Continuing our inaugural trip to South America (well, Buenos Aires was actually the first place we went)
Buenos Aires reminds me of Berlin a little bit – not because it's German, but mostly because a big chunk of the stuff "to do" is really just walking around, eating, and drinking. There aren't a lot of attractions, which to me, is totally fine. The experience is really just sort of neighborhood and restaurant hopping. And in a city like Buenos Aires where high-quality steaks and Malbec are cheap, that's incredible.
We stayed at the beautiful Palacio Duhau aka Park Hyatt (on points, of course) which is located in the Recoleta neighborhood of the city. A little more upscale but IMO still lots of walkability.
We didn't do too much fine dining on the trip, after all, so many neighborhood joints in BA offer extremely high-quality steaks and meats at a super affordable price. The one exception was the chef's counter at Fogan Asado.
Can't say enough about this place. The entire experience was around $100 USD per person, with another $50 per person for the wine pairing. There's an actual restaurant that's a little more lowkey in addition to the chef's table, but the chef's table is once per night, and totally worth it.
The San Telmo neighborhood I believe is one of Buenos Aires' oldest neighborhoods. Visiting the San Telmo market is a must (if you're able). There's an indoor part of the market with dedicated shops selling some vintage and some clearly mass produced itmes, while the outdoor market is only open until around 5PM and sells more unique vintage or ephemeral items. Either way, the San Telmo neighborhood was one of our favorite parts to visit in the city.
Another one of BA's most popular areas is La Boca – a grittier neighborhood most notable for its multicolored buildings and for being home to a local soccer team.
Met an artist, Guillermo, who had done some extensive global traveling for showcasing his art. We grabbed something of his for our walls back home.
Buenos Aires's Centro area is home to much of the city's old European-style architecture and culture. The Teatro Colón is home to operas, which we, unfortunately, did not have time for, as well as many other sights and places to eat and drink. You will really get a sense of Argentina's European history here.
One of our favorite spots in the area was Cafe Tortoni, a traditional coffee house open since the mid-1800s, featuring live tango shows, which we for fortunate enough to catch one night. We loved spending time here during the day for coffee and food and returning at night for tango.
La Recoleta Cemetary is one of the city's most infamous attractions, most notably housing the remains of Eva Perón, Argentine politician, philanthropist, activist, and wife of former president and peronism namesake, Juan Perón.
If nothing else the cemetery is a great place to see some expensive and intricate mausoleums. I can't imagine many Argentine's being able to afford something like this today.
I know it's very problematic for someone from the U.S. to talk about spending an extended period of time in Mexico or South America, but I feel like Buenos Aires is a perfect city for working remotely for a few months or more. The people definitely felt more receptive to foreigners, probably due to the country's dire financial situation. You don't see "LEAVE GRINGOS" graffiti in BA like you do in CDMX.
Would love to come back and spend an extended period of time in Argentina. Perhaps seeing the rest of the country – Mendoza looks nice. 🍷
– G
