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Buenos Aires: Insider’s Guide
The Palace of the Argentine National Congress at sunset. Photo: Shutterstock
The insider advice on this page is from one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for Argentina: Maita Barrenechea of Mai10.
The daughter of an Argentine ambassador, Maita Barrenechea spent part of her childhood living in Washington, D.C. and Paris before returning to Buenos Aires. She founded her own travel company more than four decades ago and has since explored Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile relentlessly, scouting remote landscapes, hidden lodges, remarkable characters, and insider experiences. Maita is equally comfortable arranging wilderness expeditions in Patagonia, shopping sprees in Buenos Aires, and beach-chic getaways in Punta del Este. She is known for opening doors others cannot, handpicking the best private guides, and selecting the ideal accommodations, from a refined estancia in the Pampas to a remote ecolodge at the edge of Tierra del Fuego.
Where to Stay and Eat
Casa Lucia is located in a historic Art Deco building. Credit: Javier Csecs
Best bang-for-your-buck hotels
Casa Lucia occupies the former Mihanovich tower, a celebrated late-1920s Art Deco landmark in Retiro. Book a suite in the tower with a balcony or terrace so that you can enjoy river views toward Uruguay, just as shipping magnate Nicolás Mihanovich once watched his vessels crossing the Río de la Plata from here. The hotel sits on Arroyo, Buenos Aires’ most Parisian street, lined with French-style Belle Époque façades, wrought-iron balconies, embassies, galleries, cafés, and art galleries. The neighborhood captures why Buenos Aires became known as the “Paris of the South.” Just around the corner, Palacio Noel offers one of the city’s loveliest hidden garden oases: tiled patios, Spanish colonial details, quiet fountains, and a sense of old Buenos Aires.
Jardín Escondido, part of the Coppola Hideaways collection, feels intimate, bohemian, and deeply personal. Hidden behind an unassuming façade in Palermo Soho, the seven-room property unfolds around leafy courtyards, layered garden terraces, and a plunge pool shaded by greenery. Outside: Palermo’s cafés, galleries, restaurants, design shops, and nightlife. Inside: stillness, shade, and calm.
Jardín Escondido’s plunge pool is shaded by greenery. Photo: Jardín Escondido
Restaurants the locals love
La Alacena is beloved for its handmade pasta, neighborhood warmth, and distinctly porteño interpretation of Italian comfort food. Intimate, unfussy, and consistently excellent, it feels like the kind of place locals secretly hope visitors never fully discover.
El Preferido de Palermo captures another side of Buenos Aires entirely: colorful tiles, old-school bodegón energy, lively rooms, and elevated versions of the dishes Argentines grew up eating. Their milanesa is legendary.
Sottovoce remains one of Buenos Aires’ timeless institutions for elegant Italian dining. Porteños return for the handmade pasta, seafood, warm service, and understated Recoleta atmosphere.
Ness has quietly become one of the hottest places in Buenos Aires. Everything revolves around wood-fire cooking, with rustic dishes made beautiful and exceptional seasonal ingredients. The atmosphere feels relaxed, contemporary, and unmistakably porteño, with communal tables that bring the neighborhood together. Upstairs, a lovely private room overlooks the restaurant below; Maita often uses it for cooking lessons or intimate private dinners.
Meals worth the splurge
Presencia is Buenos Aires’ most sophisticated dining room right now: intimate, design-forward, and quietly glamorous. Request the oval marble table in the glassed corner overlooking the Vatican Embassy and the mansions of Avenida Alvear.
Our insider can help you skip the line for a highly coveted table at Don Julio. Photo: Mai10
Don Julio—deservedly recognized as the world’s best steakhouse, awarded a Michelin star, and repeatedly ranked among the world’s best restaurants—has become Buenos Aires’ defining culinary institution: lively rooms, impeccable beef, extraordinary wine service, and the warm rhythm of a classic neighborhood parrilla elevated to its highest expression. Reservations are notoriously difficult and people line up daily in the street hoping for a table. Maita, however, can magically get you in.
Or head out of town to La Comarca, Don Julio’s farm-to-table retreat. Just over an hour from the city, this 570-acre working estate in Capilla del Señor is the source behind Don Julio. Everything begins here, on Pablo Rivero’s farm: cattle in the pasture, bees, orchards, free-roaming chickens, and long countryside lunches rooted directly in the Pampas landscape.
Aramburu is the city’s most technically ambitious fine-dining restaurant and boasts two Michelin stars, offering an elegant, 18-course tasting menu served in an intimate Recoleta cul-de-sac.
What to See and Do
You’ll find hints of Paris in Buenos Aires’ architecture—not to mention its cafe culture. Photo: Shutterstock
Buenos Aires rewards curiosity. Spend time wandering through different neighborhoods: Recoleta, Palermo, Retiro, and San Telmo. Each feels like a different city entirely. Explore the Tigre Delta by boat. Attend a polo match. Watch tango at a real milonga, beyond the polished world of the Rojo Tango stage show. Cross the Río de la Plata by ferry to Uruguay for lunch in Colonia del Sacramento, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Don’t miss
A private visit to photographer Aldo Sessa’s studio is like entering the visual memory of Buenos Aires itself. Few artists have documented the city, tango, Teatro Colón, and Argentine cultural life with such depth and elegance. Once a stable and now a luminous workspace, Sessa’s studio is both creative sanctuary and private archive. Personally hosted by Sessa, surrounded by vintage cameras, glass negatives, and silver-gelatin prints, this experience reveals a lifetime devoted to capturing light, silence, and the Argentine spirit. Maita can also arrange a private portrait session with Aldo or a “photo clinic” exploring neighborhoods, hidden corners, and unexpected layers of the city through his eyes.
Recoleta Cemetery is the final resting place for poets, revolutionaries, and Eva Perón. Photo: Shutterstock
Recoleta Cemetery is Buenos Aires’ most iconic and evocative necropolis. Maita can arrange for you to be shown around by the author of its definitive guidebook. Amid marble mausoleums, iron gates, and stone angels, uncover the hidden symbolism and histories that lie within, from national heroes and poets to presidents, revolutionaries, and Eva Perón herself.
Maita can expertly curate a tour of Buenos Aires’ luxury fashion and design world: Visit the showroom of master silversmith Marcelo Toledo; see how the artisans in Ayma’s workshop weave vicuña, guanaco, mohair, and merino entirely by hand; browse indigenous-inspired scarves and jewelry at Curatoria, handcrafted leather goods at Arandú, and housewares inspired by Argentina’s landscapes at AIREDELSUR. La Colorada is a striking registered historic building concealing showrooms for Cabinet Óseo’s fine-art jewelry, Anushka Elliot’s bohemian apparel, and Fueguia 1833’s perfumes. Buenos Aires’ creative pulse reflects a melting pot of cultural influences and UNESCO’s first City of Design designation.
There are right ways—and wrong ways—to get to know Buenos Aires’ tango culture. Photo: Aldo Sessa
Go deeper into the world of tango than a tourist show will ever get you. (If buses are parked outside, chances are the dancing is more acrobatics than tango.) Take a private lesson with dancers from Tango Argentino, learning the authentic steps and rhythms with top professionals in a private setting. Attend a milonga, a true immersion into porteño tango culture, guided by an instructor who will explain the codes, etiquette, music, and spontaneity of Buenos Aires nights. La Catedral Club is atmospheric, bohemian, and welcoming enough for beginners while still attracting excellent dancers. For something entirely different, head to La Glorieta de Belgrano, an open-air milonga beneath the trees in a Belle Époque gazebo.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid, named by National Geographic as the most beautiful bookstore in the world, is housed in a former Belle Époque theater, where velvet curtains, frescoed ceilings, and opera balconies now frame thousands of books. Maita can snag you entry to its dome, offering a rare perspective over the grand space from above.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid was once a theater and is now a bookstore. Photo: David Wall | Alamy
Cafe buzz
La Biela in Recoleta is made for people-watching: racing cars, café society, and prime sidewalk tables facing the square. At Café Tortoni, statues of Borges, Carlos Gardel, and Alfonsina Storni sit among the marble tables, while outside stands an enormous rubber tree, supported by a striking statue of Atlas holding its vast branches. Las Violetas, the Belle Époque confitería in Almagro, is famous for its stained-glass ceilings, marble columns, pastries, and traditional afternoon tea served beneath chandeliers. For something contemporary, head to Café Presencia: minimal, design-driven, serious about coffee. This is a modern Buenos Aires café that proves the city evolves without ever abandoning the ritual of sitting down and watching life pass.
Bar buzz
Across the street from Casa Lucia (see “Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Hotels”) is Florería Atlántico: It’s a flower shop at street level, with a cocktail bar hidden below, and repeatedly ranked among the world’s best bars.
Presidente Bar is a speakeasy behind a discreet façade in Recoleta. Pass through a concealed bookcase into one of Buenos Aires’ most polished late-night scenes: dark wood, velvet, jazz-age glamour, serious cocktails, and a crowd that feels distinctly porteño.
Cheap thrills
Take the Teatro Colón tour: English-language tours take place almost every hour daily. Opened in 1908, the Colón is one of the world’s most magnificent opera houses, both in terms of architecture and acoustics. Maita can also arrange private tours with her favorite guides, backstage access, and prime box seats for performances. To complete the experience, visit Colón Fábrica, where the opera house’s enormous scenery pieces, costumes, props, and stage sets are preserved and displayed.
Experience mate culture. If you want to understand mate culture in Buenos Aires, don’t look for it on a menu. Mate is not a beverage you order, it is a ritual you are invited into. Go to Plaza Francia (a.k.a. Plaza de la Recoleta) in the late afternoon. Friends sit on the grass near the Fine Arts Museum or the church, dogs at their feet, a thermos at the center, the mate passing quietly from hand to hand. Conversation unfolds slowly. Time stretches.
Go up inside the Obelisk for one of the city’s most unusual views. Recently reopened to visitors, its narrow elevator and staircase lead to tiny windows overlooking Avenida 9 de Julio and the endless urban grid of Buenos Aires.
Bike through the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve at sunrise, when the first light rises over the Río de la Plata and reflects dramatically onto the glass towers of Puerto Madero. On one side: wetlands, birds, silence, and wild vegetation. On the other: the skyline of modern Buenos Aires.
The Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve brings nature to Buenos Aires’ front doorstep. Photo: Shutterstock
Prime picnic spot
Head to the Tigre Delta, at the mouth of the world’s widest river, where Buenos Aires dissolves into a labyrinth of waterways, islands, and exuberant vegetation. Navigate the intricate channels aboard an old wooden islander boat, passing rowing canoes, fishing barges, sailboats, and stilted houses hidden among the reeds. Stop for lunch on a secluded private island belonging to an art collector, where sculpture gardens, ponds covered in water lilies, small bridges, and whispering corners unfold beneath the trees. It feels worlds away from the city, yet sits less than an hour from downtown Buenos Aires.
Best day trip
Visit the gaucho town of San Antonio de Areco, about ninety minutes from Buenos Aires, where Argentina’s traditions remain deeply alive. Meet master artisans such as Mariano Draghi and Alejandro Álvarez, whose work preserves some of the country’s finest traditions in silver and leather craftsmanship. The town also has a surprising artistic side: Discover the work of artists Catalina Guerrico and Josefina Stagnaro, photography by Joe Pueyrredón Lucena, or explore Bellatrix, a remarkable private sculpture park hidden among casuarina trees and open fields. Have lunch at Corazonada, Paula Méndez Carrera’s magical garden filled with flowers and savory delights, or arrange an asado at Estancia La Margarita.
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Best Times to Go
October and November: Rates for hotels and flights are still attractive, and the weather is bright, sunny, and pleasantly mild. It’s also prime time for the spectator sports that are a passion in Argentina: soccer, polo, and horse racing, as well as opera and ballet season at the city’s Teatro Colón. Then there’s the gaucho festival, Día de la Tradición, which takes place the weekend around November 10 in San Antonio de Areco, with parades, horsemanship, folklore, and traditional culture on full display. Finally, the tree-lined boulevards explode with lavender-blue jacaranda blossoms in November.
March and April—Argentina’s autumn—are equally wonderful: warm days, cooler evenings, golden light, and a calmer rhythm after the summer holidays.
Always try to be in Buenos Aires over a Sunday, when the San Telmo flea market creates one of the city’s great street scenes.
Worst Times to Go
In May, early morning fog is fairly common, and flights are occasionally diverted to Córdoba or Montevideo.
In January and February, temperatures can reach the high 90s and the city’s cultural life slows considerably as porteños leave for the beach. That said, Buenos Aires becomes wonderfully easy to navigate, with lighter traffic and a calmer rhythm.
Biggest Rookie Mistakes
Confusing a tourist-oriented estancia show with a real working ranch. There is an enormous difference between a working estancia—with real gauchos, horses, cattle, and daily ranch life—and the staged folkloric performances created for tourists near the city. The former are generally too far for a proper day trip and deserve several days of immersion in the Pampas. If you only have a day, head to La Bamba de Areco, a beautiful polo farm just over an hour from Buenos Aires. During polo season, practices and matches take place almost daily.
Taking the slow ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. This historic village—with its cobblestone streets, colonial houses, bougainvillea-covered balconies, and sleepy river atmosphere—makes a wonderful day trip from Buenos Aires. But always take the fast, one-hour Buquebus ferry rather than the three-hour crossing. First-class seating is considerably more comfortable, and the price difference is relatively small. Maita can also arrange lunch at a private estancia along the riverbanks, with beautiful gardens and deeply gracious hospitality.
Bragging Rights
Enjoy an intimate dinner in Francis Mallmann’s magical home and closed-door retreat in La Boca. Francis is a lifelong friend of Maita’s, and she can open the doors of his private abode for an extraordinary evening inaccessible to most visitors.
Maita can arrange for you to attend a polo championship with a professional polo player to give you the play-by-play. Before the game, go backstage to where the horses are groomed and saddled, then watch from your prime seating near the field, and top it with tickets to an exclusive after-party attended by players, fashion designers, bankers, and other high rollers.
Tour MALBA (the Latin American Art Museum) privately after hours with a curator or art historian, surrounded by masterpieces without another visitor in sight. Depending on the exhibition calendar, Maita can also get you access to artists’ studios, private collections, gallery dinners, and exclusive art events across the city.
How to Spend a Sunday
Start the morning browsing the San Telmo Flea Market, with its lively bohemian scene, antiques, tango dancers, and cobblestone streets. Then head to La Brigada in San Telmo, the oldest neighborhood in Buenos Aires, for a true parrilla experience, as authentic as it gets. Book a table downstairs in the original building, where the locals dine. Or Maita can arrange for you to take part in a real Argentine asado at a local family’s home, long conversations, meat slowly cooking over wood embers, endless sobremesa, and Fernet appearing naturally as the afternoon stretches into evening.
Tipping Tip
At most restaurants you cannot include the customary 10 percent tip on your credit card—it must be left in cash. Taxis do not expect a tip; locals round up to the nearest peso.
Airport Intel
Buenos Aires has two airports: Ezeiza (EZE), which handles most international flights, is 45 minutes from downtown, and Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP), the domestic airport, sits along the river just 15 minutes from the heart of the city. When connecting between the two, estimate a 50-minute ride with normal traffic. And be careful not to hop into just any taxi at Ezeiza—overcharging and scams unfortunately do occur. Use Uber or Cabify, or book through one of the official services with counters inside the arrivals hall, such as World Car, Vip Cars, Transfer Express, or Manuel Tienda León.
Instagram Moments
The silhouette of the Santiago Calatrava–designed Women’s Bridge in Puerto Madero, taken from the vintage Sarmiento Frigate (a late-19th-century cadet training ship turned museum), right when it opens at 10 a.m.
The huge metal flower sculpture, Floralis Generica, taken from the side of the ATC TV network building toward the Law University, at sunset.
The angel sculptures on the domes of the Recoleta Cemetery mausoleums in the early morning.
Don’t Forget to Pack
A raincoat. Buenos Aires gets rain throughout the year, and between October and April it can occasionally rain heavily—though storms are usually easy to anticipate rather than sudden. That said, Buenos Aires enjoys one of the most agreeable urban climates in the world. Even in winter, lunch outdoors is often possible.
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