Things to do in Buenos Aires

A capital that runs on its own clock

Buenos Aires is enormous, but the parts you will spend time in fit into a strip along the river: San Telmo and the old centre in the south, Recoleta and Palermo to the north, with the grand avenues of the Microcentro in between. The subte and the buses link it all, and most visitors end up walking far more than they planned, because each barrio looks and feels different from the last.

The city's rhythm is the first thing to adjust to. Lunch is at two, dinner rarely before nine thirty, bars fill after midnight and clubs open their doors around two. Fight it and you will eat alone in empty restaurants. Go with it and the city makes sense: long, slow evenings, coffee and medialunas the next morning, and a siesta in between if you need one.

Give it five days at least. That is enough for the big sights, a milonga, the San Telmo market on a Sunday, a football match or a day across the river in Uruguay. Many travellers stay for weeks, and the city rewards it: Spanish classes, tango lessons and a neighbourhood café that knows your order are all part of the appeal.