3 Days in Buenos Aires: Neighbourhoods, Tango, and Riverfront

Grouping Buenos Aires by geographic corridor prevents long cross-town taxi rides and lets you experience each neighbourhood at the time of day it comes alive. This three-day route uses Subte Line D, Line A, and walkable avenues to cover the historic centre, the southern port districts, and the northern museum and park belt.

Day 1: Plaza de Mayo, Avenida de Mayo, and San Telmo

• Morning: Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada: Start at Plaza de Mayo, unified in 1884 around the 1811 Pirámide de Mayo. Visit the neoclassical Metropolitan Cathedral (housing the mausoleum of José de San Martín guarded by mounted grenadiers), the whitewashed 18th-century Cabildo, and the exterior of the Casa Rosada presidential palace.
• Midday: Avenida de Mayo to Palacio Barolo: Walk west along Avenida de Mayo, stopping for a cortado and churros at the 1858 Café Tortoni (Avenida de Mayo 825). Continue to the 1923 Palacio Barolo at number 1370, designed by Mario Palanti around the structure of Dante's Divine Comedy, and look out towards the dome of the National Congress.
• Afternoon and Evening: San Telmo and Plaza Dorrego: Head south down Calle Defensa into San Telmo. Browse the wrought-iron 1897 Mercado de San Telmo, watch street tango dancers on Plaza Dorrego, and stay for dinner at a traditional San Telmo parrilla.

Day 2: Teatro Colón, Recoleta Cemetery, and El Ateneo Grand Splendid

• Morning: Obelisco and Teatro Colón: Begin at the 67.5-metre 1936 Obelisco in the centre of the 110-metre-wide Avenida 9 de Julio, then join a guided tour of the 1908 Teatro Colón to see the Golden Hall (Salón Dorado), the stained-glass dome, and the seven-tiered horseshoe auditorium.
• Afternoon: Recoleta Cemetery and Bellas Artes: Ride Subte Line D or walk up Avenida Alvear to Recoleta. Spend two hours exploring the marble avenues of the 1822 La Recoleta Cemetery (including the Duarte family vault of Eva Perón) and the adjacent 1732 Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, then cross Plaza Francia to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the giant steel petals of Floralis Genérica.
• Evening: El Ateneo and Avenida Corrientes: Stop at El Ateneo Grand Splendid (Avenida Santa Fe 1860), a 1919 theatre converted into a grand bookshop, before returning to Avenida Corrientes for theatre and a late slice of onion-topped fugazzeta pizza.

Day 3: La Boca, Puerto Madero, and Palermo Parks

• Morning: La Boca and Caminito: Take an early taxi or bus south to La Boca to walk the painted corrugated-iron tenements of Caminito, the old Riachuelo river bend (Vuelta de Rocha), and the exterior of Boca Juniors' La Bombonera stadium before midday crowds arrive.
• Midday: Puerto Madero and Puente de la Mujer: Travel north along the docklands to Puerto Madero, cross Santiago Calatrava's 170-metre Puente de la Mujer at Dock 3, and walk into the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve.
• Afternoon: Palermo Parks and MALBA: Ride Subte Line D to Palermo for the MALBA museum, the 1967 Japanese Gardens, and El Rosedal, then dine in Palermo Soho.