Here is our list of the top 20 best things to do in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The name of the city can be translated as “fair winds” or “good airs”, but the first one was the meaning intended by the founders in the 16th century. Buenos Aires is a very multicultural city, as it is home to multiple ethnic and religious groups, and has a very high quality of life, the best one in South America. The city hosted numerous international events as well, making it an important city on the continent. It is a top tourist destination, as millions of people come here each year to take a break and explore the city. For this, we have made a list of the top 20 best things to do in Buenos Aires.
- Palermo
Palermo is a neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It can be broken down into smaller districts, each having their own speciality or what they are known for. Some of these include Palermo Chico, which has beautiful and extravagant mansions, Alto Palermo, which is the shopping district, Palermo Nuevo and Palermo Zoológico, which are known for their attractions, Palermo Soho, which is the fashion and upscale shop area, Palermo Hollywood, which is based around film studios and festive outdoor markets, and Palermo Viejo, the oldest part of the neighborhood with beautiful streets and houses.
2. Rose Garden Walk
The Rose Garden Walk is beautiful garden in Palermo filled with more than a thousand species of rose, all in one place. It’s a tranquil experience that even those who don’t care that much about flowers will surely admire. The flowers come from all around the world, which makes it similar to Buenos Aires, being a multicultural city.
3. Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires
The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires, located in Palermo, provides art enthusiasts with a great display of Latin American Art, especially from the 19th and 20th century. Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Antonio Berni are just a few of the artists whose works appear here. This museum is the best place for those who want to see the modern art of this country and the continent.
4. Mataderos
Mataderos is another popular neighbourhood of the city. Guachos (similar to cowboys) ride on majestic horses and compete with each other, market vendors offer a colorful array of crafts and food, and ornately costumed tango dancers flock the streets and give life to it with traditional country dancing. It’s like there’s a festival there every day. You can also take guacho classes and try out the different local foods here.
5. La Recoleta Cemetery
The La Recoleta Cemetery of the city is where many notable and famous people where buried. These include people like Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and even a granddaughter of Napoleon. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. Art nouveau, art deco, and modernist mausoleums can be found here, and even a large black structure featuring white marble angels.
6. National Museum of Fine Arts
The National Museum of Fine Arts holds 24 exhibit halls housing a fine international collection of paintings from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century, as well as painting from many Argentine artists, like Antonio Berni, Ernesto de la Cárcova, Benito Quinquela Martín, Eduardo Sívori, Alfredo Guttero, Raquel Forner, Xul Solar, Marcelo Pombo and Lino Enea Spilimbergo. The institution also has a specialized library with a collection of 150 thousand volumes, as well as a public auditorium.
7. Puerto Madero
The Puerto Madero is a port that was originally used for tradings with Europe, but today it is more known for the great seafood restaurants and bars that are scattered around the place. During the night, it becomes even more lively with people coming to have a party or dance at one of the clubs. Even if you are not interested in partying, coming here is one of the best things to do in Buenos Aires since just taking a stroll here during the day or at night is worth it.
8. Children’s Museum
The Children’s Museum is like a big indoor playground where kids can explore a miniature Buenos Aires, complete with a hospital, a newsroom, a TV station, and a post office. They can run around the replicas of the landmarks of the city, or pretend to be a doctor, a reporter, a policeman, or many other professions. If you come to the city with young children, then this place must be high on the list of things to do in Buenos Aires for you.
9. San Telmo
If you love to dance or see dancers, then the district of San Telmo is the place for you. Colonial houses, quaint cafés, traditional restaurants, shops, markets, and festive flamenco and tango clubs fill the place. You can try out the dances at many of these, or if you just want to see the dancers, then you can simply do so. The restaurants are also great if you want to grab a bite while you are there.
10. El Zanjón de Granados
The El Zanjón de Granados is located in San Telmo, and it serves as a memorial to the history of the city. From the outside the building looks like a mansion, but inside you’ll find traces of the 500-year-old history of Buenos Aires. A network of underground maze-like tunnels await visitors, with ancient artifacts, and old walls and flooring.
11. Corrientes Avenue
Corrientes Avenue is a highly popular place for both tourists and citizens, as it has cinemas, world-renowned theaters, charming bookstores and boutiques, excellent cafés, tango dancers, everything. The avenue is bustling with life all day long, so it doesn’t matter when you arrive, as you can’t miss anything.
12. Colón Theater
The Colón Theater is the main opera house in Buenos Aires and it is ranked the third best opera house in the world by National Geographic thanks to its excellent accoustics. European-style decoration ranging from Italian-marble staircases and Venetian mosaics to French stained glass and a gleaming grand chandelier await visitors in this magnificent opera house. The theater also hosted numerous famous artists like Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, and Luciano Pavarotti.
13. Buenos Aires Botanical Garden
The Buenos Aires Botanical Garden is a big garden known for its large variety of around 5,000 species of plants. It has beautiful statues, greenhouses and fountains as well as different gardens, including a Roman garden, a French garden, an Oriental garden and an Argentinean Indigenous Americas garden. Cats have also recently been coming here and making it their home. They are domesticated cats left by their owners for some reason or another, but now the volunteer staff feeds them, allowing them to live here.
14. La Boca
La Boca is a neighbourhood in the city known for its European style and immigrants. It was originally a shipyard full of European settlers and immigrants, but now it just a regular district with boutiques and art galleries. The brightly coloured houses and the street vendors will probably make you feel at home, especially since the locals are very friendly.
15. Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo
The Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo is a famous and popular horce racing venue. It has been in operation for almost 150 years, and hosts 10 horse races each month. It also features a casino, a shopping area, and delectable French restaurants.
16. Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo has been a historic square ever since the Argentina declared independence from the Spanish colonial rule. It’s a political center of the city, since the presidential headquarters are located here, and protests are also frequently held here. It’s a beautiful square, nevertheless, and worth visiting, especially the Pirámide de Mayo, which stands as a monument for the uprising.
17. Floralis Genérica
The Floralis Genérica is a steel and aluminum sculpture located at a park in the city. The sculpture was designed to move, closing its petals in the evening and opening them in the morning. Its six 13-meter-long petals open at eight in the morning, which takes about 20 minutes, and slowly close again at sunset, mimicking the actions of a real flower.
18. Palacio Barolo
The Palacio Barolo is a tower which aims to mimick the cosmology of Dante’s Divine Comedy. There are 22 floors, divided into three “sections”. The basement and ground floor represent hell, floors 1-14 are the purgatory, and 15-22 represent heaven. Most of the floors and rooms are rentable, and today it houses mainly lawyer offices, a Spanish-language school, and a store that sells Tango clothing.
19. Tierra Santa
The Tierra Santa is a theme park which has been constructed to look like Biblical Jerusalem in fiberglass and stucco. Over 500 plastic Romans, Jesuits, and other era-appropriate figures are used to recreate Biblical scenes, and even the staff wears clothes from that era. It certainly is a unique experience.
20. Parque de la Memoria
The Parque de la Memoria, or Remembrance Park, is a public space in the city which stands as a memorial to the victims of the “Dirty War” of Argentina. From 1976 to 1983, thousands of civilians died and disappeared under governmental terrorism, whose names are now on the plaques and monuments that can be found here. 18 different sculptures are located here, each memorable and powerful.
