Buenos Aires Travel Guide
Three Days in Buenos Aires
A first-timer's itinerary that books the few things worth booking — a Teatro Colón tour, a Casa Rosada weekend slot, a tango show — and fills the gaps with Recoleta Cemetery, the free Bellas Artes, MALBA and the Palermo parks, the San Telmo fair, Caminito by daylight and late parrilla dinners.
Buenos Aires is a big city, but its essential sights fall into a few clusters, and three days is enough to see them if you group them by area, book a handful of things in advance and accept the local rhythm: lunch at two, dinner at ten, and the night still young at midnight. This plan works in any season and is designed for a first visit.
Before you fly: the short booking list. Buy a Teatro Colón guided tour slot for your first or second day, choosing an English departure, and check the performance calendar in case an opera, ballet or concert fits your dates. If your trip includes a weekend, book a free Casa Rosada palace tour on the official visits site, remembering that tours can be cancelled for presidential activity. Reserve a tango show for your first or second night, and book a table at a well-known parrilla for at least one dinner, as the best ones fill up. If you plan a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, book the ferry or a tour ahead, especially for weekends. Everything else, from Recoleta Cemetery to MALBA, can be done on the day.
Getting around. The subway, called the Subte, is cheap and covers the centre, Recoleta and Palermo; buses go everywhere; both use the SUBE card, which you can buy at kiosks and stations, though contactless bank cards are increasingly accepted. Taxis and ride-hailing apps are inexpensive by international standards and the sensible choice at night and for La Boca. The city is flat and very walkable within each neighbourhood.
Day one — Recoleta and Palermo. Start at Recoleta Cemetery when it opens, before the groups arrive: pay the visitor fee by card, find Evita's tomb and the great mausoleums, then step into the Basílica del Pilar next door. Walk to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which is free, for an hour with the Impressionists and the Argentine collection, then cross to the Floralis Genérica, the giant steel flower. Have lunch in Recoleta or at MALBA's restaurant, then spend the afternoon with Frida Kahlo and Abaporu at MALBA (remember it closes on Tuesdays). In the late afternoon, walk into the Bosques de Palermo for the Rosedal and the lakes, or visit the Japanese Garden. Finish the day in Palermo Soho or Palermo Hollywood with a drink and a late parrilla dinner — your first real asado.
Day two — The centre and a tango night. Take a morning tour of the Teatro Colón, then walk down Avenida 9 de Julio past the Obelisco and along Avenida de Mayo, stopping for coffee at the historic Café Tortoni and, if you like architecture, a tour of the Palacio Barolo. Reach Plaza de Mayo for the Cabildo, the cathedral with San Martín's tomb and the Casa Rosada; if it is a Thursday afternoon, watch the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo walk around the pyramid. After a late lunch, take a taxi to El Ateneo Grand Splendid for a browse and a coffee on the stage, then rest before a tango show in the evening — a big production like Señor Tango, or a more intimate venue in San Telmo.
Day three — San Telmo and La Boca. If your third day is a Sunday, this is your day for the San Telmo fair: walk south along Calle Defensa from Plaza de Mayo, browse the antiques on Plaza Dorrego and have lunch in the Mercado de San Telmo. On any other day, the antique shops and the Mercado are open and the barrio is calmer. Take a taxi to La Boca in the morning or early afternoon, walk Caminito and its painted houses, visit Fundación Proa or the Quinquela Martín museum, and return by taxi; football fans can add La Bombonera. In the evening, go back to San Telmo, where on Sundays tango often fills Plaza Dorrego, or find a beginner-friendly milonga to watch the real social dance.
If you have a fourth or fifth day. Leave the city. The Tigre Delta, an hour north by train or on a small-group boat tour, is a green maze of channels and stilt houses, perfect for a relaxed half-day. Colonia del Sacramento, across the river in Uruguay, is a full-day trip by fast ferry to a UNESCO-listed colonial town; bring your passport. Back in the city, you could take an empanadas cooking class, explore Puerto Madero and the Costanera Sur nature reserve, or simply spend a slow afternoon in a café, which porteños consider an art form.
Where to base yourself for this plan. Recoleta is the most elegant and central base for the museums and an easy taxi ride to everything else; Palermo puts you in the heart of the restaurant and bar scene; San Telmo gives you old-town character and tango on the doorstep; Puerto Madero is the safest and calmest. Our hotel picks cover all four, from the Alvear Palace in Recoleta to garden boutiques in Palermo and restored patios in San Telmo.
Honest adjustments. With children, swap the evening tango show for an early one with a dinner included, spend more time in the Palermo parks and add Tigre. In summer, from December to February, the city is hot and humid, many locals are away in January, and the best plan is museums at midday and outdoor sights early and late. In winter it is cool rather than cold and often sunny. Whatever the season, leave room for the unexpected: a long lunch that turns into an afternoon, or a milonga that keeps you out until three. That is Buenos Aires at its best.