i'm going to BUENOS AIRES in a couple of weeks... suggestions & recommendations plz!

also any guidebook recs would be appreciated... how's the BA lonely planet?

Well first, if you go to Recoleta cemetary, do NOT accept a personal tour from a guy who has keys to all the tombs and claims to work there.

Buenos Aires Zoo is great, and they have capybaras. It is right by some botanic gardens which are beautiful and full of stray cats.

La Boca is a good area to go in the daytime to see painted houses and 10000 pictures of Maradona's face.

If you go to the Plaza de Mayo on a Thursday you'll see the Madres, the old women who protest about their children who were made "desaparecidos" by the anticommunist military in the late 70s/early 80s. There's also a lot of permanent protests against treatment of the Falklands war veterans.

why not? will he kill me?

Oh and the metro system is really good, but if you want to go to La Boca you'll have to take a bus.

(xpost!)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0880016655/qid=1123699934/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-3873883-6515854?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

the metro system is really good
They have a nice name for it, the subte, because it is subterranean. I can't remember how I got to La Boca. Maybe I walked?

i just realized i know like nothing about buenos aires.

i'll totally go to that cafe!!

La Boca is a poor (but now really touristy) 'barrio' famous for garishly painted houses, tango and football. Boca Juniors, Maradona's team, play there.

Do you speak any Spanish, s1ocki?

the new lonely planet buenos aires is coming out in SEPTEMBER! argh

like i said, the lonely planet comes out in september & apparently the previous ed. was written BEFORE the devaluation. so no go there.

time out buenos aires is apparently really good but it TOO is coming out in a new ed. soon (november) so it's like impossible to find!!

I don't remember it being too hard to figure out how to get around Buenos Aires, it's not THAT big.

It might be easier to buy a guide for the whole of Argentina, which would still have a huge section on BsAs.

cozen: I think there are more people in BsAs of Italian descent than Spanish, and that is why. What is crazier is the slang they use called lunfardo which is like a mix of Spanish and Italian words said backwards!

will do

Let's see--I really loved the cemetar. Recoletta, that is. I kept going back. The Pilar chapel on the side of the cemetary is nice and cozy. I enjoyed the flea market in San Telmo. The neighborhood's pretty in a beat up sort of way, though it gets kinda dicey near the main train station. A couple tried to pull that scam where one of them spills ketchup on your jacket and while the other person tries to wipe it off for you the spiller steals your wallet. It didn't work, fortunately. I felt very safe most other places.

I was bit torn about the old zoo. It's a little depressing-- not the most animal-friendly zoo. But it's sort of quaint. Capybaras! I missed the Madres on Plaza de Mayo, though there was a sit-in by a bunch of Falklands solders who felt they hadn't received the proper recognition from the govenment or something like that. On the weekend I went to a traditional fair in a part of town called Mataderos where most of the slaughterhouses are. The Feria de Matedores. Lots of cute guachos and traditional dancers. And leather goods.

Things I never got around to doing: Tierra Santa: the Jesus theme park, La Boca, a ferry to Colonia in Uraguay, Le Tigre, loads of mini-museums. Oh, I did make it to a couple of the modern ones--I think there's one called Malba that was nice.

What else? The subte's pretty, well, the really old line. Don't be afraid to take taxis--as long as they're the radio taxis (remises, or something like that) you should be fine.

Record stores: My favorite record store was in one of those courtyard stripmalls on Avenida Santa Fe, around the big Santa Fe mall, on the other side of the street. Wow, I'm so much help. It was all vinyl and the guy who worked there was so nice! I wish I could remember the name. It's worth trying to find if you like vinyl. I also went to an indie-ish store in another strip mall off of Corrientes near the Avenida 9 de Julio. I'd heard there was a cool record store called Compakte but it was really rather tasteful and dull. I don't know, I read about it on some garage rock website but it wasn't what I was expecting at all.

Corrientes has load of book shops and a really cool movie memorabilia store (also not far from Avenida 9 de Julio). I wish I'd written the names of these place down! Darn. I didn't much care for the shopping area of Florida, the touts were so aggressive and the clothes were pretty crappy.

Food: I ate a lot of media lunes. I found it hard to get a decent breakfast. But, oh, the beef.

How's the weather? It was in the 50s most of the time when I was there (late June) and overcast for the most part. It felt like San Francisco weather.

Isn't it cute seeing waiters in full waiter get-up running down the street making deliveries with the pastry and the coffee on their trays? I wish they'd do that in New York.

How's the language thing going? I wish I'd boned up on my Spanish a bit more before I went. I found it particularly hard to distinguish the lower numbers from the higher numbers. Finding out the cost of things was more problematic than I thought it'd be. "Escribo, por favor!"

Well, I hope this doesn't get to you too late and is of some help...

Sorry if I misspelled any of the streets/sights. And have a ball!

totally!!

sadly arthur i missed your comments, i'm back!

but check out some pics:

http://flickr.com/photos/slutsky/sets/871549/

http://static.flickr.com/30/39600467_4102765c6a.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/23/39600514_13751cae2b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/33/39600599_138ed90668.jpg

i dont know a lick of spanish except for lame-o stuff and im a vegetarian but im extremely tempted to visit my friend who is currently living in buenos aires!!! also why are flights so damn expensers :(

uhh, bump. i am going next week. good music stuff--classical or just off the beaten path venues? i think teatro colon is closed for renovations until 2010. i was looking at places that reynols used to play, but that was not much help either. any food recs welcome too...

Go to Buenos Aires, meet ex-banking pricks.

that's your suggestion and recommendation?

More of a heads-up but hey, follow your bliss.

Any updates? Music / culture / food? Thanks.

I'll be able to offer advice soon, I'm moving there in two weeks.

Nice! I'm going this Friday for a week.

You can give me advice then!

try la catedral for tango. it's in a big warehouse packed with junk shop stuff in an out of the way part of town. it's great for people watching: drink some cheap wine and watch guys and girls in scruffy jeans and t-shirts doing these incredibly poised, graceful dances to scratchy old records (they do classes, but in spanish).

calle corrientes has a lot of small records stores. amazing disco records, 80's, awesome covers, cheap, etc.

I'd love to learn to tango, but learning that AND Spanish seems daunting. Perhaps there is some kind of synergistic effect of learning both at once.

Thanks for the tips folks! Also just received this message from a friend of a friend:

"First, HAVE FUN! Second, SHOP!
Las Pepas, Santa Fe 1631 for LEATHER JACKETS (more for women)!!! Casa Lopez on calle Santa Fe and near Calle Florida is FANTASTIC for leather goods as well. It is expensive, but now with the change of currency, worth it. Also, H Stern is right near there in the Marriott hotel—awesome jewelry (also in the airport). Humawaca has the best bags, and really interesting designs. In Palermo and now Recoleta.

Third: You should go to the PLAZA DE MAYO at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday to see the Madres march around the Plaza, if you can.

Fourth, go and eat at the following places:

Pippo's for pasta and beef: Corrientes y Montevideo or Callao and Santa Fe (cheap but yummy and very pueblo, aka average Argentine citizen).

La Estancia for GREAT beef: 9 de Julio y Lavalle

La Americana for GREAT empanadas: Callao and Bartolome Mitre

Cafe Tortoni for coffeee: Avenida de Mayo and Piedras—after the Plaza, walk down Avenida de Mayo and stop there for snacks! Also a decent tango show... we always took people there! Too touristy, now, but still a great cafe with lots of history.

El Federal: Now my favorite bar because Tortoni has become way too touristy; on Carlos Calvo and Peru in San Telmo.

Café Giralda for churros and chocolate: Corrientes, at the corner of Uruguay… a GREAT example of the old style café and WONDERFUL CHURROS filled with dulce de leche (delicious caramel).

Guerrin (I think it is spelled this way!) for FANTASTIC chicken pizza: Corrientes and Uruguay

Los Immortales for good pizza: lots of locations (on Corrientes near Guerrin)

Farmacia: also in San Telmo, and just a really cool café/ shop/ restó

Olsen: My favorite! 5870 Gorriti, Palermo Hollywood, great for lunch, dinner, brunch, everything! A Swedish miracle in Buenos Aires!

Nicer places are:

Millón: Paraná near Santa Fe, one of the coolest bars you will ever see!

La Brigada: another GREAT meat place, and reservations a must. In San Telmo. Much less fancy than La Cabaña, but almost as tasty. Estados Unidos 465

Bar 6: Fun restaurant and great café! Armenia 1676, near all the shopping in Palermo.

La Cabaña: best damn beef you will EVER eat. In Recoleta. The most expensive place on this list, but TOTALLY worth it!

Tegui: (http://www.facebook.com/l/ad949;www.tegui.com.ar/) In Palermo, and owned by the guy from Olsen. I have never been, but friends say it is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Casa Cruz is hip, has a slightly gay vibe, and fabulous! Wonderful food! In Palermo.

Nectarine: near the Alvear Palace, and so, so good. Lovely setting, intimate place, excellent food.

Tomo I: on the Avenida Nueve de Julio, a star place to eat (star chef) and very, very good.

Fifth, places to see:

1) La Boca and San Telmo (good for any day but Sat. and Sun. because there are simply too many people!);

2) Recoleta (do the fairs on Sat. and Sun., and DEFINITELY see the cemetery with Evita's grave site!);

3) Palermo, Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood, y el parque de Palermo: for shopping, food, and fun.

4) Plaza de Mayo and Plaza de Congreso (nice walk after seeing the Madres, as I said);

5) Puerto Madero (really expensive and ritzy, but fun to walk around).

6) Evita Museum: propaganda, but so interesting!

7) Latin American Art Museum, MALBA: excellent collection, great café, wonderful building.

And just walk around Corrientes... the street that never sleeps!

Oh, places to go out (some of these may not still be around, so check first)! Museum is a bit snobby, but can be fun! Moliere in San Telmo is great, kind-of U.S. type of bar (and if you eat there, you get to dance for free). I know that there are TONS of places on the Costanera as well, some really fun. And a BUNCH of bars in Palermo Viejo (like Mundo Bizarro), so check those out, too.

Also, there are towns outside B.A.: Tigre on the delta (you can take a boat), Adrogue (guacho stuff), Lujan (a famous church area), and Colonia, in Uruguay—a great day!"

wow!

Oh, and here's the wiki they created:
http://burdenslanding.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires
(with much of the same info)

I'll be there the first week of next month. Excited!

A couple tried to pull that scam where one of them spills ketchup on your jacket and while the other person tries to wipe it off for you the spiller steals your wallet. It didn't work, fortunately.

lol this actually happened to my dad when we were there (successfully). should have read arthur's suggestions first :(

Club del Progreso is one of the loveliest looking restaurants I have ever been in. Shame about how run down the area around it is, but it's worth it. The ojo de bife with a morcilla crust was superb.

Bump! re: record stores (especially electronic) and book stores (I keep hearing about the big one in the old theatre, but art and english academic books in general is good), and pretty much anything in general. Thanks.

The Ataneo Gran Splendid (the big one in the old theater) is pretty beautiful, but if you are there, walk east down Avenida Santa Fe to find more fun bookshops (and a book market). Avenida Corrientes (I think) is another street that has a ton of bookshops. The National Library is cool to look at, has a bar with a balcony, and has a Reader's Park nearby with a lot of cats in it (although not as many cats as the Botanical Garden).

going there on Friday, any tips?

where are you staying? how much time do you have?

I'll be there for 9 days, staying in the city but haven't booked anything yet (if you know anywhere cheap or fun to stay?), but we will have car rental so can do day-trips if you have anything nice to recommend outside the city!

i only spent a few days there (it was a side trip when i was living in santiago) but i remember palermo being a really beautiful neighborhood

la boca was cool too, a lot of tourists though

san telmo is also very cool, lots of historic buildings

San Telmo or Palermo are good locations for a hotel/lodging, although inside the city I'd rely on the Subte/radio taxis to get around instead of a car. Unless you've got a local to drive you... not sure how parking works there. The market on Defensa on Sunday is fun, but lots of people. Recoleta Cemetery is awesome, up around there is the Museo Xul Solar... very cool house with a museum in it of an artist with a surrealist/mystical bent. I loved that. Going up to the Tigre Delta just north of the city is fun, or you could drive down to Mar del Plata south of the city... I never went there, but it's a beachy resort town. Don't mistake La Plata for it... that's a neat little city but not a beach. Consider taking a bus up to Iguazu to see the waterfalls there. It'll take about a third of your trip but they're gorgeous. Shorter trips would be taking the ferry to Colonia, Uruguay (or Montevideo, which is longer trip but a neat analog to Buenos Aires for comparison). They are really, really good at restaurants and cafes. Like, the menu will be very similar no matter where you go, but meals start late and go for hours at an easy pace and it's just delightful.

To really appreciate the labyrinthian aspect of the city, I recommend getting drunk and getting well and truly lost on foot. It'll happen really quickly. But do it during the day and have enough cash so you can grab a taxi home when you'd had enough.

ty so much f hazel!

Shorter trips would be taking the ferry to Colonia, Uruguay

i did this, it was a cool little town

I'm in BA now, can confirm that you will have fun.

Not sure what you're tastes are but here are some things I've enjoyed:

Free classical concerts at the Law School (seem to be every Saturday)

Cocktails at Floreria Atlantico

Football at Racing Club (you can actually get tickets unlike Boca/River)

Jazz at Thelonious Club

Empanadas from La Cocina

Pizza from Cosi Mi Piace

Drinks at El Federal (pretty touristy but also pretty great)

And yeah just wandering round Palermo is a treat, except on Monday when nothing is open.

MALBA probably the pick of the museums I've been to and if there is something you like the look of at Teatro Colon it's an incredible building and the sound from where I was (up in the gods) was fantastic.

Have fun!

On a more general note, everyone is very friendly to tourists but you may run into a fair number of people who just don't speak any English at all. Also have cash... most shops have signs saying they accept credit cards but in practice they almost never accepted anything but cash. American dollars will be received very happily if you bring some. Make sure the bills are crisp and untorn though. ATMs will give you 100-peso bills and nobody will want to make change for you. Go to McDonald's and buy a Coke, pay with your 100 peso bill and they will get annoyed but McD's will always, always make change for you. Or find the American Express office and cash a traveler's check, request all small bills. We got like 1500 pesos in 10s and 5s and it made our lives so much easier I might have literally cried. Don't know if this is still true, but when I lived there there was an extreme shortage of coins as well... you may not get the change you're expecting because they just don't have any.

Oh yeah, go to the Botanical Gardens, they're free, pretty and teeming with hundreds and hundreds of cats. Unless you hate cats. Then do not go there. Recoleta Cemetery and the park in front of the National Library are also overflowing with cats.

So many great recommendations! We’ll be there saturday for a week. We have a soccer game and Colonia booked so far. Need to go through these posts 1-by and make some notes. Any vintage/junk shops/areas to know about? Markets mentioned upthread i’ll look at. Also, off-chance, but is there a BA ilxor that would fancy a pint?

BUMP for my latenight sudamericana ppl