Buenos Aires in 5 days
Five days by district, in a city whose day runs two hours late — and where a restaurant at eight is empty for a reason.
- How long
- 5 days
- Getting around
- Subte and buses on a SUBE card
- Rhythm
- Museums in the morning
A five-day Buenos Aires plan goes a district a day: the centre, Recoleta, San Telmo with La Boca, Palermo and Tigre. The districts are large and do not mix in one day, and the clock is shifted — lunch at two, dinner at ten, and whoever turns up at eight eats alone.
The centre, Plaza de Mayo and the Colón
Plaza de Mayo: the Casa Rosada, the cathedral holding General San Martín's tomb, and the Cabildo. On Thursday afternoons the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo still circle here, as they have every week since 1977.
Avenida de Mayo to Congreso, past the Palacio Barolo — a building whose height and divisions follow Dante's Divine Comedy floor by floor.
Lunch, because lunch here is at two and earlier makes no sense.
The Teatro Colón: a fifty-minute tour, departures every fifteen minutes, daily from 10 to 16.45. A ticket is €19.50 for visitors, half that for residents; buy online or at the box office at Tucumán 1171.
The Obelisco and Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest avenues in the world — crossing it takes two light cycles and that is normal.
First dinner. Before nine the restaurant is empty, and that is the clock rather than a bad sign.
Recoleta and the north
Recoleta cemetery: map from the gate in hand, because Eva Perón's grave is down a side passage and without the map you will not find it. An hour and a half is enough, with the Duarte vault and the two or three others the map marks.
The National Museum of Fine Arts, free every day; open Tuesday to Friday from 11, weekends from 10, closed on Mondays — which is why Recoleta is day two, not day one if you arrive on a Sunday.
Lunch in Recoleta, then the Floralis Genérica — a twenty-three-metre steel flower designed to open in the morning and fold at night. A storm in December 2023 broke two petals; the last one went back up only in December 2025.
Palermo Chico and MALBA, the Latin American art museum with Frida Kahlo and Botero; open from 12, on Wednesdays from 11 and for €3.45 instead of €6.90, closed on Tuesdays.
Dinner in Palermo; this is where the part of the city that runs until morning begins.
San Telmo and La Boca
San Telmo, the oldest quarter. On Sundays the antiques market spills down the whole of Defensa street and that is the best day; on others the covered market is open.
Tango on Plaza Dorrego, Sunday afternoons, between the stalls: couples dance for the hat, and it is what the dinner-and-show halls try to imitate.
La Boca and Caminito: an hour is enough — the street, two or three parallel ones and the stadium. The rest of the district is not for walking even by day, and that is not worth testing.
The Bombonera, Boca Juniors' stadium, opposite. The tour with the museum is half an hour; a match is another matter and needs a ticket in advance.
Dinner and tango — at a milonga, where people actually dance, rather than a dinner-and-show hall.
Palermo, all day
The Bosques de Palermo — parks, lakes, a rose garden and a Japanese garden. On Sunday mornings this is where you see what the city looks like off duty.
Palermo Soho: design shops, cafés and Plaza Serrano. Lunch at two.
Palermo Hollywood, over the railway — restaurants and bars, quieter by day and louder at night.
An aperitif; fernet with cola is the national drink and you do not have to like it first time.
Dinner and out. The clubs here open at two in the morning, and that is not an exaggeration.
Tigre and the Paraná delta
The Tren de la Costa or the Mitre line to Tigre, about an hour along the river.
The delta by boat: the river splits into hundreds of channels with stilt houses reachable only by water. The postman, the shop and the school are all boats.
Lunch at one of the restaurants along a channel, wherever the boat calls.
The Puerto de Frutos, a market of baskets and wicker furniture; it really was a fruit port once.
Back by train; last dinner in the city.
Three things that wreck the plan
- A museum on the wrong day. Bellas Artes is closed on Mondays, MALBA on Tuesdays; if day two moves, it moves for both.
- Dinner at eight. The kitchen is open, but the room is empty and the city starts in two hours.
- La Boca after dark. Caminito is a tourist street by day; the district is not walked at night, and locals say so themselves.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How many days does Buenos Aires need?
Five, because the districts are large and do not mix: the centre, Recoleta, San Telmo with La Boca, Palermo and a day for Tigre. With three you drop Tigre and half of Palermo.
Does the Colón tour need booking?
Not on a weekday — departures run every fifteen minutes from 10 to 16.45 and tickets are sold at the box office at Tucumán 1171. For weekends and holidays book online on the theatre's site, rather than waiting for the next free slot.
When is dinner here?
At ten. Restaurants open at eight and are empty until nine; the kitchen only hits full speed after ten.
Ready for Buenos Aires?
Where to next
Where to stay in Buenos Aires
→Palermo, Recoleta, San Telmo or the centre — four districts that change how many times a day you go…
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How well does Buenos Aires suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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