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Where you should & definitely should NOT stay in Buenos Aires

Updated: Sep 23, 2022


A cobblestone street with a vintage blue car, colonial buildings that have been converted to boutique shops, a leafless tree and a navy, night sky.
One of the many cobbled streets of the trendy Palermo Soho neighborhood in Buenos Aires. ©AlonzoWright

One of the most interesting things about Buenos Aires is that there is no single, definitive culture. With its history of immigration, it’s a vibrant blend of European, South American and Indigenous cultures. With the Great European Immigration wave in the late 19th and 20th centuries, Italians, Germans, Spanish, French and other Europeans arrived in the ports of Buenos Aires and began settling together in different parts of the city. Each neighborhood has its own rich cultural vibes, and you’ll still feel the essence of the people who settled there hundreds of years ago. But there’s one consistency throughout each of the barrios: they worship at the altar of the asado.

 

Check out five of the best places to eat meat in Buenos Aires.

 

Local Argentinians stand around a BBQ grill with meats smoking and charring
A local asado in the heart of Buenos Aires's San Telmo neighborhood. ©AlonzoWright

You can find Argentinian asados everywhere, sometimes even in the middle of a city block. You’ll probably smell them before you see the group of men who've hunkered down for the day, committed to long stretches of storytelling and sparring over which of them is the best asador, or grill master. This is a ritual, and they’ve all been baptized by the plumes of parrilla smoke, soothed by the crackling and popping of charring wood, and serenaded by sizzling meat that has just touched the cast iron grill. It’s rugged, it’s unrefined, and it’s utterly magnificent. Buenos Aires is a bustling, cosmopolitan city with 48 different neighborhoods that all have their own distinct flair. But with so many options, how do you know which suits your style the best? Check out our list of places to stay, and where not to stay in Buenos Aires.

 

don’t forget to check out our Buenos Aires Travel Guide.

 

Where to stay in Buenos Aires