Buenos Aires
November 2022
4 Days
To see the previous stop on this trip, go here to Ushuaia
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city in Argentina. This was our final stop in Argentina before flying back home via Mexico City.
Flights
Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy USH-AEP: Cash one-way
Aeromexico Business EZE-MEX-ORD: 58,000 AMEX points one-way transferred to Aeromexico Club Premier (20% transfer bonus) + $148 taxes & fees
Hotels
Park Hyatt Buenos Aires: 100,000 Hyatt points for 4 nights + Suite Upgrade
▸ 5 Star luxury hotel located in the Recoleta neighborhood combining a modern building with an old palace.
Park Hyatt Mendoza - Mendoza, Argentina 2022
Food
Don Julio - Regularly cited as the best steakhouse in the world and top-10 restaurant. A must visit.
Osaka - Trendy spot serving Cocina Nikkei (Peruvian-Japanese fusion). Unique and tasty, but a bit on the expensive side.
Duhau Restaurante y Vinoteca - One of three restaurants at Palacio Duhau. Argentinian fine dining and a decent option if you are staying there or happen to be nearby.
Bao Kitchen - The biggest bao I've ever seen! A cheap food option we stopped at. Good food, but no need to go out of your way.
Activities
Plaza de Mayo & Casa Rosada
Bicentenary Museum
Walk around Palermo
Visit Tigre
Tango
La Recoleta Cemetary
San Telmo Market
La Boca
MALBA Museum
Full Itinerary
Day 1
We arrived into Buenos Aires at night from Ushuaia and by the time we made it to our hotel, we were very hungry and very tired so we just had dinner at the hotel and went to bed. The Park Hyatt Buenos Aires was an excellent hotel and at category 6 goes for as low as 21,000 points per night.
Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt Buenos Aires - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Calle Florida
Calle Florida is an historic street which is now a pedestrian only shopping street. Maybe more importantly, this is where to go if you need to exchange cash. It seemed there was someone exclaiming "cambio, cambio" every 10 feet!
Plaza de Mayo
Our purpose for walking down Calle Florida was to get to Plaza de Mayo, the main public square in the city.
At the west end of the square is the Cabildo, the building used as the seat of the town council during the Colonial Era. A guide previously in our trip had told us you could always find a protest of some sort in the square and we did.
Protestors in Plaza de Mayo - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Casa Rosada
At the east end of the square is the Casa Rosada, the office of the President. Like the White House, but the Pink House.
Casa Rosada - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Bicentenary Musem
Just past the Casa Rosada is the entrance to the Bicentenary Museum, an excellent place to learn some of the city's history.
President Juan Perón's Cadillac - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
After the museum it was time for the part of the trip I had been looking forward to most. Don Julio is regularly noted as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world and arguably the best steakhouse in the world. Obviously, we had to go here and I was able to get a reservation just by looking online although it was for a late lunch.
The service was great, the steak was excellent, and it didn't break the bank - $65 for both of us inlcuding appetizers, wine, and dessert!
Don Julio - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Palermo
Don Julio is in the Palermo neighborhood, a hip area with tree lined streets filled with shops, bars, and restaurants. We spent a bit of time walking off the food before heading back to the hotel.
Day 2
Tigre
After an early night on our first day, we set off for Tigre the next morning. Tigre is a town to the Northwest of Buenos Aires and serves as the primary gateway to the inland waterways. The train from Retiro station is about 45 minutes, although we had to get on at Belgrano C due to construction at Reitro.
We spent the morning strolling the old fruit market filled with many stores, restaurants, and snack stalls. If you are interested, there are many opportunities for boat tours/rides from here.
Tigre - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Tango Concert
In the evening we had planned a Tango Airbnb experience which we did not know what to expect. It turned out to be a bit of a private concert held by Kevin and Maria who tour globally performing Tango songs including originals. While there was no dancing as we were expecting (we did not know Tango could refer just to the music as well) it was still a unique experience to learn some of the local culture.
After many meals consisting of steak, we were ready to try something new. It turns out that Cocina Nikkei fusion is a popular cuisine in Argentina featuring Peruvian-Japanese fusion. For dinner we went to Osaka in Palermo and the food was definitely unique but excellent.
Flaming Scallops at Osaka - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Day 3
La Recoleta
We started the next morning by going to the cemetary. Though not something you would normally think to do on vacation, Recoleta Cemetary is a very popular tourst attraction due to it's uniqueness. The cemetary is comprised of rows and rows of mausoleums, making the entire place feel like a mini city. It is the burial ground for some of the most famous Argentinians including probably the most famous Argentinian Eva Perón.
La Recoleta - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
San Telmo Market
Following our cemetary visit, we bought a 24 hour pass for the hop-on hop-off bus so that we could explore some of the other areas of Buenos Aires. From Recoleta, we took the bus a few stops to the San Telmo Market, which is only held on Sundays. Vendors lined both sides of the street as far the eye could see selling all sorts of trinkets, antiques, and souvenirs.
San Telmo Market - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
La Boca
Just another couple stops further from San Telmo, we arrived at the vibrant La Boca neighborhood. El Caminito is the main "alley" with buildings painted in bright colors, some featuring mannequins in the windows depicting various figures from footballers to politicians.
The area is filled with many shops, galleries, restaurants, and bars. We had a beer and some food at Temple Craft Caminito before heading back to the hotel.
La Boca - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Tango Porteño
In the evening, we went to a Tango show which we had walked past a couple nights previously. Of course it's meant for tourists, but it was still a fun experience to watch the dancers perform.
Day 4
MALBA
On our final day in Buenos Aires, the rain came in. As our flight wasn't until 11pm we had a lazy morning before deciding to check out the MALBA art museum.
The MALBA features works from Latin and South American artists, mostly from the 20th century. The works of Frida Kahlo are probably the most well-known ones here, although Abaporú by Tarsila do Amaral (pictured) was definitely my favorite.
Abaporú at MALBA - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Bao Kitchen
As we were wandering around the city in the evening waiting to heard to the airport, we stopped at Bao Kitchen for dinner. The food was decent enough, though the Bao was the largest I have ever seen!
Bao Kitchen - Buenos Aires, Argentina 2022
Overall
Overall, we had a good time in Buenos Aires (especially the hotel!) although it was very much like many other big cities with similar attractions. I'm not sure we would need to spend much more time in Buenos Aires although I would definitely go back to Ushuaia and Mendoza again. This trip was my first time in South America and I absolutely loved it. I'm already trying to decide where in South America to go next.
In Photos
