edit Buenos Aires Travel Guide

• Recoleta One of the largest tourist attractions in Buenos Aires, come here to see the craft fair on the weekends, Evita's grave, or just sit in a European style cafe and people watch
• City Center Check out the General San Martin (basically big ben), walk down the pedestrian streets of Florida and Lavalle where you can catch up on some fine shopping, or take a birds of view of the city for free at the top of Torre de los Ingleses
• Beef Don't let the price fool you ($15 pesos for a big steak) the beef in Argentina is wonderful
• Futbol The quality of futbol here is truley world class, although most of the hot shots play in Europe there spirit of the national past-time still exists. If you are brave enough check out Buenos Aires' elite team the Boca Juniors.

The city is geographically contained inside the province of Buenos Aires, but it is politically autonomous.

The city extends on a plain covering 19.4 kilometers (12 miles) from north to south and 17.9 kilometers (11 miles) from east to west.

Approximately three million people live in the City of Buenos Aires (the Federal Capital of Argentina with 202 square kilometers equivalent to 78.3 sq miles). The City is divided into 48 districts or barrios. Together with its metropolitan area or Greater Buenos Aires (Gran Buenos Aires) this is one of the ten most populated urban centers in the world with over 10 million people. Most of the country's activity is highly concentrated in this single city and its surroundings.

Buenos Aires constantly receives tourists from all over the world and offers a large choice cultural events, nightlife, restaurants and pubs, so you can expect good services and a wide range of options.

By plane

Ezeiza International Airport (EZE)

Ricchieri Highway, Km. 22. Tel. 5480-6111 - International and some domestic flights use the Ezeiza International Airport (referred to as Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini), located in the suburban area named Gran Buenos Aires, about 30-45 minutes from downtown by highway. Planes fly to most countries in South America, the United States, and Europe. Non-stop service to the U.S. is available from Atlanta (Delta), Chicago (United), Dallas (AA), Miami (AA), Houston (Continental),New York (AA & AR) and Washington, D.C. (United).

Prepaid taxis (remises) from EZE to downtown cost about 75 pesos. Hailing a non-prepaid taxi is not recommended for tourists, but if doing so, be aware that there is a 2 peso toll and a 0.80 peso toll if the driver goes by the autopista; the driver will inform you as you approach the toll booths.

If you do speak some Spanish, you may find it cheaper to walk outside of customs, find a taxi that is dropping someone off, and hop in. You may see the taxi drivers slowly driving through. Put your bags in, and tell the driver "La reloq" (the meter). You may have to pay the aforementioned tolls, but it works out to around 50 to 55 pesos to downtown.

When you wish to return to the airport when you leave, you can talk to any cab driver and tell him that you need a ride to the airport. Frequently you can negotiate. They will come pick you up from your apartment or hotel and drive you to the airport. Some of the best insights about Buenos Aires can be gleaned from taxi drivers. If you are new to the city, it's probably good also to have a map out, so that the driver knows he or she can't go in circles.

Another alternative is that some of the prepaid remises will provide you with a 20% discount coupon for your airport return. If you manage to hold on to this coupon, dial them directly to come and collect you and save yourself 20%. You must also keep the original receipt, as they need reassurance that you used the remise from the airport originally.

Aeroparque Jorge Newbery (AEP)

Located in the Ave. Rafael Obligado. 4576-5300 extension 107/122 (Information: 4576-1111). Most domestic flights use the smaller Jorge Newbery Airport (referred to as Aeroparque), 10 minutes away from the downtown area. You can take a taxi (25 pesos) or bus from there.

By train

There are some long distance domestic services. Buses are usually faster and more comfortable, but also three times as expensive. There are several main stations in the BA area (see below).

• Retiro - Córdoba:

Departs: Monday and Friday 20.10 hrs. :Arrives: Tuesday and Saturday 10.25 hrs.

• Córdoba - Retiro:

Departs: Thursday and Sunday 16.30 hrs. :Arrives: Friday and Monday 7.33 hrs.

25 pesos (tourist class)

• Retiro - Tucumán:

Departs: Monday: 10.05 hrs. :Arrives: Tuesday 10.40 hrs.

• Tucumán - Retiro:

Departs: Wednesday 18.00 hrs. :Arrives: Thursday 19.20 hrs.

35 pesos (tourist class)

By car

Theoretically, you can get to Buenos Aires from any of the neighboring countries by car, but it is far away from most of the borders. It is only common to travel there from Uruguay and southern Brazil.

By bus

Bus travel times to/from Buenos Aires:

• Mendoza: 13-17 hours
• Córdoba: 9 hours
• Bariloche: 22 hours
• Iguazú: 20 hours
• Rosario: 4 hours

Almost all the long-distance buses use the huge and well-organised Retiro bus station on the northern edge of the city centre. The buses are mostly modern and the roads are good; there are frequent services to most parts of the country and international bus services to neighbouring countries.

You may catch taxis from Retiro bus station, and the subte (underground) also stops there. There are many local buses that stop outside the station as well.

By boat

There are daily journeys to and from Colonia and Montevideo in Uruguay.

Two companies operate this service.

• Buquebus - Puerto Madero terminal - Córdoba avenue & Madero avenue. 4316-6400/6500/6550.
• Ferrytour - Dársena Norte terminal - Viamonte & Costanera Sur - 4311-4700

The services are now coordinated by Buquebus. The ferrytour ship is the slower one, used for Colonia. You may still make a fast trip to Colonia, at a higher price.

From the official city site:

The City is an important destination for the maritime and fluvial cruisers industry of South America. The Benito Quinquela Martín Passenger Terminal, a few blocks away from downtown, at Ramón Castillo street between Avenida de los Inmigrantes and Mayor Luisioni street, has a surface of 7,100 square meters, a boarding room for 1,000 passengers and baggage facilities with capacity for 2,500 suitcases. In addition, it provides tourist information, handicrafts shops, snack bars; and Migration, Customs, Interpol and Prefectura (Coast Guard) Offices.

You may also take a boat from nearby Tigre to Nueva Palmira in Uruguay. Trains leave from Retiro Station to Tigre frequently. Boat services to Nueva Palmira also connect to Colonia del Sacramento by bus.

There is also a service from Montevideo-Carmelo-Tigre-Buenos Aires. It costs around 10 dollars one way for the whole shebang. Get the tickets and depart from Tres Cruces in Montevideo. The price includes bus to Carmelo, boat to Tigre and bus to the centre of Buenos Aires. The official website is http://www.cacciolaviajes.com and they often have very good special offers that include some nights in hotels in Buenos Aires.

The public transport in Buenos Aires is very good, if crowded during the rush hours. There is a fairly large metro network (one of the longest in Latin America), a large range of bus routes and many suburban railways used by commuters.

Finding your way around is easy. Most of the city grid is divided into equal squares with block number in the hundreds. Most streets are one way with the adjacent parallels going the other way, so beware that the bus or taxi won't follow the same route back. Going by taxi, you simply need to tell the driver the street and block number, eg. "Santa Fe 2100"; or two intersecting streets, eg. "Corrientes y Callao".

City maps are issued by many different publishers (Guía T, LUMI) and the local tourist authority. They are indispensable for those wanting to use public transportation, since they include all bus routes.

By Taxi

Taxis are not the quickest option for moving around in the most congested areas at rush hours, as traffic jams are common. Still, you will find that taxis are usually very inexpensive, convenient, and exciting (in a white-knuckled, the roller-coaster-seems-to-have-some-pieces-missing kind of way.)

It is safest to have your hotel or host call for a radio taxi. If you must hail a cab on the street, watch out for private operators disguised as commercial services. Also avoid paying in large bills as there have been cases of counterfeit change.

If a taxi driver says that your money is counterfeit and says that he will take you to an ATM, just tell him you want to get out there. There are many stories of travelers (especially when they spoke little Spanish and were coming from the airport) being robbed under this premise. It also helps if you see a police officer nearby because if they are trying to rob you they will probably be scared off. If you are headed to a hostel or hotel, the receptionist will usually understand the situation if you honestly do have counterfeit money, and will lend you money to pay the cab.

Also, if the cab "breaks down", it is recommended that you just get out and finding another cab.

Also recommended is keeping your luggage in the seat with you if possible in case a situation arises in which you want to get out of the taxi.

By Car

If one is truly adventurous (and has a bit of a death-wish), cars are available to rent in Buenos Aires. There are several major reasons that this is not a great idea. First, Buenos Aires is such an excellent city for walking that if something is within 20 or 30 blocks, it is often worth the extra effort to go on foot and get to know the city on a more intimate level. The terrain is flat...get out there and put those legs to work! Second, if you aren't (or can't be) much of a walker, the public transportation system in Buenos Aires is cheap and efficient. It can get you anywhere, and fast! Third, and perhaps most importantly, is that the citizens of Buenos Aires drive like lunatics. Stoplights, signs, traffic laws...for many porteño drivers, those are just suggestions. Picture trying to get several thousand head of cattle to move down the street and stay inside the lanes, and you have a decent idea of driving in Buenos Aires. Surprisingly, one witnesses very few traffic accidents there, because traffic flows more by custom and intuition...the porteños understand the customs of driving and somehow manage to know what everyone around them is doing. As a tourist, you probably won't. The best advice? Take the bus! Otherwise, lots of luck to you. Argentina has one of the highest motor vehicle accident mortality rates in the world.

By Bus

The principal means of public transportation within the city, are the buses (colectivos). They have a cheap maximum fixed price as long as you are moving inside the city borders (0.80 pesos, approx. 0.2 euros); be sure to have coins for the ticket (they don't accept bills, but give change).

There are more than one hundred lines, covering the whole city. They work 24 hours a day, the whole year; but run less frequently on holidays and at late hours. For each route the bus is painted differently to make them easier to distinguish. The best way to figure out the bus system is to buy a Guía "T". It's essentially a little book with a directory of streets, which correspond to map pages, and have a bus listing on the facing page for each map. Once you get your hands on one, it's very easy to figure out, but give yourself fifteen minutes the first few times you use it to plan a route. These can be bought for about three pesos (the smaller one that only covers the Ciudad Autónoma is three pesos, not the larger Gran Bs As one) at many kiosks around the city, or subway stations.

Otherwise, visitors who are comfortable with speaking a little Spanish can call 131 toll-free from any phone for help finding which colectivo to take. You just have to tell the corner (or the street and the number) where you're at and the one you want to get to.

On many services, board the bus and tell the driver your destination (or do what Argentines do -- just say "ochenta, por favor" meaning you'll be traveling a normal distance and want to pay 80 centavos); he will press a button instructing the coin machine to take a certain amount of money for you, which will then appear on the machine as the amount to insert. Step a bit further back into the bus and insert coins into the machine which now knows your destination and has calculated your fare because the driver punched it in. You will receive change and your ticket automatically, collect it at the bottom of the machine.

If you see a little metal knob on the coin machine, it's not for dispensing your ticket like the candy/toy machines in grocery stores in the U.S. ... it's the door to the inside of the machine to change the paper and whatnot. Don't turn it!

You can also use buses to move to and inside the suburban area (Gran Buenos Aires), but the fares are higher (up to 2 pesos, depending on the distance and service). The suburban-only lines (you can differentiate them because their line numbers are above 200) have lower standards of confort, and many of them don't run after 11 pm.

By Train

There are a good deal of railways connecting the suburban area in a star shape. The quality of the service ranges from excellent to very bad, depending of the line; ask before using them at nighttime.

The main railway terminals are Retiro, Constitución, Once and Federico Lacroze. From all of these you can then use the metro and bus network to get right into the centre. The suburban fares are very cheap.

More information:

• Metrovias: Urquiza trainway and metro
  • Good service, safe for travelling at any hour.
• Metropolitano: San Martín, Roca, Belgrano Sur and other trainways.
  • Usually the worst service, and the least secure one. Used to be an acceptable service, but there are corruption issues.
• TBA: Sarmiento and Mitre trainways
  • Good service and mostly good trains. The Sarmiento line is so far the most used one, is totally overhauled and can be very difficult to use in rush hours; also covers unsafe places. The Mitre line, in one of its branches (which covers the richest zones) has the best trains seen here and in Latin America, featuring air conditioning, internal heating and very comfortable seats. This branch takes you to some really beautiful places like "Tigre", a very picturesque small town with old french-style little houses and a beautiful walkside by the river near a theme park, Parque de la Costa in the north of the suburban area.
• Trenes del Litoral: From Posadas (neighboring Paraguay) to Estacion Frederico Lacroze throught Paso de los Libres (neighboring Brazil) and Concordia (neighboring Uruguay).
  • Fair service, depending on the price. All cars are a little dirty and the train is very slow (20 hours). Tourist Class has bad service, but First Class or the Dormitory Class are fairly comfortable. It is better to go by bus, using the "coche cama" service. About 11 hours from Posadas to Buenos Aires or by plane in 1.5 hours.

The city has a long metro network ("subte", short form of "subterráneo", which means "underground"). It is very efficient - you can gain a lot of time by using it - and very cheap too (0.70 pesos for any combination, approx. 0.175 euros). If you need to be somewhere by 9 am or 9.30 am on a weekday, however, the Subte will be incredibly crowded and depending on where you are catching it from, you may have to miss several trains in a row before there is space for you. Once on board, during peak hours it will be very, very crowded. Factor this into your timing arrangements to make sure that you make your meeting on time.

The lines converge to the downtown area and connect the main bus and train terminals. The tree-shaped network extends almost to the outer limits of the city.

In the southeast branch (the E line), the service is extended by a nice trainway known as premetro, but beware, it goes to some of the least secure places in the city. Premetro is 0.60 pesos (approx. 0.15 euros), or 0.70 with a Subte Transfer.

The subte works approximately from 5 am to 10 pm, except on Sundays, when service starts at 8 am.

The A line is a destination on its own because of the old wooden carriages. It is the one of the oldest lines in Latin America. The subte article on Wikipedia has some information on this. Many subte stations have interesting murals, tiles, and artwork. Transferring between lines is indicated by combinación signs.

You may purchase magnetic stripe tickets encoded with more than one fare. This saves the time of individual cashier transactions; and you may also buy a rechargeable card at some stations. Tickets are not swiped upon exiting stations, therefore you may use one magnetic stripe ticket for more than one traveller, as long as it has the required number of fares.

• Buenos Aires metro map

By Foot

It should be noted that Buenos Aires is a very large city, however much of what you might want to see is located in certain areas, so while walking around the city is not that possible taking a cab to Recoleta and seeing all the sights there would be a good idea.

Police

• Police (Argentine Federal Police): 101 (currently Argentina is implementing a 911 service, but at the time of this writing it is available only in a few cities, which include Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata)
• Tourist Police: (011) 4346-5748 / 0800-999-5000

Fire Department

Firemen (National Firemen Corps): 100

Hospitals

Ambulance (Inmediate Health Emergency Service, SAME): 107

Crime

Like any big cities there are certain places to avoid but in general Buenos Aires is a very safe city.

Smoking

In October, 2006, a new smokefree law went into effect that made all bars and restaurants less than 100 square meters smokefree. Larger establishments are permitted to have a designated smoking area.

• Boca Junior Game Things get wild and crazy when you go to a game of futbol in Buenos Aires, and Boca Junior fans are some of the most dedicated out there, so if you are going to a game make sure you cheer your heart out for the home team!
• Tango
  

  Tango is best experienced not in La Boca and on Calle Florida, but in the "Milongas". A milonga is both a place where a Tango dance will take place, as well as a specific type of tango dance. A good place for beginners to check out authentic tango is at Confiteria Idéal at Suipacha 384 (just off of Corrientes, near Calle Florida). Parts of Evita were filmed here. The ground floor is a confitéria with overpriced and bad tasting food. However at night several times a week they have magnificent, authentic shows for no more than 30 pesos. There is usually someone around who speaks english if you don't understand the shows.

  Upstairs there is a dance floor where you can see people dancing tango. They come to the Milongas to dance. Entrance is usually around 10 or 15 pesos. It is worth it just to watch the older "milongueros" dance. Many have been coming regularly for over 30. Quick warning... If you don't want to dance be careful of the eye contact you make. Here, you will not see men physically getting up to ask a woman to dance. He will get her attention with his eyes, nod or make a "lets go" move with his head. If she accepts she will nod and smile, and they will both meet on the dance floor. The locals here are very friendly and if you are interested in learning tango, asking around for local instructors is the best bet.

  There is a monthly magazine put out in Buenos Aires called "El Tangauta". It is the bible of everything Tango going on in Buenos Aires. Every group lesson and milonga is in there. There is lots of advertising of instructors. Many if not all speak English. Finding it can be hard but go around to some of the studios and you will find one.

  Milongas take place either during the day or late at night. "Matinée Milongas" usually start in the early afternoon and go until 8-10pm. Made popular by tourists who may struggle staying up until 5am every night, you will find many locals here as well more than willing to show you how to dance. the night Milongas officially start at around 11, but don't fill up until around 1:30. They may go on until 5 or 6 in the morning. Don't be surprised if you see 80 year old men who still have 3 times as much energy as you do at that time.

  The names of some of the more popular milongas are: Salon Canning, El Beso, Porteňo y Bailarin. There is literally tango going on 24 hours a day. Make your way down to the Zona de Calzados, buy some tango shoes, and Bailar!

  The zona de calzados is just Past Diagonal Norte on Suipacha. You will see many shops grouped together that sell tango shoes. As with many things in Buenos Aires shop around and make sure you are not getting the gringo price. Men can buy excellent hand made leather shoes for around US$50. Womens can be even less or a little more. For those of you with time on your hands you can ask them to make you a pair. They will draw your foot ona piece of paper and you can design your own shoe for the same price. Do be aware that if they tell you that it will be ready in a week, that probably means about 10 days. If you don't have time, they can mail them back to your home for a small (maybe 40 pesos) fee. You can't have top quality custom made leather shoes for less than that anywhere. The soles are either leather or suede. Watch out if you are travelling in January as a lot of places will not make new shoes until February because of vacation.

  You can start learning tango through the group lessons offered at many studios. Some popular schools are at the Centro Bourges Culturel, on the very top floor. It can be very hard to find the actual place as there are some stairs you have to go up, and go through a museum. Ask the security people where the "Escuela de Tango" is. It can be very hot in summers in the room. The Centro is within the Galerias Pacifico, the overpriced American-style mall near Calle Florida on san Martin.

  Estudio DNI teaches is another studio popular with foreigners. All the instructors are extremely beautiful, extremely charming, and speak good english. If you email them, they have staff who will respond in english. Their group classes tend to be filled with too many people. But at 10 pesos (US$3.25) for a class you can't go wrong. They also offer private lessons. They are at Corrientes 2149. their web site is http://www.estudiodnitango.com.ar

  The best way to learn even if you do not have a partner is with private lessons. If you look hard enough you will find top quality instructors for 1/4 of the price you would pay in Europe or the United States. Compare rates and try different instructors until you find the one you like. Rates will change every few months because of Argentine inflation, but is still affordable. You can find instructors who charge as little as 50 pesos per hour, all the way up to ones that will charge 100 dollars per hour. Many of the more 'famous' instructors command a premium price. An honest opinion is that even an inexpensive teacher can be as good as a famous teacher. Again, watch out that you are not paying the gringo rate. At milongas ask around locals and foreigners who their instructors are.

  Be warned if you start taking tango lessons. It will seduce and consume your life and you will make many pilgrimages back to Buenos Aires to dance.

If you are interested in buying goods, you have a lot of shops in the downtown area, and many shopping centers, but be aware of the price difference. Certain tourist havens have inflated prices for staple products, such as leather wallets.

The most popular souvenirs are:

• The mate: It is a sort of cup made from different materials, commonly from a dessicated vegetal core, sometimes with silver or gold ornaments; which is used to drink mate, the most traditional social non-alcoholic beverage. The mate is drunk in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil.
• Other gaucho items: Traditional clothes, knives, etc.
• Leather items: The cow is totally used here: meat, milk, sausages, and leather; all of that is high quality.
• Alfajores: These traditional cookies, often containing dulce de leche, are delicious.

Florida Street and Lavalle Street (from 500 up to 1000) are for pedestrians only, where the main tourist's shops in MicroCentro (downtown) are located. At the intersection of these two pedestrian streets, there is often some sort of interesting street performance going on, especially at night. The Palermo Viejo district of Buenos Aires has many shops that will appeal to young or artsy people (think New York's SoHo). Nearby is Murillo Street, a block full of leather houses.

There are many artisans' fairs, most notably the weekend Recoleta fair located in the Francia park, near Recoleta cemetery (which is an excellent place for photography) and on Sundays the San Telmo market. In every fair you will find some excellent hand made products, but beware, also there are industrialized products disguised as "hand made". This is one of the most likely places one would find a pot dealer.