Going to Buenos Aires, what's there to do?

[Flaming Choy]

Hey CP,

Figured I'd turn to you guys and gals for advice.

I'll be in Buenos Aires from September 10-19, what are the things I absolutely can not miss?

The only thing that's really on our radar is to watch a football game, but have no idea how/where to get tickets (I think there are a bunch of games on 12th or 13th).

Thanks everyone.

[troutman]

Do you have to stay in the city for the whole time?

If not, try to travel to Iguazu Falls for one day.

La Recoleta - is a famous cemetery with hugh family monuments. Eva Peron is there.

Night life - things get started relatively late - see a Tango show. Argentinian beef and wine.

The women are very stylish and very beautiful.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/argentina/buenos-aires

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/argentin...s-aires/sights

[Bigtime]

The women, the women, the women. Unbelievable, even my wife was commenting on how good looking they are!

Seconding La Recoleta cemetery, very cool to see the giant mausoleums (sp?) built for people and families.

We spent a lot of time just walking around and exploring. Puerto Madero is the new area built on what was once a bunch of old dockyards, large parks and very nice restaraunts around there. Complete with a Santiago Calatrava pedestrian bridge! Visit the Tango district (can't recall the name now), hit the streets and take in the massive pedestrian malls.

Puerto Madero:





Go see this art:

[Yeah_Baby]

I'd stay away personally. I mean the bugs are bound to launch the asteroid any day now!

[cmyden]

If you can fit in a flight to Iguazu Falls as troutman mentioned, do it.

To be honest, 9-10 days in Buenos Aires would be too much for me. Argentina is such an amazing country. Here's what we did during a 10 day span...

- Punta Tombo penguin colony
http://www.patagonia-argentina.com/i...dryn/tombo.php

- Cabo dos Bahias (more penguins)
http://www.interpatagonia.com/paseos...s/index_i.html

- Black & white dolphins in Puerto Rawson (only 2 places in the world you'll find 'em)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerson%27s_Dolphin

- Hiked around El Calafate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Calafate

- Big Ice Trek at Perito Moreno Glacier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perito_Moreno_Glacier
http://el-calafate-argentina.blogspo...-calafate.html

- Hiked in and around El Chalten
http://www.welcomeargentina.com/elchalten/index_i.html

- Went to Iguazu Falls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls


Now mind you, we flew everywhere, usually on Aerolineas. And that is a *lot* to pack in 10 days, but if you're able to make it to any of these destinations, they are all incredible.

Here's what we did in Buenos Aires for the last 2 days of our trip...

- Stayed at Yira Yira guest house: http://www.yirayiraba.com.ar/ (great location, nice place, cheap)

- Lunch at El Cuartito pizza

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...tito-BR-1.html

Best pizza in the city!

- Volta Ice Cream

http://www.unaltravolta.com.ar/english/home.html

Best ice cream in Buenos Aires, and they have a *lot* of good ice cream.

- Checked out Plaza Holanda (the Buenos Aires version of Central Park)
http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en...mages&aq=f&oq=

- Checked out the Palermo Hipodromo (horse track)
http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en...-8&sa=N&tab=wi
Very nice track.

- Had dinner in the Palermo district (shops restaurants etc)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo,_Buenos_Aires

- Went for lunch at Mark's Deli
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/argentin...aurants/394889

- Checked out Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada (President's Office)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_de_Mayo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Rosada

- Went to Florida St (junky tourist crap)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Street

- Had dinner at La Cabrera
http://www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar/
^^^ you have to eat here

- Went to a milongue (where locals go to dance the tango) You can go to a tourist tango show obviously, but the milongue is where you'll find real locals performing the traditional tango, not the hollywood tango.

- Checked out San Telmo (more tourist junk)
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...elmo-BR-1.html
This store was pretty cool though: http://www.materiaurbana.com/index.php

- Walked around La Boca http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Boca
Boca was playing River that day in the Super Clasico. It's the most anticipated game of the year. I was *this* close to buying scalped tickets, but we probably would have had to leave by half time to make our flight. Ended up watching it at a local pub, unbelievable atmosphere! Definitely check out a game at La Bombonera if you can!


Anyways, Buenos Aires is awesome, I just think we would have ran out of things to see and do by day 3 or 4 if we had been there that long. Mind you, our idea of vacation is to always be on the run, and everyone has different travel styles.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about the city and I'll try to answer them.

cM

[St Loomis]

Yeah I agree with what has been said. Buenos Aires is great!

I would add that a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) is a must. Its a very small quaint little town that is only a 1 hour ferry ride away.

As for seeing a football game, it is awesome!! We watched Boca versus Bolivar in the Copa de Libertador the year they won the championship. It was an awesome experience. I would recommend making sure you have your tickets well in advance. The game was not at Boca's usual stadium it was somewhere else (cant remember the name) but the whole area was on lock down. We had to go through 4 police barricades in the blocks surrounding the stadium and had to show our tickets each time. Luckily I had a friend from there who manouvered us through all this.

Recoleta district is really great. Florida street. La Boca.

I wouldnt cross the tracks towards plaza canada though. We went due to the name and had some issues when doing so, avoid that area.

I would second going to Iguazu. We flew using aerolineas as well. I believe we were in Iguazu for 3 nights (arrival day, 1st day brazilian side, 2nd day argentine side) and stayed in Puerto Iguazu on the argentine side...Ive heard Foz de Iguacu is a dump on the Brazilian side but never went myself so cant say so for sure.

EAT THE BEEF....so good, and so cheap (at least it was 2 years ago).

[skins]

Originally Posted by cmyden

- Had dinner at La Cabrera
http://www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar/
^^^ you have to eat here

Yes, you absolutely have to eat there. Amazing food, large portions. Steaaaaaaak.

There are some good ideas listed above. From memory, some of the things we did:

Recoletta cemetery.
Day trip on the train to La Tigra
Went to the zoo
Tango show

My memory is a bit foggy and maybe that's because we went out partying almost every night. BA is without a doubt a party town.

Also, do whatever it takes to make it out to Iguazu Falls. You won't regret it. My wife and I spent 3 months in South America and this was absolutely one of the highlights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls

Also, practicar un poco de español antes de su viaje. It will help.

[troutman]

There used to be larger falls, but they were flooded by a dam:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gua%C3%ADra_Falls

The Guaíra Falls (Spanish: Saltos del Guaíra, Portuguese: Salto de Sete Quedas) was a waterfall located on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay. With an estimated volume of 1,750,000 cubic feet (50,000 m3) per second, the falls were, at least in terms of total volume, the largest waterfall on earth.[1] The falls were flooded in 1982 by the reservoir impounded behind the Itaipudam.

[Flaming Choy]

Hey guys,
Thanks for all the responses so far.

I guess I should clarify a little. In between those days, we are spending some time at Iguazu Falls (Sept 16 to 18) and possibly a day in Uruguay (is it worth a day trip to Colonia?)

Troutman, we are not confined to the city. Aside from Iguazu, any other little towns to check out?

Awesome food advice, cmyden, I'll have to check them out.

Took me a while to get the Starship Trooper reference, well done!

Will definitely check out the bridge and architecture, but I bet they could have built that bridge for $2 million, waste of money. I hope they did surveys to pick the design

[Flaming Choy]

Originally Posted by cmyden

- Walked around La Boca http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Boca
Boca was playing River that day in the Super Clasico. It's the most anticipated game of the year. I was *this* close to buying scalped tickets, but we probably would have had to leave by half time to make our flight. Ended up watching it at a local pub, unbelievable atmosphere! Definitely check out a game at La Bombonera if you can!

Do you know if there is a ticket office to get tickets? We definitely want to catch a Boca game, I think it's on the Sunday. The official website has tickets, but it's $150 USD for a game and jersey, I hoping there is something cheaper.

[troutman]

Spend a day at Peninsula Valdes - wildlife refuge. You can see elephant seals, and this is where killer whales chase pups right on to the beach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdes_Peninsula

Fly to Ushuaia - southern-most city in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushuaia

Flyfishing in Patagonia

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Flaming Choy

I guess I should clarify a little. In between those days, we are spending some time at Iguazu Falls (Sept 16 to 18) and possibly a day in Uruguay (is it worth a day trip to Colonia?)

We took the high speed ferry over to Colonia, and then spent a few days in Montevideo. I would recommend it for just a day trip or one night at the most. After the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires Uruguay was almost too laid back.

[Cactus Jack]

Go for steak. BsAs is famour for its parrilladas. Argentina also produces outstanding malbec red wines.

The ice cream shoppes are famous too, have a dulce de leche (condensed milk) flavour

Avenida la Florida is famous for seeing see some nice looking girls :0)

[cmyden]

Do you know if there is a ticket office to get tickets? We definitely want to catch a Boca game, I think it's on the Sunday. The official website has tickets, but it's $150 USD for a game and jersey, I hoping there is something cheaper.

Just want to verify, which website are you looking at?

This thread here is quite old, but explains...
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=28006

They only sell the tickets on matchday. Check when there is a home game and on that day (mostly a sunday) head to la bonbonera Boca´s stadium.
you will have to go quite early in the morning around 8 or 9 and join the line in front of the ticketwindows (not hard to findsince it will surely longer than a block) If you had a rough night and cant be bothered waiting or showing up early alternatively you can buy them on the street. hang a bit around and pay attention to see who is selling. They only sell 2 tickets a person so if you want to go with 4 go with atleast 2 people.
The best and cheapest tickets are to popular ones that go for 14 pesos. But note that you will be in a part of the stadium where some of the most hardcore supporters of the team will be. Dont flash money, watches, jewels, cameras and such and wear something blue or yellow. You stay cool dont get into trouble nothing will happen to you. One more advice dont go to the exit at the end of the game. If you dont feel comfortable with that go for the less fun and more expencive side tribunes with seats.

and here's some info from the file I kept regarding buying tickets at La Bombonera

So, we figured out how to get tickets to the Boca Juniors game. We went to the ticket office next to the stadium on Monday afternoon
(the day before the game). There are two ticket offices within the same area - the first is for general admission tickets (cheap
tickets in an area of the stadium for the rowdiest fans - my guess is that most tourists would feel a little nervous/out-of-place
sitting in these seats, but it would definitely create memories) and the second is for the remaining seats.

We went to the second ticket office. The line was very long, twisting around the street for over 2 blocks. Tomorrow night's game
is a BIG game for Boca, so I would bet that the lines are not always this long. It took an hour and 45 minutes to reach the ticket
window, marked "Plateas." There are several levels of tickets in this section at various prices. There was not a sign at the window,
so we asked for the best seats. After the man at the till told us they were 150 pesos (about US$45) a ticket, we asked for some
cheaper seats. He gave us the next level down, for 100 pesos (a little over US$30).

We were told by someone we met that these are very good seats. I am sure there are cheaper seats available that are still in the
"Plateas" section (i.e., not in the general admission area).


I have been to Argentina twice and both times I went to football matches, but never on a tour because well... I just did not feel
like waiting for a tour guide to take me to the stadium and guide me to my seat and then pick me up was the way to experience the
real thing so I asked the guys at the hostels I stayed about it and explained why I wanted to go on my own, there is always a Boca
fan around that can let you know how to get there to buy your ticket, and I can tell you, you can always get people to go with you
to the Boca Stadium. I paid around 5 or 6 US$ to get the cheapest ticket to be there in the "popular" zone where they have the best
atmosphere, I never went alone since by talking to people in the hostel there is always someone willing to go, if you can get a
someone who speaks Spanish, maybe one of the travelers there , he or she will make it easier to get to the Stadium, to get the
tickets....but I highly recommend going like that. You will have a great time....a great experience there singing, jumping,
watching everyone supporting the team from the moment you are getting close to the stadium until you leave after the game is over.
I saw lots of travelers mixed up in the crowd at the Boca Stadium. Of course they noticed we were tourist. Just like always, when
in a crowd you have to be aware of what is going on.

Also they obviously buy the cheapest season tickets, which at the Bombonera are either in the seats in the top tier of the Boca end
or just above the corner flag alongside the Boca end.
The Boca end is part of the attraction of a game at the Bombonera, the middle tier is where the Bravas stand, and the bottom tier
is where they have the crazy avalanche, should Boca score.
I know a few people who have had a once in a lifetime visit to the Bombonera and then have been bitterly disappointed because they
could not see the Boca end.
Of course another option is to stand in the end itself, a great experience, but if you choose to do this, don't take any valuables
in with you, such as expensive cameras etc, and keep a low one, you will be fine, but, use your head.

Should you wish to go it alone without the aid of a tour company. tickets usually go on sale on Thursday evening, there is a row
of ticket windows built into a wall in Av W. Villafrane, this is one street back from the stadium itself.

[Flaming Choy]

I was pointed to this site to get boca tickets.

http://bocaexperience.com/

I might have to go to the less fun section since I want to take pictures while there but don't wanna get mugged or stabbed or something.

[missdpuck]

Drink some mate through a bombilla.

[TSXCman]

Not sure if it was mentioned but i beleive they have some of the most spectacular glacier parks in the world.

[SeeGeeWhy]

Argentina sounds awesome, colour me jealous!

[Flaming Choy]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

Argentina sounds awesome, colour me jealous!

Yeah, I'm really excited for this trip. We're also doing the Inca Trail and a couple days in the Amazon Rainforest (Peru side) before. Hope I have time to fit in some other sections of Argentina, looks like I'm missing a lot if I only stay in Buenos Aires.

[Incogneto]

Originally Posted by cmyden

- Had dinner at La Cabrera
http://www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar/
^^^ you have to eat here

I really liked this place, but I had the best meal of my life at a place called Des Nivel in San Telmo. The steak was something that i have had dreams about since...my buddy cut his with his fork.

The place doesnt look like much from the outside, but I am telling you, you will never forget the meal you had there.

From Wikipedia:

Desnivel Defensa between Estados Unidos and Av. Independencia. Quality ¨parrilla¨ at an excellent price. If you can't tear yourself away from shopping long enough to sit down, you can get choripan and sandwich de lomito to go starting at 2$.