My Argentina adventure began with the capitol of Buenos Aires, and it was rather fitting for this city to bring that adventure to a close; it helped set expectations for what I would experience during my trip, including the people, their culture, their values, and their way of life, and for it to be where I left the country gave me the chance to reflect upon those expectations and experiences.

The Argentines

From what I’ve observed over the course of my trip, the people of Argentina are affectionate, passionate, and always down for a good time.

They love to spend time with those they care about. They’ll greet and bid farewell to each other with kisses to the cheek. They’ll drink from the same cup of yerba mate. After finishing their food at a dine-in restaurant, people tend to stay and chat for a long time, enjoying each other’s company, and the restaurant staff are generally fine with that. I was traveling alone, and servers never came by with the bill unprompted; I had to ask for it every single time, and I think that threw them for a loop.

They’re late starters, and night life is absolutely bustling. If you want to avoid crowds at a place of interest, go there at opening time. Not a ton of places, particularly restaurants, open early in the morning aside from panaderias (bakeries) and cafeterias (cafes), with most dine-in restaurants tending to start their day at noon. A lot of them take mid-afternoon breaks before starting their evening service, which runs quite late - sometimes up until 2:00am. Restaurants only open for several hours a day in the evenings are not uncommon.

Buenos Aires is quite the recreational city. While public infrastructure conditions vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, there’s no denying the amount of effort that has gone into bike infrastructure implementation. Most places I went to have dedicated bike lanes, and there are a tons of cyclists who use them. Walk around the parks like I did, and you’ll see sports club facilities, with more often than not a crowd of onlookers cheering players on. I also appreciated the fact that the city was quite green - not to the extent that Portland, Oregon is, but trees line most streets, demonstrating an emphasis on urban forestry.

A City of Craft

Argentines are a people who appreciate craft, especially in service of their culture and history.

Spend even an hour in Buenos Aires, and the architecture will leave an impression. There’s a European influence, specifically Italian, in the way that a lot of buildings are designed, and oftentimes, I would gaze up and wonder if I was in Europe instead of South America. Tours of famous buildings like Teatro Colón and Palacio Barolo, underline just that. Our tour guide at Teatro Colón, an opera house so renown for its acoustics that apparently people could hear the mistakes in Luciano Pavarotti’s singing when he performed there, pointed out the building elements like the columns and bannisters to tell us where the materials came from. While the concert hall itself had its lights turned off due to testing, I could still comprehend and appreciate the decades of work that made the building a reality. The Palacio Barolo was intentionally designed to evoke and pay homage to Dante’s Divine Comedy, and its Italian architect’s attention to even the most minute detail was simply astounding. Plus, once you get to the lighthouse at the top of this building, you get an excellent view of the cityscape for miles around. I would also recommend visiting the El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a former theater converted into a very majestic bookstore.

Even a place like the Cementerio de la Recoleta, which sounds morbid if you only take its name at face value, is a photographer’s dream, with its thousands of unique marble mausoleums, coupled with the cemetery’s layout, creating lines upon lines of perspective no matter which way I looked. From the statutes to the crucifixes, from the stones to the plaques, everything has been put together with intent and respect.

You shouldn’t be surprised to hear that Buenos Aires is a very artistic city, but once you see even a few of the countless murals spread out across the city, that statement seems like an oversimplification. From the quiet, laid-back neighborhood of Palermo SoHo (where I mostly stayed during my time in the city) to the bright, blaring colors of Caminito and the anime-inspired aesthetic in Barrio Chino, from alleys to subway stations, you’ll see murals of all shapes and sizes, sometimes paying tribute to famous footballers (they’re still riding that 2022 World Cup high - and for good reason) or expressing frustration with the country’s economic troubles. Any place with a mural is a place with a personality and a voice.

There’s no shortage of artisans in Buenos Aires. On any day, you’re likely to find some kind of street market - some of which stretch for blocks and blocks, like the Feria de San Telmo - where vendors sell handcrafted trinkets and souvenirs, from yerba mate gourds to chessboards. Just as the country is well known for its beef, it’s also well known for its leatherwork. I bought a handbag and belts for my family members from Arandu in Recoleta, and I was so taken aback by the quality and colors of the leather they offer.

The Eats: Around the Table

The culinary landscape in Buenos Aires is nothing short of exciting, and while I didn’t love everything I ate there, I’m still glad I got to eat what I did. As far as the highlights go…

Everyone raves about asado, or Argentinean barbecue, and for good reason. The quality of the meat is top-notch, and the smells wafting from a parrilla are nothing short of enticing and heavenly. You could go for the familiar cuts, like ojo de chorizo (sirloin) or asado de tira (short ribs), but why not try something you may not be able to get everywhere, like the soft and fatty mollejas (sweetbreads) or the irony, pungent morcilla (blood sausage)? Heck, even a choripán (grilled chorizo sandwich) at a place like Nuestra Parrilla is be worth its weight in gold.

Pizza is a culture in and of itself. The late Anthony Bourdain once described New York-style pizza as a “unique, working class, universal experience,” and pizza in Buenos Aires, priced so affordably, fits that description to a T. Whether I was waiting in line for 20 minutes at 11:30am at the Netflix-famed Las Chicas de la 3 or at 11:30pm at La Mezzetta, I was surrounded by people from all walks of life, and by the time I sank my teeth into a forkful of tortilla rellena at the former or fugazzetta at the latter, it felt as though I was sharing those delicious slices - or “porciones” as they call those - with everyone else around me, making it a communal experience even though I didn’t really speak to anyone besides the staff.

If you’re looking for cheap eats besides pizza, look no further than empanadas, which you can find on any city block. Perhaps shockingly, the best one I had was the complimentary one I got at Parrilla Peña, which ended up overshadowing the asado I had there!

In case you’re wondering where the best food I had in Argentina was, the answer lies at El Preferido de Palermo, where I ordered a spread of small bites. If you ever go (and you should), order the langostinos al ajillo (garlic king prawns), which offered the most concentrated shrimp flavor in a dish that I’ve ever tasted.

Travel Tips:

As I alluded to in one of my earlier Argentina posts, WhatsApp is absolutely necessary, as virtually everyone in the country uses it, from individuals to businesses. Some places will advertise their WhatsApp number as the best method to reach them. Because of this, you can get by pretty easily if you get a data-only eSIM.
While you’ll find people who can speak English (particularly at hotels, restaurants, and shops), it’s best to come with some understanding of Spanish. Even then, be prepared for the Argentinian accents and pronunciation; I studied Spanish for about five and a half years from middle school into college, and some of what I had grown up learning (like how the double “l” is typically pronounced as a “y”) had to be rewired (Argentines pronounce the double “l” as “sh”).
Yelp may come in handy outside of the US, but it’s almost never used in Argentina. I would recommend searching for restaurants on Google Maps and then looking at the ratings and reviews from there. Also, check the times before you commit to a place!
Buenos Aires is a city jam-packed with people, and because of this, public transportation is king. Almost every time I ordered an Uber, the rides would run long unless it was early in the morning, and that’s because traffic on local roads moves at the pace of tar and molasses on a scorching day. The city’s subway, also known as Subte, is reliable and easy to pick up if you’ve ever taken the subway anywhere else. I got a blank Sistema Único de Boleto Electrónico (SUBE) card from my hotel, filled it with about 9,000 pesos, and that lasted me during my whole time in the city.
On the Subte, it’s very common for individuals to go around the cars trying to sell trinkets or even random items like tissue packets or card holders for a couple thousand pesos apiece. Some may drop these in your lap, but don’t panic if they do; if you don’t intend on purchasing, just leave it alone (or set it off to the side if the seat next to you is empty), and they’ll return and take it back.
Everyone jaywalks, and the police don’t care so long as you’re not being stupid about it. When you want to cross a road, check to see what direction the traffic is heading in. If it’s a one-way street (which are very common), then your task is very easy. Prioritize your safety.
For those concerned about safety, I’ll say this: the police presence is no joke in Buenos Aires. I would see at least one police officer - typically wearing a maroon shirt, black pants, and a tactical vest - every few blocks, usually walking around.
Make it a habit to look at the ground that you walk on. Dog owners appear to not pick up after their pets, so the result is their feces peppering the sidewalks. I found this to be the case in Palermo and San Telmo, and I guess this explains why the streets are cleaned pretty regularly.

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