Going ashore

Spanish-colonial Plaza de Mayo is dominated by the pink presidential palace,Cabildo (town hall) and cathedral. Head to upmarket Recoleta for its fabulously ornate,horror-movie cemetery,stuffed with eminent Argentine corpses including that of Eva Peron (Evita). Bohemian district San Telmo features cobblestones,street art,antiques shops and a covered food market.

Don’t miss

Harbour-side La Boca district is touristy,tacky and the focus of many shore excursions. Yet although a cliche,you’ll be seduced by the cheerful atmosphere,colourfully painted buildings and street artists daubing dodgy paintings or dancing the tango. Bombonera soccer stadium,home to Boca Juniors,provides an enthusiastically noisy local cultural experience.

Get active

Buenos Aires is pancake flat and has some good cycle lanes and a public bike-share system called Ecobici which is free,although you have to register as a user. But what better way to get exercise than to take tango classes? Many tango schools offer classes at all levels of experience for about $75. If you already know what you’re doing,then dance the night away at a milonga or tango club.

Best bites

Gorge yourself on empanadas (a variety of pie,most commonly with a beef or cheese filling),choripan (a delicious chorizo sausage sandwich) and pastries rich in dulce de leche caramel. Thanks to the Italian immigrant influence,pasta is great,but there’s no better Argentine dinner than steak and Malbec wine. Trendy Palermo Viejo has many hip restaurants including La Cabrera,perhaps the city’s best steakhouse.

Further afield

Excursions beyond the city take you to the bird-rich Tigre Delta or an estancia (ranch) for a taste of cowboy life. Delightful Colonia del Sacramento just across the water in Uruguay has a World Heritage old town in colourful pastel shades. It’s usually visited on shore excursions from Montevideo but is actually easier and quicker to get to from Buenos Aires on a one-hour ferry ride that you can do yourself,or with a local day-tour company.