Buenos Aires is one of those cities I would go back to again and again.
Visiting Buenos Aires is actually something I have done throughout my life, and there is not a single trip that I haven’t enjoyed or that I have regretted. Buenos Aires is a city where you always have a lot to do, a lot to eat and to enjoy! Since it is the capital of Argentina, it holds all the best from the country: great food and beautiful culture.
You can travel to Buenos Aires for as long as you want to because there will always be things to do, however, you can also travel only for the weekend, and it would be the best weekend you will have! Here is a suggested itinerary for you to have the perfect weekend in B.A.
THE PERFECT WEEKEND ITINERARY TO BUENOS AIRES
Friday Morning
First things first. Breakfast. One of the main things you should know is that Buenos Aires is where you find the b-e-s-t croissants. They are the perfect combination of soft and crunchy and their flavor is unbeatable. Head on to a café to get coffee and croissants (they are called “medialunas” or “facturas”). If you want to start your morning with a view, then head off to La Panera Rosa, in Puerto Madero. If you want to try one of the best-ranked medialunas, then you could go to Le Blé or Bella Italia Café.
Let’s go visit Buenos Aires now!
One of the best things we did on our last trip to Buenos Aires, was to get a two-day ticket for the Buenos Aires Bus. This is a company that works with hop-on hop-off, and it takes you to the most popular sites in Buenos Aires. I suggest you get a two-day ticket and decide where you would like to start first, and the route you want to take each day to take full advantage of the ticket.
You can do the following route by bus, by walking, or by doing both:
The Obelisk is one of the most emblematic sites in Buenos Aires for tourists and for locals. That is where all soccer supporters gather to celebrate their team’s and that is where all the social movements gather as well. Fun fact: the Avenida 9 de Julio is also one the broadest avenidas of the city.
After visiting the Obelisk, you should stop by Teatro Colon, a symbol of culture and arts in Buenos Aires. It was founded in 1908, and since then it has hosted famous conductors, dancers, and singers, like Igor Stravinsky, Luciano Pavarotti, Julio Bocca, and Maximiliano Guerra. Make sure to check their tickets because coming to see a show is a must-do in our itinerary!
Keep walking and find Calle Florida, one of the city’s first and most famous pedestrian streets. It is perfect for window shopping (or actually shopping!), and to admire the beautiful architecture of its buildings. In Calle Florida, you will find the Galerias Pacifico, a shopping center with beautiful murals painted by Argentine artists.
Plaza de Mayo is where many historic events have taken place and where you will find a lot of emblematic buildings like the Casa Rosada (site of the executive branch of the national government), the Cabildo, and the Metropolitan Cathedral.After all this sightseeing, you should stop and have lunch in Puerto Madero. One of my favorite places to go (and my husband’s as well), is Siga la Vaca (https://sigalavaca.com/en/.) I should warn you: you will be full for the rest of the day for sure after this lunch! This is a site where they offer all-you-can-eat “parrilla Argentina” (the authentic Argentine parrilla!). Make sure to walk around the Puente de la Mujer and the bridge after this filling lunch!
Friday Afternoon
From Puerto Madero, you can hop on the bus again or grab a taxi and go to the Rosedal de Palermo, also known as Paseo del Rosedal. This is a beautiful garden located in Palermo, where you can go for free, walk around and enjoy the fountains, lakes, and of course, stunning roses. Another great plan to do is to visit the Japanese Garden (Jardin Japones), where again, walking through a garden is a great plan to do.
Argentines have a meal in between lunch and dinner, which they call merienda. This meal usually includes a cup of coffee, or hot cocoa, and some pastries, like (again) medialunas, facturas, or hot sandwiches. If you want to take a break from your day, you should go to Las Violetas a restaurant recognized because of its trajectory, architecture, and tradition.
Friday Night
It’s Friday night and there is a must-do in the city: go to a theatre! After our merienda, you should do a little more walking and get ready for a show. For a complete touristy experience, I recommend going to the Teatro Colón and watching a play in this beautiful and emblematic building. However, there are also other theatres you can visit, like Teatro Cervantes. You can also hit Corrientes Street and there will be plenty of other theatres to go to, like the Grand Rex.
Saturday Morning
After enjoying some medialunas, you should hop on the bus and head to La Boca neighborhood. Make sure to bring your camera because the brightly colored houses on Caminito Street are something you should definitely take pictures of! Caminito is a pedestrianized street famous for the colors of sheet metal tenement homes built by Genoese immigrants. This street is one of the most famous streets in B.A, and for a good reason! Walking through this street is magical, and one of the things I like the most was the life that people brought to this place: you could see couples dancing the Tango, street vendors selling empanadas and choripanes, and a lot of art. If you are into art, in this area you will find the Museo Quiquela Martin, Teatro de la Ribera, and the modern Fundacion Proa, which hosts international contemporary art exhibitions.
For all the soccer lovers out there, a few blocks away from Caminito, you will find the famous Boca Juniors´ Bombonera Stadium. This is a stadium dedicated to the club’s history! The good thing is that you can get a tour inside, get to see the museum and buy some Boca Juniors’ t-shirts afterward.
Saturday Afternoon
After lunch, you could walk through the streets of San Telmo, another classic neighborhood worth visiting. You can visit the Parque Lezama, a park designed by Charles Thays, a famous French landscaper. There you can take a stroll through one of the most attractive parks in Buenos Aires, and visit the mansion that is now home to the National History Museum.
For your merienda, I suggest you stop by Havanna Café
In these cafés, you will find one of the most delicious “alfajores” that Buenos Aires has to offer. You can have an alfajor, an havannet, or any of the products they sell with coffee.
Saturday Night
Your last night in Buenos Aires should be memorable. That is why you should catch a Tango show! In Teatro Astor Piazzolla you get the chance to have dinner AND watch an exclusive tango show that is highly recommended! The theater offers different packages, where one includes dinner and show, another includes only show and the other even includes a 30-minute class before the show!
Sunday Morning
One of the most traditional things we do in Buenos Aires is enjoying our Sundays in the Recoleta neighborhood. I recommend starting your morning with the right foot, and that means with a delicious breakfast with (you know it) medialunas, in a place called La Biela, that stands in a corner where you can see the park. This cafe is part of a series of historic cafes known as Cafes Notables, and it is considered to be the oldest cafe in the city.
After your breakfast, enjoy a walk in the Recoleta streets, visit the Recoleta Cemetery, a curious and laberintic cemetery worth visiting where a lot of famous people were buried. Some of those people were the founding fathers of Argentina, along with many aristocrats, intellectuals, and one of the most famous people in Argentina: Maria Eva Duarte de Peron, known as Evita.
Right after the cemetery, you can walk through the Avenida Alvear, where there are some of the most expensive and impressive mansions in the city. Only some blocks away you will find what is called the Museums District: an area filled with museums, covering everything from decorative art to architecture and sculptures. You can visit the National Railway Museum, the Museum of Architecture and Design, the Palais de Glace, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (which has what is considered Argentina’s most important collection of art), and the Museum of Decorative Art. One of the sculptures that are very photogenic and that you cannot miss is the Floralis Generica, a 20m high flower whose aluminum petals open at dawn and close at dusk.
Sunday Afternoon
You could have lunch in the area and then visit Palermo Viejo. Its Plaza Cortazar is a popular meeting point, and the streets are full of design shops, restaurants, bars, and terrace cafes. Palermo Viejo is a great place to get lost in its streets where you will find beautiful street art in Pasajes Soria, Santa Rosa, and Russell.
Another option that is highly recommended, is to head off to Feria de Mataderos, which is just half an hour from the center of the city. It is said that it is the perfect place to have lunch and visit the craft fair. During lunchtime, in the Mercado Nacional de Hacienda, you can find stalls offering traditional regional cuisine, like locro (a meat and corn stew), empanadas, and tamales. The Mercado is also a great place to buy souvenirs and goodies because it has stands that offer gaucho craft, from mates, ponchos, blankets to silver and leather goods. The streets right next to the fair have artistic displays like regular music and folk dance performances as well as gaucho horse riding competitions and games of pato – Argentina’s national sport.
Our perfect weekend in Buenos Aires has come to an end, but this is a city that you can come to every time and always find things to do. Have you booked your next trip already?
Que lo disfruten,
Yours truly,
Giulianna
PS: Buenos Aires has a great website for tourism, you should check it out to learn more about the city!
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