Buenos Aires is where dinner starts at 10 p.m., dance clubs sit empty until 4 a.m., and milongas (dance parties) don't stop until sunrise. It’s Latin America's "ciudad que nunca duerme" (city that never sleeps).
The high-octane metropolis is fueled by a unique combination of European vibes and Latin spirit, according to Antonela Caldano, Howdy.com's Buenos Aires-based External Communications Manager.
Buenos Aires received a wave of European migrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Caldano explained. The mass Spanish, French, and Italian migration led to neoclassical architecture, a taste for pizza, and notorious language idiosyncrasies. (Buenos Aires locals, nicknamed porteños, speak Castellano Spanish, a variant where y and ll are pronounced "sh" instead of the traditional "y.")
"Even with all its European influences, Buenos Aires has a distinctly passionate, lively Latin American flair," Caldano said. "It's a strange but amazing combination."
If you're fortunate enough to be visiting this complex, multicultural capital for business, you won't regret extending your trip. Here's how to see the best of Buenos Aires in 72 hours:
Where to Stay: Palermo
Fierro Hotel | Source: Fierro Hotel
Buenos Aires is officially divided into 48 barrios or neighborhoods, each with a distinct vibe. To stay close to the action, book a hotel in Palermo, a dynamic barrio packed with restaurants and the city's nightlife epicenter.
Palermo is packed with phenomenal boutique hotels. Here are a few favorites:
- Home Hotel. This 17-bedroom boutique serves daily breakfast in a leafy hidden garden with a heated pool.
- Legado Mitico. Rooted in porteño culture, this high-end, historic hotel features 11 exquisitely decorated rooms inspired by local icons — from author Jorge Luis Borges to tango dancer Carlos Gardel — plus a majestic library and courtyard patio.
- Fierro Hotel. This all-suite boutique hotel charms with local wines in the minibar, balconies overlooking the garden, and a rooftop pool terrace.
Day One: Party like a porteño
Ninina Bakery | Source: Ninina Bakery
Be forewarned: Breakfast isn't really a thing in Buenos Aires. Traditionally, porteños prefer to start their day with a cup of coffee or maté tea and perhaps a medialuna (picture a cross between a croissant and brioche).
However, the influx of brunch-loving vacationers, digital nomads, backpackers, and expats has brought more desayuno options to the city. In tourist-beloved Palermo, you'll have your pick of simple porteño-style pastries or heartier fare. You can find both at Ninina, an airy, modern bakery serving up tasty facturas (pastries) and Western favorites like eggs benedict and avocado toast.
Sarcophagi, coffins, and crypts in Recoleta Cemetery
For a creepy, one-of-a-kind Buenos Aires experience, head to Cementerio de la Recoleta in the elegant barrio of Recoleta. Beautiful and eery, the sprawling labyrinth of statues, sarcophagi, coffins, and crypts is the final resting place of some of Argentina's most beloved (and controversial) politicians, Nobel prize winners, and entertainers — including actress-turned-first lady Eva “Evita” Perón and former president Carlos Pellegrini. Legend holds that the cemetery is also home to the ghost of David Alleno, a gravedigger who lumbers through the walled streets each morning, rattling his keys behind him.
People watching at La Biela
Your lunch spot is directly across the street from the Recoleta Cemetery: La Biela, a historic Parisian-style terrace cafe once frequented by Argentine authors Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares. A Buenos Aires mainstay dating back to 1850, the traditional eatery serves up sandwiches, small pizzas, and classic Argentine entrees. La Biela's patio — which overlooks the bustling Recoleta Plaza — is superb for people-watching, but you'll pay slightly higher menu prices for the privilege of sitting outside.
19th-century European masterworks at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Buenos Aires is a treasure trove of top-notch museums — far too many to see in a 72-hour stay. Happily, you are only a few blocks from one of the city's most famous and finest, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA). The art museum houses Latin America's largest public art collection, with over 12,000 pieces from artists like Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Vincent Van Gogh, and Henri Toulouse Lautrec. Admission is free; the space gets crowded on the weekends.
Merienda in Palermo
Porteños don't eat dinner until late — very late. Buenos Aires restaurants don't typically open for dinner before 8 p.m., with guests rarely turning up before 10 p.m., according to Caladano.
To avoid getting hangry before dinner, do like a porteño and take an evening merienda, or tea and snacks. A tradition imported from Spain, a merienda typically involves an espresso, coffee, or mate tea paired with toast or a sugary factura.
Partake in the merienda tradition in Palermo, where you'll find panaderías (bakeries) on practically every block. Try an alfajore — an iconic Argentine pastry sandwiching creamy dulce de leche between two delicate cookies — at the Malcriada bakery, which serves up several iterations of the legendary factura.
Steaks and Argentine wines at Don Julio
Michelin-starred steakhouse Don Julio is a can't-miss when you're in Argentina, though you'll likely need to make a reservation around three months in advance. The famous restaurant is celebrated for its exceptional cellar and mastery of the parrilla, the traditional open-fire hearth Argentine grill.
Watch the sunrise on the Costanera Norte coast
Want to party like a porteño? Be prepared to stay out until the sun comes up.
Kick off your brave quest to salir de joda with a meticulously crafted cocktail or two at Victoria Brown, a stylish speakeasy hidden behind a cafe. Make it to 2 a.m. — the witching hour when the night inevitably devolves to dancing — you can find the city's top boliches — including Terrazas del Este, Pacha, Je, and Tequila — lined up next to each other along the Costanera Norte coast.
If you're still dancing when the clubs close around 7 a.m. — well done! For your fortitude, you'll be treated to a sunrise over the Rio de la Plata river as you stumble out of the bar.
Day Two: Museum hop in Palermo
Salvaje Bakery | Source: Salvaje Bakery
Sourdough and punk rock at Salvaje Bakery
After last night, you need a carb-heavy breakfast and the low, soothing tones of Lou Reed. You'll find both at Salvaje Bakery, a hip panaderia serving sourdough, buckwheat, rye, and carob-based goodies. At this bread paradise, apron- and beanie-clad bakers also prepare hangover staples like avocado toast, scrambled eggs, and flat whites.
Ateneo Grand Splendid
A famously literature-loving city, Buenos Aires has more than 700 brick-and-mortar bookstores. The most beautiful is the Ateno Grand Splendid. Housed in an opera house-turned-cinema-turned bookstore, the Grand Splendid has soaring frescoed ceilings, ornate theater boxes, elegant balconies, and plush red curtains. There’s a cafe on the former stage, artfully arranged book displays in the former orchestra and mezzanine sections, quiet nooks, and stunning views. The Grand Splendid is a dazzling experience whether you're a bibliophile or not. (Warning: There's only a tiny section of English-language books).
Street art and shopping in Palermo
MALBA | Source: MALBA
Dedicate the rest of the day to museum-hopping in Palermo. Start at Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), a museum housing more than 500 works of art by leading contemporary LatAm artists, including Diego Rivera, Rafael Barradas, and Alejandro Xul Solar.
Next, head to the nearby Museo Evita, a museum dedicated to the beloved former first lady. The fascinating museo traces Perón’s life through dresses, photos, memorabilia, clothing, and videos.
If time allows — and you aren't trying to sneak a nap in before dinner — spend some time exploring Palermo Soho. This subsection of Palermo is packed with boutique shops and decorated with colorful football-centric street art.
Globally inspired cuisine at Julia
Dinner tonight is at Julia, another coveted BsAs restaurant where reservations are essential. (If you can’t get in, try its nearby sister restaurant, Franca.) Julio Martín Baez, chef at both restaurants, fuses ingredients from small producers across Argentina with global flavors. Both seasonal à la carte and 10-course tasting menus are available; past standouts have included a koji-aged wagyu flank, fresh Patagonia squid tossed in a yogurt-walnut pesto served with sliced avocado, and chicken pâté with Jerusalem artichoke chips.
Cocktails at Frank's Bar
No one would blame you for wanting to take it easy tonight — luckily, if you booked a hotel in Palermo, you won't have to go very far to find a low-key cocktail bar to nurse a drink. Try Florería Atlántico, an intimate, cavelike subterranean speakeasy where Renato Giovannoni — one of the city’s top mixologists — serves superb cocktails and mocktails that pay tribute to Argentina's Indigenous and rural communities.
Day 3: Soak up history in San Telmo
Breakfast at Mercado San Telmo
Spend your last day in town exploring the history-packed, nostalgia-imbued San Telmo neighborhood. The barrio's belle-époque architecture and crumbling mansions are reminders of its 19th-century prime, when wealthy Spanish families rode horse-drawn buggies along the cobblestone streets.
Kick off your morning at Mercado San Telmo. A local fixture since 1897, the market retains its Italian-style façade, soaring ceilings, and original inner metal framework. The market occupies a city block and houses an eclectic mix of eateries and vendors selling antiques, records, crafts, and knickknacks.
For breakfast — and some of the best coffee in town — visit the Coffee Town stall in the middle of the mercado. Treat yourself to one of Coffee Town's excellent sweet and savory waffles, which come topped with goodies like dulce de leche or ham and cheese.
Shop the Feria de San Telmo
If you're in town on a Sunday, you can catch the Feria de San Telmo, the barrio's famous flea market. On Sundays, vendors cram Calle Defensa, hawking everything from leather crafts and antiques to designer clothing and jewelry. Buskers serenade shoppers, and makeshift streetside grills sizzle up choripan, a popular street snack featuring chorizo sausage atop a crusty bun. Bring cash, as most vendors won't accept cards, and keep a firm hold of your belongings in crowds.
Quilmes and fries at Bar Británico
Bar Británico | Source: Bar Británico
Strolling down Calle Defensa will lead you to Bar Británico, an iconic eatery that opened in 1928. You might recognize the wooden tables and checkered patterned floor; the cafe has appeared in films like The Motorcycle Diaries and Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro. Pull up a chair among the locals reading their newspapers and enjoy a cortado or Quilmes beer with a sandwich and fries.
Watch tango around Plaza Dorrego
Tango shows can be touristy and reliably overpriced. A better option is to hang out around Plaza Dorrego, where you can catch impressive professional tangos shows on most afternoons. Young, old, and always graceful, the dancers are mesmerizing and talented — so tip generously.
Plaza Dorrego is framed by cafes and eateries with outdoor seating. While unremarkable and overpriced, these spots are a good place to post up and watch the dancers while enjoying a cheese plate and a malbec.
Anamatronic Jesus at Tierra Santa
Tierra Santa | Source: Tierra Santa
After your afternoon merienda, you'll be in the right headspace for Tierra Santa — Buenos Aires' delightfully kitschy religious theme park. The sprawling property is built to look like Biblical Jerusalem and features an animatronic reenactment of the Last Supper, a carousel ride of manger animals, and a Nativity light show. The park's pièce de résistance is the hourly resurrection of a 40-foot Jesus, who rises from a mountain, blinks, and turns his palms to his subjects below while Handel’s Messiah blasts from the speakers.
Farewell dinner at Narda Comedor
You may be suffering from steak fatigue at this point in your trip. Take a break from meat at Narda Comedor, a plant-led eater helmed by celebrated celebrity chef Narda Lepes. The mess-hall motif restaurant places seasonal veggies and legumes centerstage, though meat from sustainable providers is also served. Creative dishes — like the silken tofu, shakshuka, and bibimbap — draw inspiration from the chef's travels across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Panoramic sunset views at Crystal Bar
End your 72 hours in Buenos Aires with panoramic city views at Crystal Bar, a rooftop watering hole on the 32nd floor of the posh Alvear Icon hotel. The views atop this swanky joint are spectacular, overlooking the upscale Puerto Madero waterfront and the sculptural Puente de la Mujer footbridge. On a clear night, you can see across the River Plate estuary to Uruguay. Go early; the bar tends to fill up quickly, and you won't want to miss one of the best DJ-soundtracked sunset shows in town.
Practical information
When to go
Buenos Aires stays hopping year-round, with different festivals, holidays, and events coming to the city every month, according to Caladeno. Considering this, the best time to visit Buenos Aires depends on your weather preferences.
"Buenos Aires doesn't get very cold, but it does get really hot in the summer," Caldano said. (Note that because Argentina is south of the equator, summer happens from December to March).
Visit the city during the spring (September to December) to get the most temperate and least rainy weather, Caldano recommended.
What to eat
Asado - Asado — or Argentinian barbecue — is more than just dinner. An asado is a feast of meat — from chorizo and morcilla (blood sausage) to short ribs and rib-eye — cooked on a wood-fired parrilla grill. Grilled meats are served with chimichurri, a tangy green salsa made of finely chopped parsley, oregano, onion, and garlic.
Alfajores - Argentina is rumored to be the world’s largest consumer of alfajores, crumbly shortbread cookie sandwiches. Cookies are typically filled with dulce de leche, a thick caramel made from condensed milk.
Choripán - Choripán is a chorizo sausage cut in half, topped with chimichurri, and served between slices of crusty bread. A prerequisite before any fútbal match, eating choripán is a quintessential Buenos Aires experience, according to Caldano.
"Americans have nachos," she said. "We have beer and choripán."
Empanadas - A crispy turnover beloved across Latin America, empanadas are everywhere you turn in Buenos Aires. Argentina's take on hand pies can be baked or fried and filled with everything from stewed beef and goat to sweet potato paste and dulce de leche.
Fernet - Originally sold in Italian pharmacies as a digestif, this bitter-tasting Italian liqueur has become confoundingly popular in Argentina. So vital is the beverage to Argentines, Fernet was added to the nation's precios cuidados (price-freeze) program to protect it from soaring inflation in 2014. Porteños drink it with Coke.
"Usually people hate it and can't stand the smell at first," Caldano said. "But there comes a time when you suddenly change teams and love Fernet."
Mate - Argentina's most popular beverage, yerba mate, is a high-caffeine tea often served in hollowed-out squash gourds with a metal bombilla (straw). Mate is ingrained in Argentine culture and considered part of the national identity, according to Caldano.
Getting around
Ubers are plenty in Buenos Aires, as are cheap metered taxis. The city is also wonderfully walkable, and walking can be the quickest way to get around during rush hour. When traffic is bad, you might also try the Subte, Buenos Aires' six-line subway network.
Many hotels offer private transfers to and from the Ezeiza International Airport (EZE). You should also be able to catch an Uber going either direction, though wait times at the airport can be long. Do not take a taxi from the airport, as many are unlicensed and known to overcharge.
Using money
The Argentine economy is complicated, and the Argentine Peso is constantly fluctuating. Considering this, it's best to carry US dollars to exchange for pesos once you arrive in Argentina. You can exchange your dollars into pesos at banks, currency exchanges, and even some hotels around Buenos Aires.
Alternatively, you can send money from your home bank account to yourself via Western Union. You'll find Western Union branches across the city, including one at the airport.
Many hotels, upscale restaurants, and stores may accept credit cards. However, cash is often the only accepted form of payment in local shops, restaurants, and markets. It's wise to plan ahead and book a hotel that accepts cards, and before sitting down, ask a restaurant, "Acepta tarjetas?" (Do you accept cards?)
Except in emergencies, do not use an ATM to withdraw cash in Buenos Aires. ATMs offer poor exchange rates, charge high fees, and often run out of money.
Speaking the language
English is widely spoken around Buenos Aires, though older people, staff at small shops, and street vendors may only speak Spanish. A little effort to speak the language will make for a smoother trip and endear you to the locals. Brush up on your Spanish and familiarize yourself with some of the city's favorite sayings and slang terms:
Che - Much like "hey" in English, che is used to get someone’s attention. For example: ¿Che, me pasas mi cerveza? (Hey, can you pass me my beer?)
Boludo/a - A term of endearment among friends, like dude or pal. Translating literally to "asshole," boludo can also be used as an insult, depending on the context.
Copado/a - Slang for "cool" or "awesome."
Mina - Slang for "chick" or "gal."
Canchero - A person who comes off as skilled or experienced but often with a hint of arrogance or showing off. ("Porteños are known for being cancheros," Caldano said. "They like to play cool."
