What Travelers Say About Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and the most European-feeling of all South American cities, spread along the wide, muddy Rio de la Plata. First founded by the Spanish in 1536 and again in 1580, it boomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on the back of beef and grain exports, as waves of Italian and Spanish immigrants poured in. Their money built the grand boulevards, ornate theatres, and belle-epoque palaces that earned the city its nickname, the Paris of South America, and their voices shaped the local accent and the melancholy music of tango, which was born in its port neighbourhoods.
Locals, known as portenos, live late and intensely. Dinner starts at ten, the tango halls called milongas run until dawn, cafe culture is a way of life, and football loyalties, above all to Boca Juniors and River Plate, run close to religion. The city splits into distinct barrios, each with its own character: cobbled, antique-filled San Telmo, the brightly painted houses of working-class La Boca, leafy and fashionable Palermo, aristocratic Recoleta with its famous cemetery, and the renovated docks of Puerto Madero.
Argentina's economy is famously up and down, which for visitors usually means very good value, though the currency and its parallel exchange rates can be confusing, so many people still bring US dollars in cash. It is reasonably safe for a big city as long as you watch for pickpockets and stick to busy, well-lit areas at night. Give it a few days and Buenos Aires tends to get under your skin: grand, romantic, a little chaotic, and endlessly absorbing.