What is there to do when you aren't getting laid?

The first-time visitor will benefit from a city tour conducted by a knowledgeable guide. This will give you a good overview of the city, and you can return later and explore on your own the places that interest you.

You can jump on a bus and take a group tour, but for a few extra dollars you can have a personal tour guide to show you around. Here are two excellent, English speaking guides:

Roxanna (Roxana@WSGForum.com Cell Phone: 15-5103-3905 )
Cintia http://www.wowargentina.com.ar

Overall, Buenos Aires is a city to be experienced rather than toured. Here is a list of a some ways to experience Buenos Aires:

1. Sip a Café con Leche. Do as the Portenos (locals) do: Venture into a café late in the morning and order a café con leche (coffee with milk) con medialunes (with croissants). Sip the coffee. Nibble the medialunes I prefer mine with manteca (sweetened). Take along a paperback or pick up a newspaper. Turn the pages slowly. This is an experience to be savored, not rushed. There are a myriad of cafes in Buenos Aires. Two of my favorites are the 100year old Café Tortini and Café de la Paix, a Recoleta mainstay (Quintana 595)
Café Tortoni: http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar/

2. Unwind at an Opulent Spa. Colmenga Spa is a hangout for high powered executives and politicos. A day here, including the use of spa facilities and a massage will cost you 200pesos for the deluxe treatment. Money well spent.
http://www.colmegna.com.ar/colmegna/

3.Get Culture! Buenos Aires boasts some fine museums and a world-renowned opera house, Teatro Colon. If nothing else, take the tour of Teatro Colon. Better yet, take one of the girls to a performance. Tickets are surprisingly affordable, and the pay off can be incredible. Here are links to Teatro Colon and some of the better museums. The Evita museum in Palermo is especially recommended.

Museums: http://www.malba.org.ar
http://www.mnba.org.ar
http://www.evitaperon.org/Museum.htm
http://www.jardinjapones.com.ar
Teatro Colon: http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar/

4. Enjoy a night on the town. Buenos Aires features a vibrant nightlife. There's Broadway-style theater along Ave. Corrientes, casinos, bingo parlors, first run movies from throughout the world,
all night pool halls, or concerts.

To find out what's happening in town, check here:

Events and tickets: http://www.ticketek.com.ar/
Guide to happenings: http://www.laguia.clarin.com/pls/laguia/gui_pdi_hp.mostrarhomepage


Theaters with web sites:
http://www.teatrosanmartin.com.ar/ http://www.teatrodelpueblo.org.ar/

The Casino in Tigre http://www.trileniumcasino.com.ar/
Note: There is a riverboat casino in Puerto Madero with no web site.

A list of night clubs: http://www.batop.8m.com/

Pool and cold beer http://www.deep-blue.com.ar


Current Movies: http://www.pantalla.info/cine/

5. Watch futbol! Soccer borders on an obsession in Argentina. Sitting in the stands and yelling "PUTO!" at the opposing goal keeper will help you feel like a real Argentino. Buenos Aires boasts 4 division one teams, but two stand out: River Plate and La Boca. River is in a wealthy section of Belgrano, while LaBoca is in the lower class barrio of La Boca. Click on the go football site if you don't speak Spanish and want someone to buy your tickets and escort you to and from your hotel.
Soccer:
http://www.argentinesoccer.com/indexen.html
http://www.carp.org.ar/
http://www.bocajuniors.com.ar/
http://www.gofootball.com.ar/

6. Explore the Barrios of Bs.As. Buenos Aires is divided into 47 distinct neighborhoods, or barrios, with their own unique characteristics. It is best to explore one neighborhood at a time on foot.

The fashionable shops, wide avenues, sidewalk cafes and flower vendors in the elegant La Recoleta district are reminiscent of Paris. Historic San Telmo is the heart of tangoland. Nearby Puerto Madero, the old cruise ship terminal, has been converted into a warehouse of restaurants, bars, and shops.

In El Centro explore Plaza San Martin (one of the many parks scattered through out the city), stroll down Calles Florida and Lavalle, a pedestrian mall. Visit Plaza de Mayo, the square where grieving mothers of the desaparecidos (the disappeared) kept vigil during the country’s “Dirty Wars”. Casa Rosada, the Presidential Pink Palace, at the eastern end, is where Eva Peron would greet the masses. Tree lined Palermo offers a multitude of parks and trendy areas with innumerable restaurants. Belgrano is an upscale residential area that offers a glimpse into how Argentinos live. Here are some web sites from the various barrios.

Recoleta http://recoleta.8k.com/
Puerto Madero http://www.puertomadero.com
Bike tours http://www.biketours.com.ar/esp/index.html
Palermo http://www.palermohollywood.net/index1.asp
http://www.barriolascanitas.com.ar/rest.htm
La Boca http://www.labocatour.com.ar/
San Telmo http://www.revistazonasur.com.ar/
Plaza de Mayo http://www.laplazademayo.com.ar/
Belgrano http://www.mibelgrano.com.ar/


7. Tango. You gotta love a city that has elevated a steamy dance that originated in brothels to an art form. Tango is everywhere in Buenos Aires, and such an integral part of the culture that no one should leave Argentina without experiencing a tango show. Tango shows range from street performers found along Calle Florida downtown, in San Telmo's Plaza Dorrego on Sunday, and most evenings in the Village of Recoleta to elaborate dinner shows. I prefer the intimate preformences found in the small bars of La Boca and San Telmo. Here are some tango web sites:
http://www.esquinacarlosgardel.com.ar/
http://www.bar-sur.com.ar/

8. Take a Day Trip. The three most popular one day trips are to an Estancia in the nearby Pampas, Tigre, and to historic Colonia, Uruguay. Here are some tour companies that can help:
http://www.travelline.com.ar/
http://www.buenosairestur.com/
http://www.arecoturismo.com.ar/
http://www.lacinacina.com.ar/

9. Study Spanish. Here are some schools that offer Spanish lessons. For a stay of a month or more, the University of Belgrano's intensive language class is recommended. I have also included a link to the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper. Instructors who will tutor you in Spanish are listed in the classifieds.
http://www.latinimmersion.com/argentina.htm
http://www.ilee.com.ar/
http://www.ub.edu.ar/studiesinargentina/default.htm
http://www.buenosairesherald.com

10. Volunteer. Since the economic crisis following devaluation of the peso, poverty rates have skyrocketed. Here is an opportunity to do something worthwhile by helping:
http://www.sersolidario.org.ar/
http://www.porloschicos.com/
http://www.redsolidaria.org.ar/








(Message edited by pirate on September 22, 2003)

(Message edited by pirate on September 22, 2003)

Fantastic info. Will change the course of my trip next month.

Pirate -- more awesome info. Thankx

A correction:

You can contact Roxana at: ROXANAINBA@YAHOO.COM or at her cell. phone: 155 103 3905.
The wsg email address is not available anymore.

OCJOEY.