Argentina, South America
A grand, European-flavoured capital with wide avenues, grand parks and neighbourhoods that each feel like their own small city.
Photo: Feria de San Telmo, Buenos Aires
Why walk here
Buenos Aires is largely flat, which makes it comfortable underfoot even over long distances, and its broad avenues, like the notably wide Avenida 9 de Julio, give the city an open, spacious feel compared with the tighter lanes of older European capitals it otherwise resembles.
Neighbourhoods such as Palermo, Recoleta and San Telmo each have a distinct character and are pleasant to wander within, with tree-lined streets and frequent plazas offering natural resting points. Moving between more distant neighbourhoods works better with a short transit hop than a long walk.
Pavements can be uneven in places, with tree roots and ageing tiles lifting the surface in older parts of the city, so a bit of attention underfoot serves walkers well, especially at night when lighting can be patchy on residential streets.
Practical notes
Written for someone who has just landed and does not want to read a guidebook.
The Subte, the city's metro system, along with buses, are both accessed with the SUBE card, a single rechargeable card that covers nearly all public transport in the city. Buses, known locally as colectivos, cover a huge network but can be harder for visitors to navigate without local knowledge of the routes. Airport transfers from Ezeiza, the main international airport, are best done by official taxi, remise or shuttle rather than public transport, given the distance.
Buenos Aires is walkable and generally safe in its central and northern neighbourhoods during the day, with standard precautions around bag snatching and pickpocketing in crowded tourist spots and on public transport. Some areas further from the tourist core carry more risk and are best avoided, particularly after dark, so checking current local guidance for specific neighbourhoods is worthwhile.
Tipping around ten percent is customary in restaurants, and it's common to tip in cash even when paying the bill by card, since card tips do not always reach staff directly.
Tap water is generally safe to drink in the city, though taste and mineral content vary and some prefer bottled water. Many shops close for a few hours in the afternoon and reopen into the evening, especially outside downtown. Cash, particularly US dollars for certain transactions, has historically played a bigger role here than cards, though this has been shifting. Spanish is the local language, spoken with a distinctive local accent and vocabulary. Being in the southern hemisphere, summer runs from December to February, and spring and autumn offer the most comfortable walking weather.
Walks in this city
Pick one, screenshot the cards, and leave the phone in your pocket between stops.
Hidden GemsBuenos Aires, Argentina
A weekday walk through San Telmo's cobbled side streets, antique-filled patios and conventillo courtyards, away from the Sunday market swell.