The Best Buenos Aires Travel Tips From Our Readers

Buenos Aires stays up late. That’s one takeaway from the tips our readers gave on the Argentine capital, whose name is also a brag. You can see the best comments under the Staff section on the earlier post. Below are some highlights.

Each Monday on Hack Your City, we ask readers for your best tips on a city: driving tips, restaurant recs, things to do, and any other advice for visitors and locals. Then on Thursday, we present the best comments. We’re working our way around the U.S. and around the globe.

Eating

• “I think meat overshadows what is probably Argentine gastronomy’s biggest gem: ice cream. In BA you will find countless artisanal ice cream shops. The ice cream tradition was brought over by the Italian immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century, and the process of making it is still more or less the same: you will find it is very rich, flavorful and quite heavy (we don’t differentiate between ice cream and gelatto, we only have ‘gelatto’).”—Mateo
• “Prepare to eat late. Like crazy, super ridiculous late. Restaurants are deserted at 8pm and 10pm is a more classic dinner start time.”—AGH
• “The signature pizza of Buenos Aires is called fugazza and has no tomato sauce, but is covered in olive oil and caramelized onions. If you want it with a gluttonous portion of mozzarella (tip: you do), it’s called fugazzetta. Pizza is traditionally eaten on aluminum plates with a fork and knife and served topped with a delicious chickpea-cake called fainá (but you gotta ask for it separate). The most touristy place to get pizza is El Cuartito in Recoleta, but the best place to get it is La Mezzetta in Colegiales.”—Kaduken
• “The concept of bodegón in Argentina is also a big thing. Hearty and large local meals like Milanesa Napolitana and empanadas, along with a generous offering of wine. For that I’d recommend Miramar, Los Galgos, La Pipeta and El Obrero.”—Teddy
• “Al Zain is amazing Middle Eastern and cafes Ocio and Tonno are nice (say high t0 Patri). Los Cholos is good affordable asado.”—Cheboludo

Everything Else

• “If you want to visit other parts of Argentina for a few days, most people go to the Patagonia. But I would like to recommend visiting Jujuy, which is in the northern part of the country and has some impressive places like Quebrada de Humahuaca and Parque Nacional Calilegua. There you can also try some delicious dishes like humita.”—Debbie
• “If you’re taking a cab, have the hotel or restaurant call one for you. When I was there we were warned multiple times by locals to be wary of just hailing any cab. The hotel and locals we all spoke with also told us to avoid the subway altogether.”—quietfox
• “I suggest some musical experiences beyond tango shows (which I think are not all that good). I recommend a club/restaurant in Callao Street called Notorious, and Kirchner Cultural Centre at Sarmiento.”—The_Hiro_in_distress
• “Instead of going to a tango show, which is touristy and terrible, we did a Milonga tour—“narrative tango tours”—best experience ever, as you get access to the private milonga clubs and your tour guide sits with you and explains everything that is happening as far as dancing and etiquette and the history of tango.”—Serafina
• “Fifteen miles away from Buenos Aires, you might want to go to Tigre, where you can find nice places to have lunch next to the river. I’d recommend to go there on a sunny day.”—diecou

• “People from Buenos Aires are known as porteños, literally “those from the port” because BA is at its heart an important port city. Porteños are a friendly, warm, hospitable and chatty people. If you ever get stuck or need some guidance, just ask a local. Be prepared, you may end up getting involved in an extended conversation. If you go into any shop, you will likely see a number dispenser near the front door. Just take a number and patiently wait your turn while the clerk and the customer in front of you engage in their own friendly chat.”—Edgar
• “After you have had a friendly conversation with someone, or if you are meeting a friend/family member of someone you’re close to, it’s usually customary to share a mutual “kiss” on the cheek when greeting or parting. The ‘kiss’ isn’t really a kiss but rather just touching your right cheeks together and making a kissy noise. Always your right cheeks. If you move your head to the right, you may wind up kissing them on the lips by accident.”—Kaduken
• “Someone already pointed this out, but cash is king! U.S. dollars are highly sought after and you can sometimes get a lot more with a U.S. note than with pesos.”—Signature Edition
• “Inflation is pretty bad, but not so bad that you need to worry about the daily devaluation of the peso unless you stay in the country for longer than a month. Also, we’re updating the currency, so there are two versions of a lot of bills, so heads up as that might be confusing.”—Edgar (who posted a very long and well-written guide)
• “Best off the beaten path for book nerds: The National Library (near Plaza francia) or Walrus Books [English-language bookstore] in San Telmo.”—Alessandra

That’s it for this week! Come back next week for tips on one of America’s best-known and most-mocked annual festivals.