Argentina South America

3 weeks in Buenos Aires: First impressions

Buenos Aires was our first stop in Argentina and our home for Christmas and New Years. We were excited to spend 3 weeks in Buenos Aires and to have time to relax, enjoy the Christmas season and explore another exciting city. Here are my first impressions…

The summers in Buenos Aires are hot

And I mean HOT! The sun was blazing down almost every day and even walking in the shades was hard work which meant we spend a lot of time trying to cool down and eating ice-cream. Not too bad after all 🙂 Plus, Argentinians love ice-cream, so the portions over here are massive. We loved the tiramisu and cheesecake sundae from Freddo, so we couldn’t resist going a few times.

Buenos Aires Freddo ice cream

Argentina is a meat lover’s paradise

Eating an Argentinian steak is an absolute must but what if you’re an vegetarian? I totally fell in love with empanadas. You can get them with different fillings including meat, chicken, ham and cheese but also mozzarella and corn and other vegetarian variations. Another favourite is dulce de leche – a thick caramel paste that can be eaten as a sweet snack in between or even as a ice-cream flavour. Yummy!

empanadas

Argentinians are crazy about football

The rivalry is strong between Buenos Aires’ top two teams, Boca Juniors and River Plate. My boyfriend booked a game through a tour company called LandingpadBA to ensure tickets. He has been to a lot of football games in Europe but the atmosphere at Boca Juniors was like nothing he has ever seen. Whether you are a big football fan or not, make sure you catch a game!

Boca juniors in Buenos Aires

The neighbourhoods are very diverse

La Boca is not only known for the football team but also for colourful buildings whereas Palermo is the trendy part of the city with lots of nice bars and restaurants. Recoleta is home of the famous cemetery where memorable people, including Eva Perón and nobel prize winners are buried and the centre of Buenos Aires has beautiful, historic buildings and churches.

Buenos Aires Boca

Buenos Aires is a green city

The city has plenty of parks including Parque Tres de Febrero where locals socialise on weekends, the Botanic Garden, and a nature reservoir that is perfect for a long walk, a bike ride or to admire the wildlife.

Buenos Aires park

Public transport is cheap but that’s about it

We only paid 80p for a metro ticket but anything else was pricey especially when it comes to clothes and food. 6 bottles of 1,5l of water for £5? Yes, that’s possible in Buenos Aires. A pack of bananas for £4? No problem. Of course, there are cheaper options too but if you don’t look out you can easily spend a lot of money in supermarkets.

Christmas decorations even though it’s summer

For the first time, we celebrated Christmas during the summer. We saw Christmas fairs and decorations, supermarkets and shopping centres were playing Christmas songs. Although we never really got in to the Christmas spirit, it was nice to learn about their traditions. They do love to eat Pan dulce as a sweet treat – a special species of bread that is filled with raisins, dried fruit, nuts and chocolate and is eaten around the holiday season in Buenos Aires.

Christmas day was quiet, the streets were empty and people spend time with their family. At Boxing day, everything was back to normal, shops and restaurants were open. New Years Eve was a hot, humid night and we spent the evening in an restaurant in Palermo. Once it turned midnight, the music got louder, you could hear fireworks and samba dancers started dancing on the streets. It was one big street party that lasted until the morning hours. 

Christmas in Buenos Aires

The views are incredible

Buenos Aires doesn’t have many tall buildings, which means, if you know where you can go up, you will get amazing views over the city. One of these buildings is Galería Güemes but we were also lucky to get a stunning view from our Airbnb apartment. We’re one the top floor and the never-ending city was just in front of us.

view over Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a big city with a lot to offer. I loved the green parks, the food and strolling through the streets to discover beautiful, historic buildings and colourful street art. I’m glad that I could experience Christmas in Buenos Aires and I look forward to coming back one day to explore more of this beautiful country. 

Have you been to Buenos Aires or are planning to visit the city? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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3 weeks in Buenos Aires: First Impressions

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15 Comments

  • Reply
    German
    3. August 2018 at 7:04 pm

    Don’t be fooled by outdated blogs’ posts. Buenos Aires is cheap or expensive according to the peso/dollar ratio at a given point in time. Buenos Aires WAS expensive before March 2018, but now (August 2018) it has become really cheap for foreigners.

    • Reply
      Sina
      15. August 2018 at 7:49 pm

      I’ve written this post based on my experience in South America and Argentina has been the most expensive country during our travels in South America. The British pound was very weak at this point which definitely played a factor. It’s good to hear that it got a lot cheaper though as I love to come back to see more of Argentina!

  • Reply
    Laveena Sengar
    22. April 2017 at 8:07 pm

    I think if the public transportation is something that is good then it becomes quite convenient.

  • Reply
    wayfaringsarah
    15. March 2017 at 10:06 am

    Love this!! So informative! I can’t believe it’s so expensive! I always assumed Argentina would be reasonably priced. It looks like such a stunning place to visit though, so I bet it was worth the money 🙂

  • Reply
    Siddharth and Shruti
    7. March 2017 at 5:08 pm

    The tiramisu and cheesecake sundae from Freddo looks absolutely amazing! Buenos Aires looks fantastic. Would love to visit. #feetdotravel

  • Reply
    Angie (FeetDoTravel)
    3. March 2017 at 9:47 am

    Buenos Aires is a place I would love to visit so this post was really informative … and surprising, I didn’t think it would be that green and it’s great to know that at least the public transport is cheap! The food though, wow, that looks amazing, I will enjoy eating here! Thanks for sharing #feetdotravel

  • Reply
    Oana
    1. March 2017 at 10:04 pm

    One day I will get to Buenos Aires, it seems such a nice place to visit. Glad you enjoyed your time there. Will pin for future reference. Thanks for sharing!

  • Reply
    Shona Grant
    1. March 2017 at 8:20 am

    I can’t wait to get to Buenos Aires. The parks and neighbourhoods look lovely, as do the empanadas. Thanks for today’s dose of itchy feet 😉

  • Reply
    Scarlett Begonias
    28. February 2017 at 4:58 am

    Empanadas are my absolute favorite. My Argentinean friends grandma used to make chicken, cream cheese, corn ones from scratch- they were the best ever! Mmm we seriously want to go based on your yummy foodie pics. Thanks for the inspiration.

    • Reply
      Sina Meyer
      28. February 2017 at 4:55 pm

      Haha, I know what you mean – I could eat empanadas all day long! That combination sounds delicious too. Seriously have to learn how to make empanadas 😀

  • Reply
    SamH Travels
    28. February 2017 at 3:36 am

    Buenos Aires looks a really interesting place to visit and the food looks really yummy ! I like the fact there aren’t many tall buildings – the views look amazing. I hope to visit some day 🙂

  • Reply
    Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler)
    27. February 2017 at 7:00 pm

    Buenos Aires looks amazing and a great place to visit. I hope to visit one day and try the empanadas and go to a football game. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  • Reply
    Travel Lexx
    26. February 2017 at 3:04 pm

    Buenos Aires looks amazing and is definitely on my list when I head over to South America eventually. I have heard that it’s pretty expensive which surprised me – I love bananas so I think I will go bankrupt pretty quickly by the sounds of it. Great to know it’s such a green city – I love exploring parks and green spaces. The food looks amazing too!

  • Reply
    Garth
    25. February 2017 at 4:15 pm

    I can’t wait to visit Buenos Aires one day, it looks great and those Argentinian steaks do sound good!! I’ve pinned your post with your tips and ideas for a future visit 🙂

  • Reply
    Becci Abroad by Rebecca
    25. February 2017 at 2:35 am

    Hi there Sina!
    Happy to hear that you have been enjoying your time in Buenos Aires! Couldn’t agree more with you about the ice cream thing! They are completely ice cream fanatics – but they are doing it good 😉
    And so true that the public transportation is by far the only cheap thing here… But best thing is that you guys enjoyed your time here!
    Cheers from BA

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