It’s hard to pick just a few favorite places in Buenos Aires. There are so many amazing museums, gorgeous parks and fascinating buildings. However, a lot of the top attractions are things you see: places you go to look at something, take some pictures, then move on to the next spot. To properly explore another country, you can’t just look at things, you need to do them. So here are my favorite experiences that I think everyone should have when studying abroad in Buenos Aires.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
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| If you enjoy sweets, I recommend the panqueques de dulce de leche, which are crepes filled with Argentine milk caramel and then drizzled with chocolate syrup. |
El Ateneo Grand Splendid is not just any bookstore—it’s a bookstore inside of an old theatre. While browsing through a large variety of books in Spanish and a small collection of English books, you can take in the murals on the ceiling and the grandeur of the former theatre. If you want to sample a book before buying—make sure your Spanish is up to par and all that—you can also read and relax in some of the theatre boxes. And if you’re not sold yet, the stage has been turned into a café, so you can feel like a star as you enjoy lunch, coffee or a sweet treat.
Teatro Colón
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| Me getting pumped to watch one of my favorite ballets at the amazing Teatro Colón. |
The building of Teatro Colón is one of those places you ought to see. However, to truly experience it, you have to see a show. Teatro Colón puts on mainly operas, ballets and orchestra concerts, and the tickets are surprisingly affordable. When I went to see the ballet Sleeping Beauty, I was able to get tickets for about $20USD for the front row of the fifth level, slightly off center. I was in the nosebleeds, but could still make out the details of the dancing. If that’s still too much for you, you can get standing tickets for about $6USD, so there’s literally no excuse not to see a show!
A Fútbol Stadium
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| Vamos Argentina! |
There is no sports experience in the United States that can possibly compare to fútbol in Argentina. Whether attending a national team game or a club match, you can’t avoid getting caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowd, and on the days of the more important matches, you’ll see people flooding towards stadiums decked out in their team’s gear, waving flags and cheering. They have so much passion for fútbol, they don’t mind sharing it with other people, and by donning a jersey on game day, you can stop being a foreigner or a tourist and just be a fellow fútbol fan.
A Milonga
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| La Catedral Club, a milonga that takes place in an old factory warehouse. |
Whether you’re a dancer or not, you have to experience authentic Argentine Tango at least once during your time in Buenos Aires. There’re Milongas (Tango clubs) all across the city, and attendees range from teens to octogenarians. Most Milongas offer classes before the dancing officially begins so you can learn a few steps before hitting the dance floor, or show up a little later and just watch the experienced dancers go. You can find Milongas happening every night of the week into the early morning hours, and it’s a much better way to experience Tango than the more tourist-focused performances.
Food Festival
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| The food was worth the wait. |
From food trucks to gourmet food to asado to vegan and gluten-free, there’s some sort of food festival going on in the city almost every weekend, and if you spend a couple of minutes searching for nearby events on Facebook, you can find them. Food festivals offer a great opportunity to try a diverse range of food and see different parts of the city. Also, you're eating delicious food. There is no downside to this.
Quinn K. is the Fall 2017 CEA MOJO Blogger in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is currently a Junior studying Professional Writing at Champlain College.