Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina and is one of the largest cities in South America. Locals like to claim that their city really is the ‘Paris of the South’. The city has a long seafaring history and was influenced by Spanish colonisers, British capitalists and Italian immigrants, creating a vibrant mix of architecture, food and culture. With a great climate, friendly people, tasty food and for a very reasonable price. Buenos Aires is truly a world-class city. Plus, its public transit system is the best in South America (even better than many of the cities in the States) and the only city I visited where Google Transit works!

Buenos Aires - First Impression

I arrived at Buenos Aires at 5 p.m. I did mention that surprisingly Google Transit works in Buenos Aires. With that, I decided to take a direct bus from the airport to my hostel. Friends, do remember to purchase a transit card. Mine was purchased in Ushuaia and works in Buenos Aires as well.

It was a little bit crazy to carry all my huge backpacks in an extremely crowded bus during the peak hour. But I managed to find my temporal home in the city, Selina! Yes, after 2-month, I finally arrived at a city where Selina operates! Again, BA Selina locates Palermo Soho, a trendy neighborhood in Buenos Aires home to cocktail bars, sizzling Argentinian grills, and plenty of culture. There I was, at a huge bus stop (with probably over 10-15 bus lines stopping there) at Plaza Italia. I walked on the tree-lined street and instantly fell in love with this area!

My first night at BA spent on visiting laundry store, stocking food and drinks for my stay in supermarket and lastly hunting for dinner! There were plenty of fancy restaurants in the area. But I was filled with Argentinean grills in Calafate and Chalten, so I went to an Asian restaurant. It was decorated as Asian street food court, with Japanese, Korean and Chinese menu.

I was so hungry so I had one appetizer and two entrees…I guess the waiter was a little bit shocked. This was my table, Korean bulgogi rice bowl, Taiwanese braised beef noodle and fried dumplings!

That night was ended with a cocktail at Selina’s rooftop bar! What a prefect ending for the day!

Tour in BA’s Downtown

The next day, I took the subway to visit BA’s downtown area. Here, I really need to emphasize that the public transit system in BA is really GREAT and very cheap (around 20 ARS per ride for buses and metro).

So first, was the icon of Buenos Aires, the Obelisk! The main street, Av. 9 de Julio has?! The wide road in the photo was Avenida 9 de Julio. It has more than 12 lanes and is the world’s widest street!

Street view of BA’s downtown.

I was walking on the street and passed by a Starbuck. All of sudden, I remembered a backpacker I met in Ushuaia told me that she had the cheapest Starbuck coffee in BA. To check out the price, I had my only Starbuck’s coffee in South America. Grande dark roast for 140 ARS (~ 2.35 USD). I think it’s cheaper in the States. But having a cup of coffee in the morning and watching busy people passing by was proved to be a very pleasant morning rest!

Then I visited Metropolitan Cathedral, where Mausoleum of General San Martín was placed.

Next stop was the Casa Rosada (the Pink House). The Pink House, like the White House in the U.S. is the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina.

Located close to the city center, Puerto Madero, a redeveloped port area is well worth a visit to walk along the river. There were many bars and restaurants for having a leisurely meal or some refreshments.

Another tourist attraction in BA’s downtown is Calle Florida. This shopping street is only open to pedestrians. Florida Street is perfect for those scrambling to pick up some last minute traditional touristy gifts such as football jerseys, shot glasses, mate sets and Taiwanese tango figurines. There are also leather goods on sale.

Last note on Calle Florida, there will be plenty of brokers calling out “Cambio! Cambio!”. You may consider to exchange with somebody there. Their exchange rates were much better than from the banks! At that time, my Chase bank’s exchange rate was approximately 60 ARS for 1 U.S. dollar. On that street, I got 68 ARS for 1 U.S. dollar. But that was the rate for over 100 U.S dollars.

Tour of Theaters

Colón Theatre

The Teatro Colon, in the City of Buenos Aires, is considered one of the best theaters in the world. Acknowledged for its acoustics and the artistic value of its construction, it turned 100 years in 2008.

To visit the inside of the theater, you have to join a one-hour guided tour. The discount cost for early morning and late afternoon tour was 800 ARS (~ 15 USD). You will not only have the opportunity to tour the inside of the theater but also learn some of the history and interesting stories about it.

Stunning stained glass domes.

Golden hall!

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

First as a performing arts theater, then as a cinema, and now a bookstore—the Grand Splendid was named the “world’s most beautiful bookstore” by the National Geographic.

Tour in Colorful Caminito

Caminito (“little walkway” or “little path” in Spanish) is a street museum and a traditional alley, located in La Boca, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This lane boasts a thriving street with peddlers selling art, buskers playing music and stalls offering trinkets of every variety. Colorful shanty houses line each side of the street and impromptu performances are often carried out by talented tango dancers.

This tiny neighborhood was nice to visit. However, it is a really TINY area. I guess the alley is about 100 meters in length. If you were alone and not planning to have some refreshment or meals there, it would take you at most 1 hour for touring the area.

Food in Buenos Aires

First, the only non-Asian meal in BA for my first stay.

Paella with one beef empanada for 560 ARS (~ 10 USD)

Then some Asian restaurants checks around my hostel in Palermo.

And the following was from the BEST Chinese restaurant (Beijing Restaurant) I have tried in South America. Very authentic taste. The following meal was two appetizers with one entrée. A little bit too much for one person, but normal for me :)

Later, I found that there is a China town in BA and conveniently located 4-5 subway stops away from my hostel. So I went there for my dinner for most of time.