Argentina recs weren't the primary goal of this relationship, but they are definitely a plus, writes Kate Brayden. Here, she shares her pick of the best things to do in Argentina.
Buenos Aires was always on my bucket list, especially since I was lucky enough to visit Colombia two years ago and get my first glimpse of South America. I definitely wasn’t expecting to get there this year, but dating a local really speeds up your travel goals!
Spending two weeks in the Argentinian capital was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially alongside someone who knows the city innately. In between meeting family and friends, I ticked off a few tourist hotspots and saw what the hype was all about.
I also figured out pretty quickly that you can hold a pretty convincing conversation in Spanish with Argentinians if you repeat the phrases 'claro' or 'vale’ (pronounced ‘da-lay’) - which is like saying ‘right, yeah’ in Irish speak - and ‘che boludo’ (what a dope, in Dub terms).
Start off with a kiss on both cheeks and ‘todo bien?’ and keep nodding and they won’t know you have a total of 10 Spanish words in your arsenal for at least five minutes.
Tourist trap or worth the hype?
I knew there would be plenty of tourist spots that my partner would prefer not to see (much like getting a pint in Temple Bar or doing the Guinness Storehouse for the ninth time in Dublin), so I was prepared to go solo around the city when he was catching up with his loved ones.
My Spanish is also extremely beginner, but a lot of Argentinians I met had very fluent English. When I had to use Spanish, the locals were more than helpful with my butchering of their language, but their accent was noticeably different than in Colombia or Spain.
Where to go and what to eat
One area that my partner was happy to re-visit was San Telmo. It's a beautiful district full of cobblestoned roads, vibrant indoor food markets and local artisan shops. The food in Buenos Aires was also a definite highlight - they’re essentially allergic to serving tasteless meals.
The mercado San Telmo takes place every Sunday from 10am to 6pm and is well worth a look.
Cash can be tricky in Argentina as the peso constantly gets devalued, and it was tricky to find ATMs that would allow an Irish bank card to take out more than €30 at a time. They have a lot of digital banking payment apps I had never heard of, but there were discounts for cash.
I was lucky enough to be staying in the Recoleta neighbourhood, which aesthetically has reminders of Paris in the townhouses and apartment buildings, lavish former palaces and fancy boutiques everywhere.
As a gluten-free girlie, this was the best area for me to find bakeries and cafes that didn’t give me stomach pain. I survived on an ungodly amount of medialunas (croissant-style half moon pastries) every day, and vegan gelato after dinner.
The Buenos Aires community takes ice cream incredibly seriously and has loads of late night spots to visit at 1am in your pyjamas, as we observed without judgement a few times.
I was recommended a lot of restaurants and types of food, but nearly everywhere we went had extremely good value meals and wine that all tasted amazing. Cucina Paradiso for (allegedly) the best gluten free pasta in Buenos Aires, Las Flores in Palermo and Sintaxis bakery were all on the list, but I went to Pain du Jours gluten-free cafe every day.
Asado is a must
A highlight of the non-tourist time spent was having asado on the family farm about an hour and a half away from the city. We spent two days out there with five dogs and plenty of open fields to give the neurodivergent girlfriend (me) a minute to breathe.
Asado is Argentinian-style barbeque, which is typically meat slow-cooked on hot coals and packed with smoky flavour. Uruguay, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay all have their versions of cooking beef, pork, chicken, chorizo and morcilla on an open fire or parrilla (grill) - but I've only tried the Buenos Aires edition.
It’s yet another thing Argentinians consider with the same level of seriousness and reverence as Irish people talking about An Gorta Mór or Enya.
Obviously, I was not allowed near the fire pit in case I created some sort of imbalance that would ruin the spell of the asador (head chef, basically). About 16 hours later, the food was served and was worth the wait. I gave up beef for seven years but legally you can’t date an Argentinian without trying asado at least once.
Buenos Aires locals - dubbed porteño - don’t eat dinner before 9pm at least, so make sure you’ve had a late lunch or you may faint.
My partner’s sister is a renowned cebador - the person who prepares and serves mate in a group setting for everyone. Her Alabama-born boyfriend is now obsessed with the caffeine-rich herbal drink.
Playing trúco (a popular card game over there) while you sip it is probably one of the more Argentinian experiences you could have. We visited the Costanera riverside area to sit and have a picnic with empanadas and tortilla from Los Inmortales restaurant in Recoleta, which felt like a very ‘I guess I live here now?’ type of experience.
Stop and smell the roses
Palermo is another area that locals and tourists alike spend a lot of time in, and for good reason. It’s a huge barrio (neighbourhood) that has some of the best restaurants in all of Buenos Aires, and a lot of the museums and other key places on the visit lists.
El Rosedal in el Parque Tres de Febrero, one of the most popular parks in the city, boasts a collection of more than 18,000 roses. They’re surrounded by a lake and parkland that make for a romantic saunter around, if that’s your thing.
I was there in July - South American winter - so there weren't a lot of flowers in bloom, but the Japanese Garden, Botanical Garden, and Poets' Garden are all in the area.
I enjoyed the Eco Parque, a former zoo that was first opened in 1888. Back then, it contained mammals, reptiles and birds with a total of over 2,500 animals.
In 2016, the city campaigned to relocate most of the animals to nature reserves. It’s now dedicated to conserving endangered species and ecosystem recovery.
Where to get your art fix
If an art gallery is the first port of call when you visit a new city, Buenos Aires is a goldmine. El Bellas Artes (The National Museum of Fine Arts) in Recoleta is a favourite amongst locals and foreigners alike and features stunning works by Goya, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Manet and Chagall among others.
The museum houses the most important collection of works by Rodin outside of France, but there’s jaw-dropping paintings in every room from South American artists as well as European big hitters. It’s free, but a donation is suggested upon entry.
In terms of popularity, I preferred el Bellas Artes to the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) but some locals told me the MAMBA (Museum of Modern Art or Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires) in the San Telmo district is better to visit.
Worth the crowds?
For me, El Ateneo didn’t live up to the TikTok fuss. It's a former theatre-turned-bookstore that feels built solely for social media, and doesn’t have any of the selections or soul of an actually decent library. I also skipped the colourful streets of the Caminito in La Boca, which most tourists tend to do, but did attend a Boca Juniors football match with competitive Argentinians. One option was definitely easier on the blood pressure, and it wasn’t the latter.
In terms of nightlife, the music scene (especially jazz) was incredibly fun and tailored to the all-nighters; basically most Argentinians. There are infinite options of live music bars around that open seven days a week, so you can catch local circuit favourites easily.
Bebop Club in Palermo for blues and soul, Thelonious Club for jazz and Makena Cantina Club for afrobeat and more varied styles were all recommended by Buenos Aires residents to me. There’s a bunch of big techno and electronic clubs in Costanera too, if DJs are what you’re seeking.
Recoleta has some of the most expensive real estate in the city, and is probably best known for the Recoleta cemetery. Notable graves include those of Eva Perón, several Argentine presidents, and other influential figures like Nobel Prize winners and military commanders.
I felt it was worth the visit, as was the cultural centre next door. A flea market was also on every weekend outside the cemetery with great prices you could haggle down on mate cups, ceramics, jewellery, accessories, glass art, paintings, hand-made knives and more.
Non-tourist experiences
I was able to get tickets to a Boca Juniors game, courtesy of a friend of my partner who also smuggled us a backpack of Boca gear for wearing head-to-toe merch.
It was an extremely futile effort for me to try to blend in as potentially a local, or at least a resident.
Boca matches don't tend to allow entry for tourists, and they don’t let opposition fans into the building for fear of fights in the stands or around the stadium.
I stuck out immediately as the most pale, freckle-covered person in the entire stadium and was given a lot of funny looks, but once you know the chants and how to curse in Spanish ("p**a madre"), they don't mind an outsider.
Speaking of football, I got roped into playing The Beautiful Game© against Argentinians (AKA the most intense people you’ve ever met when it comes to soccer). There are football pitches everywhere in sight in Buenos Aires, not to mention murals of Messi and Maradona.
What followed was mortifying, but at least they assumed I was Australian for some reason. I didn’t correct them.
On my second day there, we went to see the orchestra rehearse at 11am in el Teatro Colón, a historic opera house with some of the best acoustics for opera in the world.
The current Colón replaced an original theatre which opened in 1857, but remains gorgeous to look at. It was a weird way to fight jetlag after a 20-hour journey, but 10/10 would recommend!
I loved how relaxed people from Buenos Aires are, and how warm they feel towards people visiting their city. They respect free time and being around friends and family with home-cooked food, and their work-life balance seemed laughably chill compared to Ireland.
Of course, I only saw it from my perspective and the scene/social strata that my partner comes from, but I hope to see more sides to the place - if I ever manage to get invited again! Fingers crossed for a Christmas BBQ in the summer heat next December. Maybe as the asador?
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
