What to do…
CULTURE IN BUENOS AIRES
This is a city that abounds with Art Galleries and Museums. For more details see Buenos Aires Culture.
DURING THE DAY
With relatively few must-see sites besides the Casa Rosada, the Obelisk, Recoleta Cemetery and Teatro Colón (closed from October 2006 for supposedly 7 months of renovation yet still closed as at October 2007), a visit to Buenos Aires tends to be less about ogling architecture than absorbing culture. You can join those who pass the day in a park with ice cream or mate, the local herbal tea — start with a cone of frutilla granizada at Persicco, at the corner of Salguero and Cabello, or Volta near the corner of Avenida Libertador and Lafinur, one of the best of the city’s innumerable Italian-named ice cream shops. From there, stake out Las Heras Park, Avenida Las Heras and Avenida Coronel Diaz, where an array of dog walkers and bikini-clad (male and female) sunbathers attest to Argentines’ twin loves, sometimes simultaneous, of canines and bronzing.
Then stroll the embassy and jacaranda-lined Avenida del Libertador to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes , Avenida del Libertador 1473, tel 4803-0802, closed Mondays, free entry. The Buenos Aires art world got an upgrade in November, when works by Cézanne, Gauguin and Renoir, stolen from Bellas Artes on Christmas in 1980 and found in Paris in 2002, were returned and joined works ranging from Manet to Rothko.
“El estress” is a constant topic among Porteños (Buenos Aires residents), and many nearby estancias (ranches) offer half-day escapes from the city for those needing to unwind. A “Día de Campo” at the 1880 Italianate estancia built for General Pablo Ricchieri, Estancia El Ombú, Ruta 31, cuartel VI, Villa Lía, San Antonio de Areco, tel 4710-2795, includes gut-busting amounts of wine and gaucho-cooked meat, swimming in two pools and horseback rides on its 740 acres. A day costs $45 a person, $110 double occupancy, for a day and night (meals included).
WHAT TO DO AT NIGHT
As Buenos Aires night life starts vampirically late, a predinner cocktail or snack is advisable. Barring one of the regular openings at Malba (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires), where free wine brings out a large portion of the city’s art students, there’s El Diamante (Malabia 1688, second floor; 4831-5735; closed Sundays). Co-created by Sucre’s Fernando Trocca just over a year ago, the plant-filled roof deck on the Paraguayan-themed bar fills on Fridays and Saturdays with the young and well-dressed drinking concoctions like the capizen (vodka, ginger and hesperidina); 12 pesos.
After dinner, Las Cañitas’s young and affluent crowd the popular new Kandi (Báez 340; 4772-2453), which has a loungy vibe and retro Brady Bunch decorations. For tango, the city’s many choreographed shows can be entertaining, albeit overpriced. Travelers who want to participate should head to the 10:30 p.m. Friday or Saturday beginners classes (9:30 on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday) at La Viruta (6 pesos), curiously located in the basement of the city’s Armenian cultural center , Armenia 1366, tel 4774-6357 . After lessons, the dancing continues until 6 a.m.
Decorated with bright red walls, minichandeliers and white leather lounge chairs, the year-old Bulnes Class, Bulnes 1250, tel 4861-7492, Thursday to Saturday from 11 p.m. on, fills with a young gay male crowd looking for something more relaxed than the nightclubs.
Newly opened, check out Club 647 in San Telmo for coolness sublime.
For a web site (in spanish) to see what’s on, check out vuenosairez.com
YOUR FIRST TIME OR THE 10TH See a soccer game. Argentina’s soul bleeds for the sport, and the most fearsome rivalry is that between Boca Juniors and River Plate. If you can, go to one of the biannual Superclásicos between the two teams. The near-riot experience is really about watching passionate fandom, learning the songs and taunts, and discovering why visiting-team fans get a 30-minute head start after a game (their safety). Tickets to a Superclásico, usually scalped via a hotel concierge or ticket broker, run around 300 pesos. La Bombonera, home of the Boca Juniors, is a place of soccer legend Brandsen 805, tel 4309-4700.
HOW TO GET AROUND The easiest way to get around is via the huge fleet of yellow and black taxis; a trip across town will rarely cost more than 15 pesos. More independent visitors can take the subte (subway) or one of the careening city buses. For a transit and street map, buy a pocket-size “Guía T” (about 3 pesos) at a newspaper kiosk.
