Fiscal mismanagement and runaway borrowing by Argentina’s government in the mid-1990s culminated in one of the swiftest economic collapses in history. In December 2001, Argentina defaulted on a crushing billion debt payment. The Argentine peso, pegged at a 1:1 ratio with the U.S. dollar for a decade, was devalued to stem the mounting flight of deposits, and banks were shuttered to halt further runs on the currency. By the time they reopened, Argentina’s president quit and fled by helicopter, its economy minister resigned, and the peso had plunged to a third of its former value. For the next few weeks, the country’s presidency became a revolving door of appointments and resignations.

Adding insult to injury, the wealthy and well-connected were tipped off about the imminent devaluation, and moved their assets offshore prior to the implosion. Argentineans were understandably infuriated. Riots ensued. Once an emerging market darling of Wall Street, Argentina became the only country on the planet to have gained—and subsequently lost—First World status.

With their currency in ruin and imported goods totally out of reach, Buenos Aires locals (los porteños) turned inward to rebuild their lives and their economy. Oddly, those hard times of a few years ago resulted in a resurgence of porteño culture, particularly in the areas of art, music, and cuisine. Times are still tough, but the city’s largely European flavor, its inhabitants’ zest for life, and favorable exchange rates make for a tempting combination for the traveler. Buenos Aires is making a comeback.

While it may be the Paris of the South, don’t expect to find grand museums and larger-than-life public monuments in Buenos Aires. Instead, immerse yourself in its culture: art, music, theatre, cuisine, and of course, the tango, arguably the sexiest dance ever invented.

Museums are not a Buenos Aires forte, but the Museo Nacional de Belles Artes, which houses works of Argentinean and European masters, including Monet, Gauguin, Degas, Picasso, and Modigliani, and the MALBA, which features contemporary Latin american art, are worthy additions to your itinerary. For a fascinating glimpse of Argentina’s past, visit Cementerio de la Recoleta.

Tango shows are popular with tourists, but to experience real Argentine tango with the locals, we attended two milongas, one at Salon Canning (Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, Palermo), the other at El Beso (Riobamba 416, Congreso). Click here for a listing of milongas by barrio.

Quick Tips:

Of Buenos Aires’ 47 barrios, focus on those near the river: Recoleta, Retiro, El Centro, Puerto Madero, Palermo, Palermo Soho, and San Telmo.

Counterfeit bills, especially 10 peso notes (.25), are widely circulated in Buenos Aires. The paper on fakes is newer and doesn’t feel quite right, and there’s no watermark. While not as widespread as expected, we were buzz-killed by a taxi driver who passed us a fake 10 peso note at 2am one night.

In restaurants, tip in cash. The benchmark rate is 10%.

For visitors flying out of Buenos Aires, an airport tax of roughly 55 pesos per person () must be paid prior to departure. Both Argentine pesos and U.S. dollars are accepted.

Before you buy, know that it can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly to take original works of Argentine art out of the country. Expect any package that looks like it might be a painting or sculpture to attract close scrutiny of customs officials at the airport. I don’t even want to say what we did to get an original canvas out of Argentina.

Check out these links for additional information on Buenos Aires (or Argentina):

Wally's Dictionary of Argentine Colloquialism and Culture (Argentine slang dictionary)
GridSkipper-Buenos Aires

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking

Unlike many large European cities, Buenos Aires is not particularly user-friendly for those that like to do a lot of walking. Individually, barrios are best explored on foot, but the city is just too immense to rely solely on walking. In addition, you’ll frequently encounter sidewalks in poor repair, making comfortable, sturdy shoes essential.

Subte

Buenos Aires’ subway system, called the subte, consists of five lines (A through E) that fan out from the city center. The problem is that there are no cross-town lines, and barrios such as Recoleta and Puerto Madero have no subte access at all. The good news is that it is very inexpensive: a single fare is 70 centavos (less than .25). Tickets are sold at manned booths at all stations.

Taxis

Walking and subte rides can be augmented by taxis. Whenever possible, stick with officially licensed radio taxis, which display a white sticker bearing the red letters IRA on the passenger side of the windshield. Phoning ahead for cabs can provide added safety. It can be beneficial to negotiate fares in advance, particularly for longer rides such as to or from the airport. You do not need to tip cab drivers.

Los porteños generally live with their parents much longer than those of us from the States. Whether the difference is purely a cultural one, an indicator of the economic hard times that have befallen Argentina in recent years, or both, many Argentineans live at home into their late twenties or beyond. Living with family members may provide a much-needed financial buffer, but few would argue it also results in an appalling lack of privacy. Consequently, Buenos Aires has no shortage of "hotels" that cater to those needing an hour or two for the odd clandestine rendezvous.

Few foreigners who visit Buenos Aires are aware the aforementioned establishments operate right under their collective noses, and fewer still know that Recoleta Cemetery, one of the city’s most visited sites, quietly lurks in the shadows of many such hotels. Thus, life in Buenos Aires often proceeds at its most passionate, fervent pitch against the looming backdrop of the city’s grandest symbol of death. Oh, the irony.

Within Recoleta’s massive brick walls and neoclassical front gates lay the richest and most famous among Buenos Aires’ dearly departed, a veritable Who’s Who of the city’s past. Celebrities and scholars, soldiers and captains of industry, statesmen and race car drivers, poets and ex-presidents are among the interned.

Eva Perón (1919-1952), Argentina’s former first lady, is Recoleta’s most famous resident, and one only need follow the largest gaggle of tourists to find the Duarte family mausoleum where she rests. Oddly, Juan Perón, her husband, is buried across town in a different cemetery.

Recoleta is a miniature city unto itself. Above-ground mausoleums stand shoulder-to-shoulder like Upper East Side apartment buildings, laid out amidst a perfect grid of city block-like sidewalks. Unlike Paris’ Cimetière du Père Lachaise, there’s almost no greenery. Virtually every square inch of space is occupied by one of the elaborate mausoleums.

Recoleta’s prestigious real estate isn’t doled out to lone individuals. These are family tombs, often spanning generations. Many are incredibly ornate, representing a wide array of architectural styles, often adorned with impressive statues. Some have glass fronts, the caskets inside in plain view, stacked on shelves one atop the other. Almost all have a basement, and occassionally one can see a steep stairway leading down to a crypt housing more caskets.

Some of the monuments are impeccably maintained, their marble and the bronze placard denoting the family name recently polished. Others have fallen into disrepair, either due to a lack of money or because they no longer have descendants to care for their upkeep. Plundering, vandalism, and the elements have taken a toll, with broken glass and locks, bits of trash, and stolen hardware the most glaring remnants.

Taking the term "adding insult to injury" to a new low, we saw one derelict tomb that had become an impromptu janitor’s closet, with cleaning products and other tools of the trade strewn atop a weather-beaten coffin.

Recoleta Cemetery offers a fascinating glimpse into Argentina’s past. Don’t miss it.

El Ateneo is reputedly one of the best bookstores in the city, and claims to be the largest of its kind in Latin America. That’s all well and good, but at El Ateneo, the building is what draws customers nearly as much as the merchandise: this is easily one of the most dramatic and beautiful retail spaces in the world. Even more surprising, the store has managed to fly under the radar of most Buenos Aires guidebooks, and barely gets mentioned at all in others.

Not to be confused with its sister location on the pedestrian-only shopping street of Avenida Florida in El Centro, the Avenida Santa Fe location in Barrio Norte occupies an old theatre dating from 1919. Called the Gran Splendid, the theatre was constructed by Argentine entrepreneur and recording industry pioneer Max Glücksmann (1875-1946), and had a seating capacity of 1050.

In 1924, a radio station called LR4 Radio Splendid began broadcasting from the upper floor of the building, where Glücksmann’s recording studios were also located. Many great tango artists of the day made their first recordings here, and Glücksmann held annual tango contests in the theatre, which were recorded and released on the Nacional Odeón label which he also owned.

The structure was converted into a movie house a few years later, and, in 1929, the Gran Splendid showed the first motion picture with sound.

In 2000 the building was renovated and converted into its current incarnation, although the theatre’s muraled ceilings, ornate carvings, and other architectural details from its heyday thankfully remain. Only the armchairs are gone, the space they once occupied now lined with row upon row of books. The stage, where tango icon Carlos Gardel frequently performed, is now the coffee shop.

Most of the books, of course, are in Spanish, although titles in English, French, and Portuguese can also be found. They also have a decent selection of CDs at the front of the store.

Cynics might call this El Ateneo location nothing more than a glorified Barnes & Noble, but no one can deny the store’s beautiful architectural elements and the sense of grandeur and history one gets from being here. Avenida Santa Fe 1860, between Rio Bamba and Callao, Barrio Norte. Tel: +54 (0) 11 4813-6052.

The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, as its name implies, houses Argentina’s national collection of fine arts. Occupying a former pumping station that was converted to its current use in 1933, the terra cotta-colored museum perhaps lacks some of the grandeur one might expect of the home of the nation’s artistic treasures.

Rather than a comprehensive collection, the museum’s works more closely resemble a patchwork assemblage representing the varied tastes of its benefactors: a Rembrandt here, a small El Greco there, a Jackson Pollack over there. The collection’s strength is 19th and early 20th century art, and consists primarily from Argentinean and European artists. Although diminutive in breadth, the museum houses a surprisingly strong collection of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Early Modern European paintings.

The extensive collection of Argentinean works is difficult for the visitor to get a handle on, since so little is known about them outside of Argentina. Consequently, I won’t try to pretend to know anything about Argentinean masters of the last two centuries. What I can tell you is that if names like Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Degas, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, Modigliani, and Miro sound appealing, you’ll want to add the MBNA to your Buenos Aires itinerary.

The further one ventures into the galleries of European art, the more impressed one becomes. A painting by Jean François Millet is followed by two beautiful Claude Monet landscapes, Le berge de La Seine and Le Pont de Argenteuil. Then come works by Sisley, Pissarro, Morisot, Manet, and more. There’s one painting of Vincent van Gogh’s, the nice but unremarkable Le Moulin de la Galette. An entire salon is dedicated to pastels by Edgar Degas.

Standouts among the Early Modern works include Amedeo Modigliani’s Figura de mujer and Buste de Femme, and Pablo Picasso’s Femme allongée.

Without a doubt my favorite piece in the MNBA’s collection is Paul Gauguin’s spectacular Vahine no te miti (1892). The vibrancy of the yellows and blues on the canvas cannot be faithfully duplicated in digital or printed copies. The painting seemed to jump off the wall compared to the works around it.

Juxtaposed with his Swimmers in Breton (1887) which hung beside it, one can’t help but notice the striking difference between the two paintings. In 5 years, Gauguin’s style had completely changed. The earlier piece features a more subdued color palette applied with short dabs of the brush, trademark of the French Impressionist style. The later piece, completed a year after his first visit to Tahiti, features a flat, two-dimensional subject portrayed in brilliant hues of yellow, green, and cobalt blue.

If you’re a fan of the French Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, or Early Modern European painters, The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes is a must-see when you visit Buenos Aires.

Additional information:

Hours: Tue-Fri 12:30-19:30; Sat-Sun 9:30-19:30

Tel: 4803.0802

Admission: Free; donations recommended

The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, more commonly referred to as the MALBA, houses, as its name suggests, 20th century and contemporary art from all over Latin America. Created under the initiative of the industrialist and Argentine collector Eduardo F. Constantini, the museum is the first of its kind in Argentina, and seeks to be the world’s preeminent museum of Latin American art. There are several large exhibition spaces, and the permanent collection of nearly 300 works, includes masterpieces by the likes of Diego Rivera, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Argentinean Zul Solar, Chilean surrealist painter Roberto Matta, and Antonio Berni.

The MALBA opened in 2001, and is the only museum in Buenos Aires to be housed in structure designed specifically for that purpose. Born out of a competition in 1997, the winning design was the work of three young Argentinean architects. The contemporary structure features an interior with a large, glass-topped atrium, a restaurant and gift shop on the first floor, and large, open exhibition spaces on the two upper floors.

The museum’s niche is its coverage of the collaboration between Latin-American and European artists that took hold in the first half of the 20th century, when many Latin-American artists traveled to Europe and were exposed to cubism, expressionism, and other European styles of the day. When they returned to the Americas, a fusion of their own styles and their interpretations of what they’d seen in Europe took their art in new directions.

Although diminutive in size, the MALBA’s collection contains a few brilliant masterpieces which are prominently displayed. Among these are Diego Rivera’s Portrait of Ramón Gómez de la Serna, and his wife, Frida Khalo’s Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot.

With only 270+ pieces in the permanent collection, the MALBA leaves one wanting more, but, having said that, it’s exciting to think about what this museum could become a decade or two from now. In the meantime, there is ample space dedicated to temporary exhibitions. Today, the masterpieces by Rivera, Kahlo, and Argentinean hero Zul Solar make the MALBA worthy of a visit.

Along with the nearby Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and Cementerio de la Recoleta, the MALBA completes a triumvirate of Buenos Aires attractions that make up a nice half-day itinerary for the first-time visitor to Buenos Aires. And be sure to check out some of the spectacular architecture of the nearby embassy buildings, including the Brazilian and French embassies.

Additional information:

Hours: Thu-Mon 12:00-20:00; Wed: 12:00-9:00; Closed Tue

Tel: 4808.6500

Admission: 10 pesos (US$3.25). Free on Wednesdays. Students free with ID.

Just about every nation on the planet has its share of skeletons in the closet, and Argentina is no exception. During World War II, General Juan Perón made no secret of his pro-fascist views. And as the Third Reich crumbled in the spring of 1945, Perón made hundreds of blank Argentine passports available to ranking Nazis trying to flee Europe. Recently uncovered evidence suggests that Eva Perón’s high profile tour of Europe in June 1947, made under the guise of strengthening ties between Argentina and important European leaders, had a parallel and covert mission: coordinating the clandestine "ratlines" that helped Nazis and their collaborators relocate to Argentina.

More recently, an estimated thirty thousand Argentineans deemed to be political subversives were killed and "disappeared" by military officers who led the country’s so-called "Dirty War" between 1976 and 1983. When the full magnitude of the horror was revealed, family members of the disappeared found neither answers from their government, nor any desire to hear their plight. A group of women that would later become The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo began holding meetings. At the time, such collaboration was considered illegal. In 1977, they began demonstrating in the Plaza de Mayo every Thursday afternoon, clutching photographs of lost loved ones. The demonstrations were viewed as dangerous acts of defiance.

Appallingly, the former military leaders who were responsible for the murder of their own countrymen were granted immunity from prosecution. The demonstrations, and demands for answers and accountability, continued. Today, the military regime is long gone, having been supplanted by a constitutional government. To his credit, current President Nestor Kirchner has done much to revoke the aforementioned immunity. Nonetheless, the demonstrations continue, and the mothers still seek an official acknowledgment of the disappearances. The year 2006 marks the 30th anniversary of the military coup.

Many visitors to Buenos Aires aren’t aware that there are several groups of mothers associated with the Plaza de Mayo and the disappeared. Various splinter groups and factions with more politically controversial views separated from the original group. Most of these groups march at the same time, although separately and under their own banners.

Well aware of the weekly gathering in the Plaza de Mayo, a driving morning rain shower altered our plans for the day, and it was quite by accident that we found ourselves in the plaza on a Thursday afternoon in late October, 2005.

I took perhaps a dozen photos that day. In my own ignorance I thought all the demonstrators marched in the name of the same cause. After we’d returned from our trip, I showed the photographs to a good friend, a native of Buenos Aires who now lives in the United States. One of the photographs caught her eye. In it, a group of old women carry a banner that reads, "No al pago de la deuda externa." Do not repay any foreign debt. Doesn’t sound like it has much to do with disappeared loved ones, does it?

Our Argentine friend recognized one of the women in the photograph. I don’t believe it serves any purpose to name the woman here, but she is the president of a far left political organization in Argentina. And according to our friend, who was still living in Argentina at the time, this woman appeared on Argentine television celebrating and toasting champagne after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

What’s the bottom line? Understand what you are looking at. Not all the demonstrators who march on Thursday afternoons in the Plaza de Mayo, nor the causes they champion, can be painted with the same brush. They may or may not be worthy of one’s compassion.

Planning a trip to Buenos Aires? Here are several tips that will help you once you arrive:

1. After you’ve retrieved your bags and made your way through customs and immigration at the airport, walk past those kindly strangers who approach you and ask if you need a cab. Instead, go outside to the taxi stand and locate an officially licensed radio taxi. They’re the ones bearing a white sticker with the red letters IRA on the passenger side of the windshield. If possible, negotiate or at least ask about the fare in advance. There’s a 6 peso toll involved, but if they want more than 75 or 85 pesos total ($25-$28) for a ride into the city, you’re being overcharged.

Then be prepared for a thrilling drive. Lane markers are merely "suggestions" in Buenos Aires, so don’t be surprised when four lanes of traffic are zipping along on three lanes of highway at 70 miles an hour.

2. Spanish, of course, is the predominant language in Buenos Aires, although the Argentine version is spoken quite differently from what we in the United States are accustomed to. First of all, it’s Spanish spoken with an Italian accent (60% of the population has Italian lineage, while 30% are of Spanish descent).

Another big difference lies in the pronunciation of the y and ll sounds, which in Argentina more closely resembles a zh sound, or the si in the word vision. For example, one of the major streets in Buenos Aires is Avenida Callao, which is pronounced kah-ZHAO. Plaza de Mayo is pronounced plaza de ma-ZHO.

3. Counterfeit currency is a problem in Buenos Aires. While not as widespread as it was a year or two ago, there are still plenty of phony bills floating around, with 10 peso notes ($3.25) the most common forged note.

So how do you spot a fake? Be suspicious of newer paper, and hold the bill up to the light. There will be no metallic ribbon woven into the edge of the etched and white backgrounds, next to the brown diamonds. The aforementioned diamonds were black instead of brown on a fake we got, and the graphics and historical celeb (Manuel Belgrano on the 10 peso notes) will not be as sharp. Also, the "10" in the lower right corner will not change color as the light changes. If a bill doesn’t pass muster, simply ask for another.

4. The hippest shopping in Buenos Aires is found in the barrios of Palermo and Palermo Viejo, which is also known as Palermo Soho. Countless boutiques offer merchandise, ranging from furniture, home accessories, and art, to fashions, toys, and stationary.

For leather jackets, belts, and bags, factory-direct outlet shops along Calle Murillo at Avenida Scalabrini Ortiz offer significant discounts to those along the more heavily traveled pedestrian-only shopping street of Avenida Florida downtown in El Centro. The outlet shops will also offer a 15%-20% discount if you pay in cash rather than a credit card.

5. The Argentine diet consists largely of grilled meat and, well, more grilled meat. If you’re steak lovers like us, Buenos Aires is a darned fine place to be. Be aware, however, medium rare in Buenos Aires is something quite different from what it is the United States. Frankly, it’s overcooked: medium to medium well. Don’t let this ruin an otherwise excellent meal. Ask that your steak arrive con sangre (with blood). Once we figured this out, every steak we ordered was served joyously red and juicy, perfect medium rare as we know it.

6. San Telmo is a popular destination for tourists, especially on Sundays when locals gather for the large flea market in Plaza Dorrego. You’ll be able to see the city’s young tango talent dance on the cobbled streets for tips, but to be honest, San Telmo reminded us both, in its ambiance and architecture, of New Orleans’ French Quarter. Been there, done that. Out of our group of four, it got four thumbs down. Your opinion, of course, may differ.

7. Palermo Viejo has its act together. As previously mentioned, the barrio boasts the best shopping in the city, not to mention many outstanding restaurants, and also serves as the city’s design district. Three free, color-coded maps of Palermo Viejo are available at many of the area’s retailers.

One, Gastronomia, will help you locate restaurants, bars, and hotels in Palermo Viejo. A nice touch is that the restaurants are color-coded by type of cuisine. Equipamiento will help you find all things furniture, accessories, toys, and art. Consult the third, Indumetaria, to find retailers selling clothing and accessories.

8. Having seen much of the city, for a return visit we’d favor the barrio Palermo for hotel accomodations. Two outstanding, moderately priced options in great locations are the bobo Hotel, which made Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s 2005 Hot List, and 5 Cool Rooms. But the word is out: reserve well in advance.

9. La Boca = Overrated. Yes, the barrio’s colorful buildings are a photo-op, but the place is incredibly cheezy, not to mention dicey. It’s downright dangerous after dark. After 10 minutes all of us were ready to leave. It’s a good thing taxis are so inexpensive, or the photo-op wouldn’t even have been worth the fare. If you insist on going, do so in daylight hours, and even then only for an hour or so.

10. Not only do cab drivers know a lot about the city, they can also make great conversationalists. If you speak a little Spanish, try to engage them in conversation. We found out the scoop on upcoming nation-wide elections from one cabbie, and were serenaded with Frank Sinatra tunes and La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, on a hilarious crosstown ride with another, a chemical engineer his third night on the job, who’d taken on the night gig to support his wife and three children.

11. If you're willing to accept the limitations a language barrier can impose, attending a live performance or the theatre can be a great way to get a taste of the local scene. We saw the Buenos Aires production of The Producers. Yes, we missed a lot of the jokes, but everyone knows the story, and the costumes were hilarious. Where else can you get the best seats in the house to see the hottest show in town for US$20 a ticket?

12. If you’re going to dance Argentine tango at one of the city’s many milongas, here are a couple of observations to keep in mind:

Tango Etiquette Rule #1: Nobody dances for the first thirty or forty seconds of a song. This is the time for polite small talk, to chat with your dance partner about the weather, or where you’re going out for dinner the following night. This brief period of socializing occurs at the beginning of every song. Only after an appropriate amount of chit-chat will dancing begin.

Tango Etiquette Rule #2: Women will not be asked to dance by one of the local gentlemen without first making eye contact.

Tango Etiquette Rule #3: More an observation than a rule, but, as a man, not only are you dancing with your lovely partner, you’re also dancing with the other four or five guys around you, humorous as that may sound. The dance floor is almost always packed, and if everyone is in synch, all is well. Although, if someone decides to show off his tango prowess at the expense of his neighbors, human bumper cars are the likely result.