Top things to do in Buenos Aires

While surfing the web I encountered this really interesting site about Buenos Aires, http://baires.elsur.org.

The most recent entry on the site is a top 30 list of things to do in Buenos Aires. Although there are, as stated in the article as well, many of these lists around, I thought why not add one to our site.

For space purposes I will only repeat the top ten things. For the whole list you can go to http://baires.elsur.org/archives/30-things-to-do-when-visiting-buenos-aires/.

Would be really cool to hear about any activities that you enjoy in Buenos Aires (provided that they are at the most rated PG-13).

I know myself, living in San Telmo, I love to go jogging in the ecological reserve or along Puerto Madero. Furthermore, by far my favorite Feria is the one in Mataderos. I personaly like it much more than the San Telmo Feria, but hey, that is just me. 

1. San Telmo without a doubt deserves a visit. If not on s Sunday for the feria then on a weekday. If you are looking for nice place to have a snack on Sunday that is not overcrowded or overpriced, try the cafe Caracol at the corner of Bolivar and Humberto 1. It is perfect for tea time….the tostados mixtos are cheap and huge!! 
2. Recoleta Cemetery: Must be one of the great cemeteries of the world. Fascinating to wander among the tombs.
3. Teatro Colón: The city’s great opera house. Performances are relatively inexpensive but if you’re not into opera or classical music then, at least, take a tour which will show you not only the beautiful auditorium but take you backstage. Closed for renovation.
4. Tango at the Ideal: I don’t dance and I’m not a fan of the fancy tango shows for tourists but I do enjoy watching others dance, particularly ordinary people. The Ideal is one of those old style places with tango dancing on the upper floor. In the afternoons, after the tango lessons, the place will be filled with a mostly older crowd. Even if you don’t go for the dancing, the Ideal is a gorgeous place to eat or have coffee.
5. Madres de Plaza de Mayo: Thursday afternoons at 3:30, the mothers of the disappeared still march every week inthe plaza. After their march, which lasts thirty minutes, the madres gather in front of the Casa Rosada for a short speech. It’s worth staying and listening.
6. Café Tortoni: the oldest and most beautiful of the cafés in the city. Mostly a tourist spot now but still worth the visit.
7. Plaza San Martín: a nice shady area in the heart of the city. Plenty to see and do around there so the plaza makes for a nice place to take a break. Go up to the top of the English Tower for great views and then take a look inside the old train station. Borges lived just a few steps from the plaza.
8. Stroll down calle Florida: not the best shopping and you’re likely to be hounded by touts trying to sell you leather jackets or other overpriced goods but the pedestrian street still has an energetic appeal to it. There are some great buildings in the area. An easy one to explore, since it’s a shopping mall, is Galería Pacifico; the top floor is a cultural center that usually has very good exhibitions. If you’re hungry then the Richmond is an interesting place to stop; it’s one of the places that Borges frequented.
9. La Boca: Oddly, it’s one of the least desirable neighborhoods in town but it’s also the most touristy. Actually, it’s only one small area of Boca that has found its way into practically every book’s photograph of Buenos Aires. I do think that the picturesque small street of Caminito is a tourist trap (and the tour buses lined up there seem to prove it). The colorful street was the idea of artist Quinquela Martin, whose paintings I think are superb. His nearby house and studio are now a museum of his works and should definitely be visited.
10. Fútbol! While we’re talking about Boca, if you’re a football fan (or soccer to those in the US) then a game at Boca is a must. If you’re not a fan of the sport, then you can probably skip this one though it’s still an interesting experience.

Goodbye for now,

Melanie