"Buenos Aires" a Provincia de Buenos Aires Travel Page by mvtouring

Buenos Aires, the ninth-largest city in the world, is a sprawling metropolis rising from the Río de la Plata and stretching more than 200 square km to the surrounding pampas (the fertile Argentine plains). With more than one-third of the country's 39 million inhabitants living in or around Buenos Aires, the city is the political, economic, and cultural center of Argentina and the gateway to the rest of the country.

Buenos Aires has 48 barrios (neighborhoods) -- each with its own character and history. Many residents have lived in the same barrio for generations and feel more of an affinity to their neighborhood than to the city as a whole.

Unlike most other Latin American cities, where the architecture reveals a strong Spanish colonial influence, Buenos Aires has a mix of styles. Modern high-rises sit side by side with ornate buildings from days long gone. At every turn you'll be reminded of the city's European heritage:

Buenos Aires locals refer to themselves as Porteños because many of them originally arrived by boat from Europe and settled in the port area. With 85% of the Argentine population of European origin, there is a blurred sense of national identity in Buenos Aires -- South American or European?

A rich congeries of cultures and influences, it can sometimes be hard to get a fix on the real Buenos Aires. Don't try too hard, for the wonders of the place may elude you. In reality, the essence of Buenos Aires resides in singular encounters with its intense Latin spirit -- a flirtatious glance here, a heartfelt chat there. Whatever may be your experience here, it is likely to be rewarding enough to bring you back time and again

It was extremely early in the morning when our driver picked us up to take us to Cape Town International Airport so that our long journey across the Atlantic could start. The first leg of our journey was a two hour flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, then a 2 hour lay-over to catch the Int flight from Johannesburg - Sao Paulo which was another 9 hours, then it was a long 6 hour layover before we caught the last flight to Buenos Aires which was another 2.5 hours. Finally we arrived in BA and was booked into the hotel at 04h00, tired and in bad need of a lovely nice soft bed and some proper coffee.

We did most of our exploring by foot and here I really have to thank Fodor's for their brilliant walking tours which helped us so much in finding our way and ensuring that we did not miss anything. Our first morning, we met up with some other friends from RSA that arrived 3 days earlier and set off to Recoletta to explore the markets, graveyard en the area in general. Day 2 we explored San Telmo area with its antique markets and lovely coffee shops etc. Day 3 was half day city tour to see the places we missed. Day 4 was visiting the Colon Theatre and just wandering around in that area. Day 5 was visiting an estancia and all the lovely stuff that goes with that. Day 6 was visiting the Tigre area. Day 7 was for shopping before we departed to visit Iguassu Falls. In between we had lots of time for shopping in Florida street which was absolutely fantastic.