Buenos Aires.

Once I started planning this trip I was so excited because South America was a place I never ventured into. The timing was also great considering it is summer down there and winter in the US. One part about this city that shocked and amazed me was how similar it was to Europe. I had to reality check myself a few times and remember that I was actually experiencing something different than what I normally do. In my last post I gave the run down on another city in Argentina called Ushuaia, but Buenos Aires was very different. This destination had big city vibes and so much going on, let’s see what there is to do.

La Boca.

I absolutely have to start this destination guide with my favorite part of the whole city. This spot was a recommendation from a friend and we literally stayed in the city an extra day to experience it, which was totally worth it. Just so you don’t miss it I have to mention it first.

The general area is called La Boca and there are a few main streets down there that are the spots to hit.

Uber is available in BA but we took an Uber from the hotel, from Palermo to La Boca. It wasn’t the most reliable service, the drivers cancelled on us a lot, but when it worked it was convenient.

I couldn’t get enough of the colorful murals and buildings. My favorite little alley way is pictured above, it is on the Magallanes street about halfway down. Make sure to snap a picture to enjoy the colors.

Monserrat.

A large portion of the city and what seemed to be the downtown and shopping area extends farther than this neighborhood. Walking around this are you will visit some big government buildings such as Casa Rosa, the congress building and opera house, Plaza de Mayo and more.

If you decide to venture over to Puerto Madero cross on the footbridge puente de la mujer.

San Telmo.

On the south east side of the Monserrat neighborhood there are two spots to stop at in this neighborhood. The San Telmo market is vintage/ food market that you cna stroll through and check out a variety of vintage items from clothes and books to maps and old dish sets.

On the top portion of San Telmo you must stop at Paseo de la Historia (The comic tour) where you will find various sculptures of cartoon characters including Mafalda, a famous comic from Argentina.

We walked up to here from La Boca so we also walked through Lezama Park. The park was really pretty and had people hanging out and enjoying the beautiful Saturday afternoon there.

Recoleta.

Parts of this neighborhood felt very residential while we were walking through. The one big tourist spot to stop at here is the Recoleta Cemetery. This might seem a little creepy, but the mausoleums are absolutely stunning and worth walking through. This spot is also free to walk through.

Palermo.

In this neighborhood located on the northern side of the city there are a handful of parks to walk through. I would highly recommend visiting the Paseo El Rosedal, which is a beautiful rose garden. From there we walked to the Botanical Garden, but in my opinion if you do not have the time or do not care to walk this can be easily skipped. We missed the Japanese garden, but I think that would have been a better option to visit had we been able to spare the time.

We stayed in this neighborhood at a hotel called Be Hollywood. Location was not the best because it was out of the way, but the room was great. We booked last minute using the ID90 app and got a really good rate.

Food!

I definitely felt like the food we are on the trip was not what I would have expected to eat in Argentina, but it was kind of entertaining to me. One things that was suggested was steak. I don’t eat meat, but it is supposed to be good down there. We ate a lot of pizza there, which is due to a portion of the population having some bit of Italian descent.

I loved the interior of this restaurant near out hotel in Palermo called Parrilla La Dorita. The salad was much needed after all the pizza and mozzarella sticks I had been eating.

The empanada I ate at the San Telmo market was humita, which in Argentina is usually the filling made with corn and some mixture of cream and or cheese.