Best things to do/see/eat in BUENOS AIRES?

Dear ESB,

Since I am a newly married lady (who totally took advantage of BRIDE HULK* to vent by the way) and don't have any wedding-y related things to ask you, I figured I'd ask you about our upcoming belated honeymoon in Argentina. Everyone else seems to be asking you what should I see/do/eat in _____ city, so I'll just jump on the bandwagon if you don't mind.

We are specifically going to Buenos Aires, then Iguazu Falls and then Mendoza, but since the last two are pretty self-explanatory (duh, waterfalls and wine) I'd like to ask you if you know the best things to do/see/eat in Buenos Aires, or if you would be willing to ask your readers (who are a wealth of info, obv.).

Thanks!

*****

Jessica just got engaged in Buenos Aires........! Clearly she's the perfect on to give you a little advice:

Buenos Aires is by far my favorite city in the world. We've been twice—once in 2009 and once last month (a trip from which we came back engaged!!!). When we described our recent South America trip to people, their response was, "wow, that sounds like the trip of a lifetime!" It was, but it wasn't, because we know we'll be going back whenever time and finances allow it. Imagine a city with the cosmopolitan vibe of New York and the architectural beauty of Paris, but where the people are incredibly friendly and welcoming across the board and everything costs about half as much as it does in either of those places.

I realize I'm providing you with about two weeks' worth of activities here. Hopefully a few of them appeal!


Do:

First, if you haven't already, get some tango tunes by Carlos Gardel or Osvaldo Pugliese to listen to while you're getting psyched for your trip. If you love tango a little (or if you're not sure you love it yet), visit Caminito in La Boca (where you're sure to see people tangoing in the street) or take in a tango show. (Your hotel or travel agent can recommend a show. Be forewarned that the majority of the shows are VERY cheesy and touristy though.) If you love tango a lot, take a lesson and/or attend a milonga.

Go shopping! The US Dollar is super-strong in Argentina right now, so it'll go a very long way. Visit Calle Murillo for anything and everything leather—shoes, belts, wallets, coats! From quite a few of the shops along Calle Murillo, you can get a leather jacket custom-made and delivered to your hotel in under 24 hours for $200-400 US, and you can have your pick of coats off the rack starting at much less than that. Typically you get a big discount for paying in cash and an even bigger discount if that cash is in US dollars. The two most famous malls, Galerias Pacifico and Abasto, are worth visiting just as architectural marvels, as is El Ateneo, an enormous bookstore built inside an old theater.

I can't recommend this one enough: take a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It's about an hour away by ferry. Colonia's city center is full of beautiful little 16th-century buildings, cobblestone streets, and there are flowers everywhere. There's a lighthouse to climb that gives you an epic panorama of the town and the Rio de la Plata. I admit that I may be slightly biased because Colonia is where my boyfriend asked me to marry him, but trust me when I say that it's the kind of place that brings out that much romance in you. For lunch, get a bottle of Uruguayan tannat and some Colonia cheese at El Buen Suspiro.

We also had an awesome time at the Lujan Zoo, which is a sort of extreme petting zoo where you get into the cage with the tigers, which I recognize is not to everyone's taste.


See:

The major sites, hittable on your own or with a city tour: the big obelisk on Av. 9 de Julio, Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada, Plaza de las Naciones Unidas (where the "Floralis Generica" sculpture is), Plaza San Martin, Puente de la Mujer.

La Recoleta Cemetery, the mausoleum where Eva Peron and several other national heroes are buried, is worth a visit. I know, creepy, but the architecture and art there is phenomenal. On weekends there's a giant craft fair nearby where you can easily spend an entire day—great shopping, but also good food and awesome people-watching.

Things we have heard are awesome but have not done: estancia tour, El Tigre, Japanese gardens.


Eat:

Steak steak steak, obvs. There's really no bad meal to be had in BA if a big chunk of grass-fed cow is involved. ("Jugoso" means "medium rare," and "muy jugoso" means "really rare.") La Cabrera, in Palermo, is a little touristy but the meal is epic and the service is wonderful. Make a reservation the night before you go. You can get less fancy, but no less super-tasty, grilled meats of all shapes and sizes at parilladas all over the city. Just find a spot with a big grill in the front window and you can't go wrong.

When you hit your meat limit (or if you are just not a meat person), BA has amazing pasta. Nearly every steakhouse has a lengthy pasta menu in addition to their beef. You should be able to get empanadas almost anywhere, too, and they're equally delicious.

Try to find choripan—an awesome sausage sandwich that you smother with chimichurri. You'll find choripan trucks or stands in most public parks or any big outdoor event, and a lot of lunch spots serve them as well.

And don't skip dessert! Argentina has the best ice cream in the world—superior dairy products plus Italian gelato techniques combine for absolutely otherworldly helado. Un'Altra Volta, Cadore, Freddo, Munchi's, and Persicco are just a few heladerias we tried, but I can't imagine any of them being bad. Dulce de leche flavors will be everywhere and are amazeballs. Freddo has a particularly amazing flavor called "Dulce de Leche Tentación." Dulce de leche is in everything—porteños even put it on toast in the mornings. Alfajores are chocolate-dipped cookies that typically have dulce de leche filling, and they, too, are awesome. You can get them almost anywhere and the prepackaged ones make a great treat to bring back to friends or coworkers.

Like you said, you're probably set for Mendoza, but I do have to give a shout-out to the Tempus Alba Winery. All of the wineries we visited—from enormous multi-vineyard operations to tiny family-owned farms—were phenomenal, but this one was my favorite in terms of friendly staff, tasty wine, and amazing scenery. You can buy bottles at the wineries themselves, and there's something undeniably cool about that, but Mendoza wines are also crazy-cheap at supermarkets in BA. We found delicious, surprisingly high-quality bottles for around $4-5 US, and that was kind of a middle-of-the-road price.

(The gorg photos are all by Lauren McClure, and are all of Buenos Aires, though I have sprinkled them into the post with no particular logic. Lo blatantly disregarded my request for an image of STEAK.)

*Founded by this rad bride.