3 Days in Buenos Aires: Dancing, Eating & Drinking Your Way Through the City

With 3 days in Buenos Aires, you can be dancing in art filled streets, cutting up world famous steaks, and talking with some newly made friends until the wee hours of the morning. However, with a city this large (and no it’s not “walkable”), you may be looking to narrow down your key list of things to do here. And no worries, I have you covered with my Buenos Aires Itinerary. Here’s what to do with 3 days in Buenos Aires:

Dance Your Way Through SAN TELMO

One of my favorite neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, San Telmo is packed with funky little shops and artistic looking cafes and bars. San Telmo is always a lively place to hang out, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be visiting on a Sunday. On Sundays, San Telmo hosts a market filled with tons of local vendors selling hand made products, souvineers, and argentinean snacks. Watch tango in the street, sift through local merchandise, or even join in a live drum circle.

If you miss being there on Sunday, there is also an indoor market the rest of the week in San Telmo.

Watch Live Tango in LA BOCA

La Boca may be one of the most touristy places in Buenos Aires, but there’s good reason for that. This neighborhood’s colorful houses and restaurants serve as an appealing background to any photo. However, La Boca is also home of the tango, so if you’re looking to see some tango dancers (for free), definitely head here. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars in La Boca to cater to your needs, and I loved all the art filling the walls of this neighborhood.

Please note, you don’t want to visit La Boca at night, or wander too far off the tourist trail. This can be a rough neighborhood.

Grab a Slice…of PIZZA?

You’re probably wondering what pizza has to do with Buenos Aires, like shouldn’t I be recommending steak? We’ll get there, but BA actually has a huge amount of Italian immigrants. The pizza in Italy and New York City is great, but the pizza in Buenos Aires is also something to talk about. Not to mention, they do this funky thing with putting an olive on each slice, which cracks me up every time I order one.

Here’s a good guide to finding the best pizza in Buenos Aires. With only 3 days, it will be hard to narrow down.

And Polish It Off With A CHEAP JUICY STEAK

There are tons of amazing steak houses to choose from in Buenos Aires, but I got the most recommendations for Don Julio. Reservations are needed, which of course I didn’t have. We strolled up without reservations on my friend’s birthday and they told us to come back at midnight. We had no problem finding somewhere to grab a few drinks before then, and suprisingly when we came back at 12am, we got in! So at midnight we were served one of the juiciest steaks I’ve ever seen, 2 bottles of wine (you have to have Malbec while you’re here of course), sides and dolce de leche.. for about $100. Yes, that’s right, really good steak and wine are cheaper here than almost any part of the world. And so, you’ll probably be eating it every night.

dolce de leche…. another must have while in BA! Would you believe me if I said I stuck this in my purse before leaving…..what a sticky mess.

Create Your Own Bar Crawl in PALERMO

The drinking district. Or I mean…”where you’ll find a nice mix of trendy restaurants, bars and shops.” Hip little cafes and bars are hiding behind every corner of Palermo, which could be quite dangerous… for your wallet and liver 🙂 Palermo is big on the international scene and a ton of expats seem to flock here. I also found the art murals here particularily charming. Besides being a host to artsy restaurants and bars, you can find tons of shops here (set in former warehouses and elegant old homes). Palermo Soho in particular is named after it’s resemblence to New York’s SoHo neighborhood. I would recommend staying in this district or in San Telmo, as these are the two livliest neighborhoods.

Make A Reservation at A PUERTO CERRADA

One of the only things I really wanted to do that I didn’t get a chance to…grrrr. You need to book these meals ahead of time which you know isn’t my forte. Anyway, Puerta Cerradas are “closed door restaurants”, kind of like a restaurant version of a speak easy. You show up to a secret location and there’s a secret menu. These kind of restaurants are huge on the scene in BA.

Here’s a post on the best ones. You’re welcome. Please tell me how it goes!

Get Lost in the tunnels of EL ZANJON DE GRANADOS

I really wanted to see El Zanjon de Granados (so I rushed there with breakfast pastries in hand), but unfortunately it was closed on New Years Eve when I was visiting. El Zanjon is a set of underground tunnels that date back to Bueno’s Aire’s earliest days.

Be Amused at the MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

As an art lover, I had an incredible time wandering around the muraled streets of Buenos Aires. However, I also like modern art exhibits (especially interactive ones). Since it rained one of the mornings in Buenos Aires, I headed to the Museum of Modern Art and was really amused with some of the exhibits they had there. I’d recommend a visit if your 3 days in Buenos Aires permits.

Unsure whats happening here….

this exhibit was actually really cool, there were a bunch of screens with people dancing and headphones for viewers to wear

Spend Your Money in PUERTO MADERO

If you’re looking for something a little more upscale, Puerto Madero is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in BA. Head here for a taste of Buenos Aires’ more heighty tighty side. This isn’t particularily my scene, but I did spend my New Years sipping champagne for free at one of the bars in this area so I’ll give it a shout out.

Only a few champagne glasses were harmed in the making of this photo

Be Spooked at the RECOLETA CEMETARY

A cemetery may seem like a strange suggestion, because well, it is. But this cemetery is one of the top one’s to see in the world, with elaborate tombs that were built for some of the most famous and powerful people in Buenos Aires. This is last on my list because I was never really a cemetary person, but I know some friends that really would have liked it here so I can’t leave it out! Plus it’s one of the top things to do in BA. If you want to leave this one out, you can still visit the Recoleta neighborhood which I really did like. Filled with plenty of French architecture, it looks like it belongs in Europe instead of South America.

DON’T: Cafe Tortoni

A tourist trap. You may read that it’s “a must see cafe and like stepping back in time.” That’s a load of crap. The line is simply not worth it. Trust me. I waited in it.