fernet-Coca (Fernet with Coke) during our time in Argentina. Be careful though, as local bars do not pay very close attention to measuring the fernet/cola ratio. You may end up with a glass of mostly Fernet!
Everybody Loves Helado
Ice cream is not just popular in Buenos Aires, it is a way of life. It was impossible to go anywhere without seeing people young and old enjoying an afternoon helado. We tried many different varieties including dulce de leche, pistachio, hazelnut, lemon, cookies and cream, raspberry, and sambayón, an Italian specialty made of egg and Marsala wine. Our absolute favourite ice cream shop in the Buenos Aires area was Heladería Vía Toscana in Tigre! Their ice cream was textured and not overly sweet, with delicious flavours.
Treats are sweet!
Just like ice cream, Argentines love their sweets! Breakfasts always include medialunas, which are small delicious croissants coated with a sugary glaze.
Then there are alfajores, which are cookie sandwiches filled with dulce de leche. You can not leave Buenos Aires without sampling multiple brands! You can buy them at any grocery store, but the best ones are at Havanna (a local chain). 
Finally, submarinos are a must-try sugary masterpiece. It is steamed milk with a chocolate bar that you can dip or drop inside. It creates an amazing hot chocolate drink! Just don’t look at the calories!
You will not miss anything because you must look up and look down!
Many people in the city of Buenos Aires have pets, and dog owners make sure that you are not distracted by the beautiful city! Buenos Aires is a very dog friendly city, however, locals are not the best at picking up after their cute little buddies. We always found ourselves looking up and down while walking around, to avoid stepping in heaps of feces. The city is working hard to curb this behaviour and have painted signs on the sidewalks reminding dog owners to be respectful!
Other Things we Like
We loved seeing public school children wearing white lab coats, walking around the city looking like mini scientists. We also noticed the cute kindergarten children wear matching school uniform aprons so as not to ruin their clothing!
Since we were in Buenos Aires in spring, we saw lots of beautiful purple Jacaranda blooming. There were also lots of people out and about enjoying the fresh spring air, and activities taking place around the city such as festivals and fairs.
Finally, not be left out from this blog post is Tierra Santa, which claims to be the only religious theme park in the world. It was quite a spectacle! There were shows starring animatronic statues re-enacting moments such as the last supper and an 18 metre Jesus that rose every hour and blessed the park! It was certainly something we had never seen before.
So that’s our take on The Best of Buenos Aires! It is one of our favourite big cities in South America and we can’t wait to come back soon! Be sure to send us a message if you think we missed something important!
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