Buenos Aires: is the capital and largest city of Argentina. It is also the most European-like city in Latin America and the heart of Argentina, the country's chief port and leading industrial center.
About a third of Argentina's people live in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city lies in eastern Argentina, along a broad, muddy, funnel-shaped bay called the Rio de la Plata.
Buenos Aires is one of the largest cities in the world; a megalopolis with over eleven million inhabitants in both the city and its surroundings. It is also the most elegant and the busiest city in South America which represents the Argentine essence.
In spite of its modern constructions and dynamic activity, it has managed to preserve old traditions and charming corners. Visitors are fascinated by its environment, the individuality of each of its neighbourhoods, the cordiality of its people, and its wide selection of cultural and commercial opportunities.
Buenos Aires, surrounded by Argentina’s splendid countryside, is the great cosmopolitan doorway to South America.
Enjoy its nigthlife and learn Spanish and Tango!.    

The climate of Buenos Aires - oceanic and warm - is mild all year round. The mean annual temperature is 18º C (64.4º F), making extremely hot and cold days very infrequent. Thus, visitors can enjoy walking along the city in any season.
 
July is the coldest month in winter, with mean temperatures ranging from 3º to 8º C (37.4º to 46.4º F). Frosts are infrequent in Buenos Aires. A woolen coat, a jacket or an overcoat and a scarf will be required when going out. In summer, the weather is hot and humid and the mean temperature is 28º C (82.4º F). At night, temperature goes down slightly, so people may wear light clothes; coats are not needed.
 
The annual average rainfall is 1,146 mm (45.1 inches). Rains are more frequent in autumn and spring. During the warm months, they are mild or last a short time, thus activities are not hampered and people can still wear light clothes and take an umbrella or a raincoat.
 
 Curiosities
Some weather phenomena, due to their unusual characteristics, are part of the local lore. The “veranito de San Juan” (Saint John’s short summer) is one of the most famous. The people from Buenos Aires used that expression because it begins around June 24th, date of the birth of Saint John, the Baptist. During this strange weather phenomenon, which may last from three to seven days, temperatures sometimes rise to 24º C (75.2º F), and it is quite common to see people sunbathing in the city squares in mid winter.
 
By the end of winter, the “tormenta de Santa Rosa” (Saint Rose’s storm), a cycle of rains and electric storms, almost coincides with the beginning of spring and corresponds to the festivity of the mentioned saint, on August 30th.
 
An even stranger phenomenon occurred in the winter of 1918 – it snowed in Buenos Aires and the city was covered of snow for the only time in its history so far.         See Weather....

The City of Buenos Aires is the capital of the Argentine Republic. It is located in the southern hemisphere of the American continent, latitude 34º 36’ and longitude 58º 26’ When coming by plane, the flight takes about ten hours from New York, London, Paris, Madrid or Rome. The city extends on a plain covering 19.4 kilometers (12 miles) from north to south and 17.9 kilometers (11 miles) from east to west. Approximately three million people live in its 202 square kilometers (78.3 sq miles). However, together with the metropolitan area, the total population of Buenos Aires is above twelve million, making it one of the ten most populated urban centers in the world.
 
Across it's coast, washed by the Río de la Plata, you will find Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, only 45 minutes away by plane or two hours and a half by ship. A little farther, 1,720 kilometers (1,069 miles), and after a three-hour flight, you arrive at Sao Paulo, the other global city of South America.
 
The Río de la Plata and the Riachuelo are the natural borders of the City on the east and south, respectively. The rest of the metropolitan perimeter is surrounded by the General Paz avenue from north to west. This avenue provides a fast connection between the city and the Greater Buenos Aires, a densely populated area with important business and industrial activity area.
 
Buenos Aires is connected with the interior of the country and foreign countries through an extended transport system, with connection points such as a port for cruisers and ferries, two airports – one for international flights, Ezeiza, 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) away from the Obelisco and the other for domestic flights, 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) away from downtown – commuter railroad, highways, national routes and a passenger transport terminal located at no more than one kilometer from downtown.

The city of Buenos Aires is located in front of the Río de la Plata, it occupies a surface of 200km² and it is made up of 47 neighborhoods.

The majority of the "Porteños" are identified with the neighborhood where they lived almost all their life. It is not common that tourists visit all these neighborhoods since there aren't specific attractions; but nine of them concentrate most of the tourist attractions: La Boca, San Telmo, Monserrat, Puerto Madero, San Nicolás, Retiro, Recoleta, Palermo and Belgrano.

It is easy to move around the city since it is distributed in blocks of 100 square meters. There are avenues and streets identified with names of personalities of the cultural, military and political history of the country and of the world as well as places and dates. The financial district, commonly referred to as "La City" or "Microcentro" is located between Avenida Cordoba and Avenida de Mayo and between Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida Paseo Colón; while the tourist areas of the city are found in the neighborhoods near the "centro" or downtown, and they are:  Recoleta, Palermo, la Boca, San Telmo and Puerto Madero.
 

One of the most interesting attractions of Buenos Aires is its architecture. Its style reflects the influence of the Spaniards, French and Italians in its building and in its parks.
The city has wide avenues, mansions, extensive green spaces, hundreds of sculptures and a large quantity of churches; all integrated among houses,  office buildings, apartment buildings and modern skyscrapers.

Buenos Aires surprises its visitors with its contrasts; with a mixture of different styles that distinguishes the big cities of the world: elegant, noisy, cultural, lover of the tango, of endless coffee chats, of nightlife and of course: of football.

Buenos Aires is a very interesting and intriguing place where visitors can enjoy a variety of activities.
During the day you can visit museums, historical places, walk along the Avenida de Mayo, take a guided tour or simply have a coffee in a coffee shop on the Avenida 9 de Julio. At night you can go to a Tango show in San Telmo, have dinner in a typical "parrillada" or go to a pub to listen to live rock or jazz bands.

Even if you go shopping, to the theater, or to see a night show, it surely will be something you will never forget.
 

Bicycle

Biking around Buenos Aires is nice and fun, but you must take some precautions. There are no restrictions for riding bicycles on streets and avenues, but it can be dangerous since, depending on the time and the area, there can be a lot of traffic and drivers aren't too patient with cyclists. We recommend that you use the bike-trails located in the Bosques de Palermo, Costanera, Parque Thays, Av. Figueroa Alcorta and Avenida Libertador.

Walks

Buenos Aires is an ideal place for walking and its people make the streets even more attractive. You can combine the walk with a subway and/or  bus ride. 
 

Travelling through Buenos Aires is very easy. Its five subway lines (commonly known as “subtes”) converge upon downtown, the main touristic and hotel area. The subway is the fastest means of transport making it the choice for the porteños. It is connected with the main avenues and railway and bus stations. Above 250 million passengers travel through the 80 stations of this network each year. This number is expected to double in the next ten years.The schedule is from Monday to Saturday, from 6 am to 11 pm and on Sundays from 8 am to 10 pm. 
If you want to visit neighborhoods distant from downtown, the train is the most commonly used option, since it offers an efficient and affordable service. The main railway hubs are: Retiro, Constitución, Once and F. Lacroze, which are terminal stations used as a place for passenger transfer.

Taxis are another good option to go through the City of Buenos Aires, with a fleet of more than 32 thousand cars. The fare is composed of an initial price and an additional value charged according to the distance covered and time elapsed. 
 
 The bus (called “micro” or “colectivo”) is a fast and inexpensive transportation for those already lodging in the City. This is one of the most commonly used means of transport to go through the Capital and the Greater Buenos Aires.  The service is available 24 hours a day. There are more than one hundred lines going through the whole City and providing connection with all locations in the Greater Buenos Aires. 
 
 To rent a car is a good decision for those willing to be more comfortable and independent during their stay in the City. Buenos Aires has a wide offer of car rentals at reasonable fares and for all purposes. Agencies provide modern cars of different makes and types to drive through the City freely, comfortably and safely. You must be older than 21 years old, have driving license issued at least two years before, and a credit card limit authorized to cover rental and guarantee.

Having a delicious meal is one of the pleasures of the porteños and gastronomy is a main feature of social meetings and free time. The Argentine cuisine is famous not only for its international status, but also for the variety and quality of the ingredients used and for the number of restaurants offering a wide range of prices.

  International status
 In Buenos Aires, there are lots of restaurants serving dishes from different countries and communities. The meals typical from other regions were adopted and became popular due to the strong influence of immigrants coming from Europe, Asia and other Latin-American countries. There are about 57 types of ethnic food: Italian, Spanish, Japanese, French, Nordic, Mexican, Chinese, Arabian, Turkish or Armenian, among others. Other options are restaurants with aphrodisiac or vegetarian menus.
Variety and quality of Food
 In Buenos Aires, “good eating” is somewhat of a cult. This is so because of the diversity and quality of wines, meat, fruits, vegetables and fish.
 
 The Argentine wines, especially the red varieties, meet the quality requirements of any connoisseur. Wines coming from Mendoza province, where the best champagne of the country is also produced, are among the best. The production and export of wines from that region is one of the most important in South America, together with that from Chile.
 
 The excellent quality of Argentine meat is famous all over the world and, no doubt, the “bife de chorizo” and the “asado criollo” are the dishes preferred by Argentines and foreign visitors.
 
 The traditional cooking method for meat is to roast it over an open hearth, and is usually served with salads. There are “parrillas” (restaurants where the typical menu is “asado”) of different categories, ranging from those which offer a menú libre, where people can eat all they wish, to elegant establishments with high prices.
 
 For people who like fish, the local gastronomy offers fine and delicious selections, such as hake, brótola, flatfish, corvina, sea bream, mackerel, coming from open sea fishing. Seafood is very popular and one fo the most commonly served dishes is calamary, crawfish and mussel cazuela (a kind of stew).
 
 Italian food is widely spread: the pasta, accompanied by a variety of sauces, and the pizzas, praised even by Italians, which attain a good balance in taste between dough, the different sauces and the muzzarella cheese.
 
 Desserts include delicious fresh fruits – served in salads, topped with cream, or as filling for pies — and ice-creams, elaborated with natural ingredients including cream and fruits. Buenos Aires ice-cream shops are open all the year round and are frequented by customers both in summer an winter.
 
 The traditional “criolla” food is “empanadas de carne” – a sort of small pie filled with minced meat, and some stews such as “locro” – prepared with white corn, beef and pork sausage or “chorizo”--, “carbonada”, meat and potatoes pie, sweet “pastelitos” (fried sweet pies) and the “tortas fritas” (fried pies made of grease and flour).