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Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a wonderful combination of sleek skyscrapers and past grandeur, a collision of the ultrachic and tumbledown. Still, there has always been an undercurrent of melancholy in B.A. (as it is affectionately known by expats who call Buenos Aires home), which may help explain residents' devotion to that bittersweet expression of popular culture in Argentina, the tango. Still performed—albeit much less frequently now—in the streets and cafes, the tango has a romantic and nostalgic nature that is emblematic of Buenos Aires itself.

Travel to Buenos Aires is popular, especially with stops in the neighborhoods of San Telmo, Palermo—and each of its colorful smaller divisions—and the array of plazas that help make up Buenos Aires tours.

Must See or Do

Sights—Inspect the art-nouveau and art-deco architecture along Avenida de Mayo; see the "glorious dead" in the Cementerio de la Recoleta and the gorgeously chic at bars and cafes in the same neighborhood; shop for antiques and see the tango dancers at Plaza Dorrego and the San Telmo Street Fair on Sunday; tour the old port district of La Boca and the colorful houses along its Caminito street; cheer at a soccer match between hometown rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate (for the very adventurous only).

Museums—Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA: Coleccion Costantini); Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes; Museo Municipal de Arte Hispano-Americano Isaac Fernandez Blanco; Museo Historico Nacional; Museo de la Pasion Boquense (Boca football); one of two tango museums: Museo Casa Carlos Gardel or Museo Mundial del Tango.

Memorable Meals—A drink, elegant tea or snack at Cafe Tortoni; the best beef at a parrilla (steak house) such as Cabana Las Lilas or La Cabrera; delicious wood-oven-baked pizza at Siamo Nel Forno in Palermo Soho; the trendy restaurants Olsen in Palermo Hollywood or Sucre in Belgrano; pasta at La Parolaccia; the unique dining experience of El Obrero in La Boca.

Late Night—Dancing in the huge Crobar disco or the Funky Room at Club Bahrein; samba in Maluco Beleza; quaffing a beer at The Kilkenny or Down Town Matias; enjoying the decks and gardens at Terraza del Este; exploring Puerto Madero's Asia de Cuba disco-restaurant and other lively haunts.

Tango—An over-the-top tango-and-dinner show at stylish Piazzolla Tango; intimate concerts in San Telmo bars; old-style tango dancing at the remaining milongas across the city, such as the Club Gricel or Salon Canning.

Walks—Calle Defensa from the Plaza de Mayo to Parque Lezama in San Telmo; stroll through the Rosedal rose gardens, particularly September-February; follow the trails in the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve; Plaza Francia in Recoleta to browse the authentic handicrafts.

Especially for Kids—Feed the animals at the Jardin Zoologico; stroll along the yacht basin at Puerto Madero; check out the stars at the Galileo Galilei Planetarium; take a boat ride in the Parque de Palermo; the rides at El Parque de la Costa theme park.

Geography

The city of Buenos Aires occupies 79 sq mi/127 sq km of flat terrain, bordered on the east by the Rio de la Plata. The central city streets are laid out on a grid pattern, with few diagonals, but outlying neighborhoods are more irregular. Greater Buenos Aires sprawls in all directions across the humid pampas and contains roughly half the country's population.

The city is made up of 48 distinct barrios, or neighborhoods, and those nearest the Rio de la Plata hold the most interest for tourists. The downtown area, also known as the Microcentro, is the banking, business and government district. Plaza de Mayo, together with the neighborhoods of Monserrat and San Telmo toward the south, make up the city's historical heart. To the north and northwest are the middle- and upper-class residential districts of Retiro, Barrio Norte, Recoleta, Palermo (the city's largest) and Belgrano. The southernmost barrio most tourists will visit (usually in daylight, when it is safest) is La Boca, a colorful working-class neighborhood with strong Italian roots.

History

After it was permanently settled in 1580, Buenos Aires had 230 years—its colonial period—of erratic growth. After Argentina broke from Spain's rule in 1810, Buenos Aires evolved rapidly as a commercial hub and seat of political power, becoming the federal capital in 1880. Europeans recognized the potential of the port city: The British poured money into the area, and the Spanish and Italians arrived in droves, along with French, eastern European and German settlers.

When immigration from the Old World was all but halted after 1930, those of Spanish-South American mestizo origins migrated from the interior and filled many jobs. From this influx arose conflicts with the existing urban population and the problem of crowded city slums and shantytowns.

It was from these throngs of poor people that populist President Juan Peron, along with his wife Eva (Evita), found their greatest support. They often stirred huge crowds of Argentines in speeches from the balcony of the Casa Rosada, which overlooks the Plaza de Mayo. Peron's presidency (1946-55) was followed by decades of truculent military rule, with only brief periods of respite.

The Plaza de Mayo is still the site of demonstrations, although the famous annual marches calling for a full accounting of events in the so-called "Dirty War" of 1970-83, when the country was run by a military junta and more than 30,000 dissidents "disappeared," now occur only on 24 March. On Thursday afternoons, the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo still march in their distinctive head scarves embroidered with the names of the missing, demanding information about their children and grandchildren who were taken by police and military death squads.

For most of the 1980s, economic problems, including hyperinflation, limited the city's progress, but Carlos Menem's 1990s presidency tamed inflation and brought some stability. Redevelopment took place, including in the Puerto Madero waterfront. The downside of Menem's legacy was an overvalued peso and systemic corruption that brought financial collapse. Marches and demonstrations by the unemployed and the middle class, who lost their dollar-denominated savings to devaluation, have diminished but still occur on occasion.

The election of the late Nestor Kirchner in 2003, along with subsequent judicial and foreign-policy reforms, went a long way toward turning things around. Although elected by a slim margin, Kirchner was popular, and the economy rebounded, albeit temporarily. In October 2007, Kirchner died of heart complications. However, in late 2010, his widow, Cristina, was handily elected as his successor. Thanks to a heavy-handed policy of almost autocratic decision-making, Cristina Kirchner immediately alienated many important constituents. Forced to back down on several key economic issues in the face of open hostility and threats of violence, the country—and Buenos Aires in particular—faced an uncertain economic future.

In 2019, Alberto Fernandez was elected president, beating out incumbent President Mauricio Macri. Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner ran alongside Fernandez as vice president.

Potpourri

Buenos Aires boasts one of the world's largest concentrations of psychiatrists and psychologists in the so-called "Villa Freud," an area overlapping Barrio Norte and Alto Palermo. It is also the site of nearly 18,000 cosmetic surgery procedures every year.

Alto Palermo's Museo Evita is the first Argentine museum honoring a woman.

Dating from 1913, the Subte was South America's first underground rail system, and many original wooden cars still run on Line A, from Plaza de Mayo.

Retiro's Kavanagh Building, which overlooks Plaza San Martin, was the city's first skyscraper (1935).

Jose de San Martin is clearly the country's main hero, with statues, streets and plazas named after him. He is also referred to as simply El Libertador. His tomb in Buenos Aires' Metropolitan Cathedral is treated as a shrine.

Although it can get really cold in the winter months (June-August), it has only snowed twice in Buenos Aires in the past 100-plus years, in 1918 and 2007.

Because of the heavy Italian influence on their culture, Argentines speak Spanish with an Italian accent. They are also the only Spanish speakers who pronounce words with "ll" as "shhh." For example, llamas would be pronounced shamas.

Location

Cruise ships stop at Buenos Aires on round-the-world cruises, Argentina-Brazil summer cruises (the summer months there being November-March) and the popular Argentina-Chile cruises, which stop over in Patagonia en route.

Located in the Puerto Nuevo area, north of the Puerto Madero development zone, the Terminal de Cruceros Benito Quinquela Martin is on Avenida Presidente Ramon Castillo, between Avenida de los Inmigrantes and Avenida Antartida Argentina. The biggest port in South America, it has a tourist-information office, shops and cafes. Nearby there's a locutorio for phone and Internet access, and taxis are usually parked in the vicinity. Phone 4317-0600.

Shore Excursions