Top 10 Buenos Aires

Streetsmart
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Left A tourist information center Center Disabled bathroom sign Right Local newspapers
General Information
! Tourist
Information
There are tourist information
desks at the city’s
international and
domestic airports (see
p104) and at locations
throughout the city. Staff
provide maps, general
information, and
accommodation advice. A
complete list of information
desks within the
city can be found on the
official tourist website
www.bue.gov.ar.
@ Foreign
Newspapers
and Magazines
Foreign newspapers,
The Times and The
New York Times, as well
as the magazines Time
and Newsweek can be
bought in Microcentro.
Prices of these tend to
be vastly inflated.
£ Local Newspapers
and Magazines
The Buenos Aires Herald
is an English-language
daily, popular with expats
and Anglo-Argentinians.
It carries full event
listings on Fridays. Of the
Spanish-language dailies,
Clarín and La Nacion
have listing sections on
Fridays. Wicked!? is a
bilingual culture and
listings magazine.
$ Free Publications
and Listings
Published every two
weeks, The Argentimes
is a free English-language
newspaper and is
distributed in city bars,
hotels, and hostels. Wipe
is distributed all over the
city and has full listings
on music, club, bar, and
restaurant scenes. La
Guia Divina is distributed
in San Telmo.
% Websites
A good starting point
is www.bue.gov.ar. Also
try www.whatsupbuenos
aires.com. For information
on activities,
shared housing, and jobs
try www.yesba.org. For
tango listings visit
www.letstango.com.ar.
^ ASATEJ
The student travel
agency, ASATEJ, has
other uses besides flight
reservations. It helps
with language exchange
requests and has details
on housing. d Map Q5
• 3rd Floor, Office 320,
Florida 835 • 4114-7611
• Open 9am–7pm Mon–Fri
• www.asatej.com
Disabled Visitors & Only one subway line
(Línea D) is part-equipped
for wheelchair users and
street ramps are in bad
shape. Better hotels are
equipped for disabled
guests. City tours for
wheelchair users are also
available (see p105).
* Gay and Lesbian
Travelers
Buenos Aires rivals Rio
as South America’s most
prominent gay and
lesbian destination. The
gay travel agency Pride
Travel, and a free listings
Preceding pages Diners at Café Tortino
guide, Gay Maps (www.
gaymaps.com), provide
excellent information.
There is a gay pride
parade in November (see
p43). d Pride Travel: 2nd
Floor, Office E, Paraguay
523 • 5218-6556 • Open
10am–2pm, 3–6pm Mon–Fri
• www.pride-travel.com
( Public Holidays
Public holidays are
January 1 (New Year’s
Day); March 24 (National
Day of Memory for Truth
and Justice); March/April
(dates vary: Holy
Thursday; Good Friday);
April 2 (Falklands/
Malvinas War Veterans
Day); May 1 (Labor Day);
May 25 (May Revolution
Day); June 20 (Flag Day);
July 9 (Independence
Day); August 17 (San
Martin Memorial Day);
October 12 (Columbus
Day); December 8 (Day
of the Immaculate
Conception); December
25 (Christmas).
) Background Reads
For an overview of
Argentina’s history, pick
up The Argentina Reader
by Nouzeilles and
Montaldo. Books on the
Perón years include Eva
Perón by Ortiz and The
Real Odessa by Goñi.
For lighter reading, the
stunningly photographed
!Tango! by Collier and
co-authors is a definitive
guide. Miranda France’s
travelogue, Bad Times in
Buenos Aires, is an
account of an expat’s life
in the city in the 1990s.