Must-do's and tips for Buenos Aires

This city has not only been a classroom but a captivating canvas where every cobblestone street, every tango rhythm, and every shared mate session tells a unique story.

Now, as I bid farewell to this enchanting journey, I’m excited to take you on a virtual tour through the heart of Buenos Aires—sharing the must-do activities, the delectable eats, and the hidden gems that have made this experience unforgettable.

Alongside these insights, I’ll also sprinkle in some general tips to navigate and embrace the city’s charm, hoping these recommendations will enrich your future adventures.

You should really spend time getting to know the different barrios of Buenos Aires. You’ll quickly get to know the barrio around the hostel, Montserrat, so try to explore as much as you can outside of it!

Both Palermo and San Telmo are unique and beautiful and you should absolutely explore it as much as you can.

Tango is a huge deal in all of Argentina, but especially in Buenos Aires, where it originated. It’s highly recommended to attend a show and experience the romantic dance. Kulturstudier will also offer you to attend a weekly class which we enjoyed going to. You should go as well!

Football is huge in Argentina, it’s everywhere. The truly lucky ones were those who stayed here a year ago, while Argentina was playing the world cups, but we’ve still gotten our dose of football.

There are plenty of exhilarating matches being played that you should check out! We managed to go to a Boca Juniors match as well as an Argentina match.

Just an hour away from Buenos Aires is Tigre. A beautiful place with a river flowing through the city. It’s really tranquil and a great getaway from the noisy Buenos Aires.

My girlfriend and I are active climbers in Norway, so we had already found a climbing gym in Buenos Aires before we got here and talked to them. We’ve been to the gym V Once Escalada 3+ times a week ever since we got here.

The prices are great (as of December 8th 2023, $2.600/day) and there’s even a café inside which serves the greatest coffee I’ve had in Buenos Aires. It’s almost worth a visit just for the café.

Even if you’re not a climber, I recommend you bring a couple of friends, rent some shoes and climb away. The people there are super-duper-kind and inclusive and you’ll for sure get to practice your Spanish. It’s in the climbing gym we’ve gotten to really know Argentinians.

During our stay in Buenos Aires, by coincidence, we became a group of 6 which every Monday went out to eat beef, but we also did other things; for example escape rooms. I believe we’ve done around 10 escape rooms the past months.

The franchise Escape Games has centers all around town which all are equally good. I’ve been to a couple of centers around Europe, but they don’t stand a chance with the ones here. The prices are also great and will cost you around $5.000 (as of December 8th) if you bring 5 friends.

In Av. Corrientes, a street which goes through the Obelisco, just a 10-15 minutes walk from the hostel you’ll find something called Paseo La Plaza.

It’s a small alleyway which is totally isolated from the bustling streets where you’ll find lovely small restaurants and bars. It’s really cozy and should be visited more than once. It’s recommended to go quite late (10pm or later) on the weekend for the best experience.

In the eastern part of Buenos Aires is what is known as Puerto Madero. It’s essentially a constructed island which is connected to the city with bridges. It houses plenty of restaurants and shops.

The greatest part though is the Reserva Ecológica. It’s a gigantic park with free entrance. It’ll take you less than 20 minutes from the hostel, but the park itself is huge and it takes a couple of hours to walk through it all.

I recommend renting a bike (talk to the hostel staff) and bringing it into the park and having a picnic.

The boliches are the nightclubs. There are so many all over the city and you’ll have a lot of time to explore them. A lot of them have free entry before a certain time, but you’ll have to check for the specific weekend.

Keep in mind that the Argentinians don’t go out before 2-3am and party till it closes at around 6am.

I could’ve written a much longer list, but I should leave some of the exploration to you as well. My final tips for activities and things to do is to stay informed and active on the channels of Kulturstudier.

They invite us to plenty of activities and things to attend which are absolutely worth it! We’ve played football weekly with Argentinians, learned how to prepare mate and a lot more.