Buenos Aires, Argentina 7 Day Itinerary

The era of arriving in Buenos Aires with an envelope of cash to chase a wildly favorable blue dollar rate is basically over. By mid-2026 the blue rate, the MEP rate, and the official rate have converged to within a few percent of each other, sitting around 1,490 to 1,500 pesos per dollar, so the old advice to bring stacks of hundreds no longer buys the discount it used to. That single shift changes how you should plan money for this whole week, and it’s worth knowing before you land.

Day 1: Microcentro, Puerto Madero, and Plaza de Mayo

From Ezeiza (EZE), an official metered taxi into the city runs roughly 35,000 to 40,000 pesos and takes about 40 minutes without traffic, with a 20 percent surcharge overnight; a prepaid remis booked at the airport desk costs about the same and removes any haggling, which makes it the better first move after a long flight. Start downtown at Plaza de Mayo, the Casa Rosada, and the Metropolitan Cathedral, then walk the modern Puerto Madero docks for their skyline rather than expecting major museums there, since the city’s best-known art institutions sit elsewhere. In the evening, head to Palermo for a parrilla dinner: Don Julio, at Guatemala 4699 in Palermo Viejo, opens its walk-in waitlist at 6pm sharp daily and books out fast for reserved tables, so plan around one or the other rather than assuming a same-night table will materialize. Expect to pay in the range of 100 to 150 USD equivalent per person with wine for a proper multi-course steak dinner here, which is steep by Buenos Aires standards but reflects its reputation as one of the most in-demand steakhouses on the continent.

Day 2: Recoleta and Palermo’s parks

Recoleta Cemetery, where Eva Perón is buried in the Duarte family vault, rewards an unhurried morning walking its mausoleum-lined lanes. Café Tortoni on Avenida de Mayo is the city’s oldest surviving cafe and worth a coffee stop for the room alone, though go early or expect a line, since it draws tour groups by midmorning. In the afternoon, walk Palermo’s Bosques de Palermo park system and the rose garden, then visit MALBA, the city’s major modern art museum, correctly located on Av. Figueroa Alcorta in Palermo, not in Puerto Madero as some older guides claim. In the evening, La Bomba de Tiempo’s live percussion show in Palermo is a genuinely fun, unpretentious way to spend a Monday night if your dates line up with a performance.

Day 3: San Telmo

Walk Defensa street through San Telmo’s antique shops down to Plaza Dorrego, busiest and most atmospheric on Sunday when the street fair takes over. The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes sits on Av. del Libertador 1473, not on a “Pasaje Figueroa Alcorta” address that doesn’t correspond to the museum’s actual entrance, and it’s free to enter, which makes it one of the better value stops in the city for Argentine and European painting. In the evening, a tango show at a San Telmo venue with dinner included runs considerably more than a show-only ticket; if budget matters more than spectacle, a milonga, a social tango dance hall where locals actually dance, gives a more honest sense of the culture than a tourist dinner show, and it’s cheaper too.

Day 4: La Boca and Caminito

La Boca’s Caminito is worth an hour of photos among the corrugated, brightly painted houses, best visited by midday since the neighborhood empties out and gets less safe after dark; most guides and locals agree you should not wander outside the immediate tourist corridor here regardless of time of day. If Boca Juniors are playing at La Bombonera during your visit, tickets are difficult to get as an outsider without a verified tour operator, since the club restricts general sale heavily to members, so book a stadium tour instead if you can’t confirm a match ticket. For dinner, a classic bodegón (an old-school neighborhood eatery) nearby does milanesa and empanadas without the Palermo markup.

Day 5: Tigre and the Paraná Delta

Take the Tren de la Costa or the Mitre line commuter train from Retiro station out to Tigre, about an hour, where the Paraná Delta’s canals, colorful weekend houses, and fruit market make for an easy full day away from the city grid. Renting a kayak or taking a short delta boat tour here is the actual highlight, more than the town itself, and it’s a good day to skip a big steak dinner and eat something lighter riverside instead.

Day 6: Puerto Madero and Costanera Sur

Walk the Puerto Madero docks properly this time, including the Puente de la Mujer and the preserved sailing ship Fragata Sarmiento, and if you want the Edificio Kavanagh, Argentina’s landmark Art Deco skyscraper, note it actually stands in Retiro overlooking Plaza San Martín, not in Puerto Madero itself, so budget a short walk or taxi to see it properly. In the afternoon, the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve is a genuine nature reserve of wetlands and trails along the river, not a beach resort strip, so go for birdwatching and a walk rather than expecting sand and sun loungers. For dinner, Puerto Madero’s dockside seafood spots deliver a solid, if pricier, evening to close out the neighborhood.

Day 7: Palermo Soho shopping and departure

Spend the morning in Palermo Soho’s boutiques and design shops before a last coffee and a farewell parrilla or asado dinner. Reconfirm your flight time and airport the night before, since some travelers connecting internationally shift between Ezeiza and the domestic Aeroparque, which sit on opposite sides of the city and are not walkable between each other. One last practical note: load a SUBE card for the subte early in the week rather than on day seven, since foreign cards sometimes fail at the automated top-up machines and the backup option is a staffed kiosk that isn’t in every station.