Hotmail
Buenos Aires: Steak and the tango on a budget
If an after-dinner coffee puts a kick in your step, head out for a $5 cocktail in preparation for the next leg of the never-ending Buenos Aires night: dancing. There's no need to rush: Most portenos wouldn't be caught dead at a club before 2 a.m. Popular clubs in the Palermo area include Niceto Club and Pacha, where entrance is less than $15.
Take a taxi — even crossing the city, it will rarely cost more than $10. Radio Taxi is the safest option.
Ease your transition back into daylight Sunday morning with the typical Buenos Aires breakfast: a cafe con leche, fresh-squeezed orange juice and three croissants, or medialunas, for less than $4.
Pick up Spanish-daily Pagina12 and flip to the supplement Radar, which has one of the best weekly cultural calendars.
Other great cafes are La Biela (Av. Quintana 600) — under an enchantingly expansive tree and right across from the must-see Recoleta Cemetery where Eva "Evita" Peron is buried; the classic Cafe Tortoni (Av. De Mayo 825/29); Bar Britanico (corner of Brasil and Defensa) and Las Violetas (Av. Rivadavia 3899).
The neighborhood of San Telmo is a microcosm of porteno charm, with its elegantly decrepit 19th-century buildings, cobblestone streets and a quirky mix of expatriates and Argentines who all frequent the same butcher shop in the 1897 San Telmo indoor market.
The neighborhood hosts a not-to-be-missed festive street fair every Sunday, running for 10 blocks along Defensa Street.
Meander all morning without spending a cent, listening to live tango orchestras, laughing at street performers and people-watching. One of the better parrillas in the city, Desnivel (Defensa 855), is on the route, where you can get a juicy steak and a good bottle of Malbec red wine for less than $20. Or try La Brigada parrilla around the corner (Estados Unidos 465).
Grab a slice of cheese-filed pizza, called fugazza con queso for about $1, at Pirilo's (Defensa 841), a tiny joint with standing room only. Accompany it with the traditional cup of moscato, an Italian sweet wine.
 |
Natacha Pisarenko / AP Dancers perform traditional Argentinean dances in the La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. |
Stick around for the free outdoor milonga from 7:30 p.m. to midnight on Plaza Dorrego, held every Sunday, weather permitting.
Another Sunday option is the Feria de Mataderos, a gaucho arts and crafts fair with folk dancing and traditional food from Argentina's north — about half an hour from the city center. The free fair is held Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. unless it rains, and is well worth the short trip.
A nighttime diversion is walking along Buenos Aires' luminous theater strip, Corrientes Avenue. Catch a show or movie (English-language films are subtitled rather than dubbed) and then eat some Argentine pizza — a delicious missing link between thin crust and deep dish. Sweeten the night with a dulce de leche ice cream.
You'll have to sleep some time, and boutique hotels are surprisingly affordable in Buenos Aires, with double rooms for around $150. Check out Hotel Home, Hotel Bobo and Malabia House.
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM SOUTH AMERICA |
 South America Section Front |
| Add South America headlines to your news reader: |
Resource guide