StudentUniverse.com

Buenos Aires, meaning “fair winds” in Spanish, is located in Argentina and is also the capital and one of the largest cities in Latin America. This cultural mecca has a lot of history and serves as a departure point for the rest of the country. A great spring break idea, Buenos Aires is rich with large cultural events as well as nightlife, restaurants, pubs, and clubs. If Latin music and culture is your thing then Buenos Aires is a can’t miss!

Buenos Aires Pictures

Things to do in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is very diverse with its attraction and is sure to have what you’re looking for. If you wanna shake off the city feel of your college then hit up the Palermo to find open walking spaces, an immense flower garden with free entry, and a huge lake where you can rent paddle boats. A great place to find Argentina street life is El Puerto de Buenos Aires. Make sure to go during the day though as it can be dangerous at night. La Boca features arts and crafts, tango dancers, and a football stadium. If trendy boutique stores are more your style then check out The Palermo Viejo District. Also found there are bookstores and bars and is perfectly okay to go during night. Take the “Plaza Italia” stop on the Metro for access to the Palermo Viejo district. Buenos Aires is also known as the world’s Soccer (called Football in BA) capital and features two teams, the Boca Juniors and River Plate. Games are exciting to sports and non-sports fans alike. Is dancing more your thing? Schedule some group tango lessons at the Centro Bourges Culturel. Tango is romantic and fun to do with a significant other not to mention it’s great exercise.

Find things to do in Buenos Aires

Nightlife in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is said to have some of the best nightlife in the world with an incredible variety of clubs and discos. Be prepared to have fun as many clubs are open until 6 am and bars stay open 24 hours a day. To find safe and good nightlife check out the Puerto Madero, close to the Casa Rosada which features a renovated harbor containing hotels, restaurants, and walking areas and is safe during the day and night. A good tourist-type spot is the Recoleta area with restaurants, bars, and a cinema. The Buenos Aires Pub Crawl is always a good time. Over the course of a night you can meet tons of people from all over the world without having to worry about scheduling, they do it for you. It’s also relatively cheap. Music your thing? Buenos Aires has countless rock concerts going on featuring top international artists. Many times football stadiums house the concerts. Even though Buenos Aires is mostly Spanish speaking the concerts always feature English speaking artists and it is common for locals to sing along in English.

Dining in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is known as the “Beef Capitol” and has many great grills and steakhouses. Try something called asado (a beef barbecue dish) at a parrilla restaurant. There are plenty of other food options though. In the last couple of years many different vegetarian restaurants have popped up, many found in Palermo. Buenos Aires is also home to Spanish and Italian food. Pizza is found all over the city and is cooked in many ways from thick crust to thin, crispy crust.

Shopping in Buenos Aires

When shopping make sure to carry pesos, Argentina’s unit of money. Make sure to carry small bills that are easy to break and coins for buses. Since the exchange rate is pretty good (3 pesos= 1 US dollar) shopping would be a great idea. Traditional souvenirs include The mate, a cup made from different materials, gaucho items, such as traditional clothes and knives, leather items, alfajores, traditional cookies, and tango shoes. For great shopping head over to Florida and Lavalle Street in MicroCentro. For young and trendy shoppes hit up the Palermo Viejo in Palermo. Shops here carry many items that appeal to young or artsy people.

Buenos Aires travel tips

• Go ahead and drink the water. Buenos Aires’ water supply is reliable.
• Be discreet with cameras and other electronics and be careful around San Telmo and La Boca are big spots for pick-pockets.
• Be careful when flagging down taxis. Make sure it’s a legitimate service by calling Radio Taxi.