“Galerías Pacífico is one of the city’s most opulent shopping centres, and many people visit just to see its installations and its dome, which is painted with murals by Argentine artists Antonio Berni, Lino Enea Spilimbergo, Demetrio Urruchúa and Juan Carlos Castagnino. The central downtown building, at the intersection of Florida and Córdoba, was constructed in 1889 to house Au Bon Marché department store but never served this purpose and instead was used as the site of the Museo de Bellas Artes until 1940. The building was converted into a shopping centre in 1990 and has been declared a national historic monument because of its architectural importance. It contains specialised leather stores as well as international names, and a food court. Personal shoppers are available with pre-booking, and the centre provides facilities for children, a bureau de change, ATMs and a premium taxi service. The centre is also home to the Centro Cultural Borges, the venue for a tango school as well as art exhibitions and workshops. Guided tours: Those interested in learning more about the building’s history can reserve a 20-minute guided tour (phone 5555-5110), Monday to Friday at 11.30am and 4.30pm. The tour can also be completed independently using audioguides (Spanish, English, Portuguese and French) available at the information desk on the ground floor.”

“Great shopping in a beautiful historic building. Small and never crowed, good for local fashion brands, cafes, movie theatre...”

“A great park in downtown Buenos Aires. With an amazing architectonic and landscaping design, a great place to contrast the concrete jungle!”

“For long distance buses throughout Argentina and beyond. Each bus company has an information desk to check prices and buy tickets. It's worth getting information from a few different companies before buying a ticket- as prices, level of comfort and journey time can be very different. Note: This area is fine during the day, but is not recommended during the night.”

“One of the two buildings that make up the chic Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aires is a Belle Époque-style palace from the 1930s, the other is a sleek, minimalistic tower. It is renowned for putting on one of the best afternoon teas in all of Argentina. Also, it offers an art gallery, boutiques and buzzy restaurants from which to choose. Within a 3 min walk.”

“Retiro covers the nicest and safest part of Buenos Aires downtown. Staying there, the visitor is just a few blocks from such tourist attractions as Teatro Colón, Plaza San Martín, Galerías Pacífico, Corrientes St., Puerto Madero and the historic city center. The neighborhood is a well known shopping area, but also hosts a varied night life. It has old cafés, some of the best restaurants (including parrillas, Italian, Peruvian, Indian, Japanese, Spanish and trendy brewerys) and some of the city’s hottest cocktail bars. Some tips and recommendations near our flats: Pharmacy: ⁃ Farmacity (Córdoba 685). Opens between 7:30 and 23:30, and Sundays until 22:00. Banks and ATMs: ⁃ Banco Ciudad (Córdoba 675). ⁃ HSBC (Paraguay 720). Supermarkets: ⁃ Carrefour Express (Viamonte & Maipú corner). Ideal for everyday shopping. ⁃ Disco (Esmeralda 1365). A bigger place, for more and fancier groceries. ⁃ Dietética Viamonte (Viamonte 859). For healthy stuff -like nuts, cereal, seeds, olives, etc. ⁃ Tomy (Suipacha 916). Idem! Produce markets ⁃ Verdulería López (Maipú 619). There are many around. This is one of them. ⁃ La Huerta (Esmeralda 915). Idem. Bakeries: ⁃ Dos Escudos (Juncal 905). One of the best bakeries in town. Their cut loaf sandwiches are just unforgettable. ⁃ La Mantequería (Carlos Pellegrini 655). Terrific medialunas. ⁃ Le Moulin de la Fleur (Talcahuano 888). French pâtisserie. Great baguette tradition and pistaccio macarrons! Delicatessen, cheese & cold cuts: ⁃ Los Secretos de Benjamín (Maipú 867). For picadas, the best place in the area. ⁃ Pick Market (Libertad 1212). Gourmet cheese & cold cuts, among other things. Good, but pricier. Wine shops: ⁃ Los Ángeles (the Chinese supermarket across the street). Chinese supermarkets usually have an excellent choice of good mainstream wines at very competitive prices. ⁃ Frappe (Paraguay 678). Great choice of wines, and often good offers. ⁃ Soil (Libertad 968). It’s worth the walk. Attended by the owners, who know just everything about Argentine wines. Go there if you’re looking for something more exclusive. Cafes: ⁃ Negro, cueva de café (Marcelo T. de Alvear 790 o Suipacha 637). There are plenty of cafes in the city. But for damn good real coffee, Negro is unbeatable. Great croissants too! ⁃ Florida Garden (Florida 899). An absolute all-time classic. If you are in need of a cake, don’t miss their trademark chocolate mousse cake. The new cafe next door (on Florida St.) is also excellent -and with acceptable prices. Ice creams: ⁃ Freddo (Galerías Pacífico). Argentine’s classic ice-cream store. ⁃ Rapanui (Santa Fe 772). Actually, a great chocolate store. And therefore a great ice-cream store. Restaurants: ⁃ Tancat (Paraguay 645). Spanish cuisine, and an old classic in the neighborhood. The black rise with squids and octopus is mandatory. The long table talk with many wines, too. ⁃ Irifune (Paraguay 436). There are many so-so sushi places in Buenos Aires, mind. But this is one of the good ones. A bit pricy, but really worth it. ⁃ Dadá Bistró (San Martín 941). A real SoHo bistró, planted in Buenos Aires downtown. Narrow menu, and everything’s delicious. You can also go there just for drinks: excellent bar and really nice ambiance. There’s a bunch of regular customers that go there almost every night in the year. ⁃ 1810 (Marcelo T. de Alvear 868). The best empanadas on earth? Maybe. ⁃ Fa Song Song (Esmeralda 993). Exquisite Korean food. Warning: closes early. ⁃ Broccolino (Esmeralda 776). The neighborhood’s old classic Italian place. Excellent pasta at reasonable prices. ⁃ Filo (San Martín 975). The new classic Italian. Their thin crust pizzas are exquisite -we recommend ordering their “surprise pizza”, more often than not it’s a nice surprise. ⁃ Al Carbón (Reconquista 875). One of the best parrillas in downtown. ⁃ Santos Manjares (Paraguay 938). A new bodegón; good prices and friendly ambiance. ⁃ Delhi Mahal (Córdoba 1147). Indian food. Be careful with the spice: it’s the real thing. ⁃ Del Toro (Paraguay 928). Good hamburgers and good beers; what else? ⁃ Boca de Toro (Paraguay 685). New & chic restaurant. Expensive but, so they say, very good. If you go, please tell us how it was. ⁃ Barbaro (Tres Sargentos 415). Also called “Bar-o-bar”. It was a meeting spot for artists in the 1960s; and many of them still go there on Saturdays for lunch. Bars and breweries: ⁃ La Florería Atlántico (Arroyo 872). A flower shop with a very trendy basement. It’s considered the best cocktail bar in town. If you are going there for dinner, be sure to make a reservation: it’s small and usually very crowded. ⁃ Dadá Bistro (San Martín 941). As we said, one of the best ambiances in the area. ⁃ Barís (Marcelo T. de Alvear 789). A Madrid-like bar with Ukrainian bartenders. Great choice of carefully selected beers -and the best hot-dogs in the whole universe. ⁃ On Tap (Marcelo T. de Alvear 839). Impressive choice of beers. Remember to taste a couple before ordering. ⁃ Basa (Basavilbaso 1328). A very chic SoHo style restaurant, with a fancy cocktail bar. ⁃ Cervelar (Viamonte 336 y Reconquista 958). Good beers, and that’s about it. ⁃ Gran Bar Danzon (Libertad 1161). Incomparable 1990s nouveau-riche ambiance. And good drinks. ⁃ Jack The Ripper (Libertad 1275). Now, this is a real pub -unlike many others nearby. Dim lights, good music and rude bartenders. ⁃ La Biblioteca Café (Marcelo T. de Alvear 1151). Food and drinks are no big deal. But you still need to go there: the place hosts the best jam session in town, every Monday starting at 21:30. Shopping: ⁃ Galerías Pacífico. ⁃ Florida St. ⁃ Santa Fe Av. ⁃ Zara (Florida 651). Tourist attractions: ⁃ Obelisco. Tourists keep going there for some reason, so why won’t you? ⁃ Centro cultural CCK. Amazing building and great concerts if you’re lucky. ⁃ Teatro Colón. Mandatory. Please, don’t miss it. ⁃ Centro Cultural Borges. Great temporary exhibits. ⁃ Plaza San Martín, Torre de los Ingleses. One of the city’s most beautiful parks. ⁃ Corrientes Av. (Gran Rex y Opera theatres). Take a look at their concert schedules. ⁃ Basílica Santísimo Sacramento (San Martín 1035). One of the most impressive churches in town. ”

“National hystoric monument where you can see some of the best argentinian theater plays. Anyway, if you want to see local theater, let me know, I will be glad to recommend you.”

“A charismatic delight in the middle of downtown´s grit, this small, jazzy-baho spot dishes out delicious modern Argentine food. Try the lomo DADA, a fat steak on top of potatoes smothered in mustard sauce or the filo-covered Morbier bites. Seats are limited, but you can always cozy up with the regulars at the bar and sip a cocktail while you wait”

“El Parque Thays es un espacio verde de aproximadamente 4500 m², localizado en el barrio de Recoleta, en Buenos Aires. Fue bautizado en honor al arquitecto y paisajista francés Carlos Thays. Una de las esculturas que se puede apreciar en este lugar es Torso Masculino Desnudo del artista colombiano Fernando Botero. ”