48 hours in Buenos Aires

WHY GO NOW?

WHY GO NOW?

It's summer in Buenos Aires, temperatures are hovering in the balmy 20s and the jacarandas are in full bloom. Favourable exchange rates mean that this city, once the most expensive in Latin America, is now affordable. Next Saturday also sees the final of one of the highlights of the Argentinian sports calendar, the Polo Open at the Campo di Polo . For information call 00 54 11 4342 8321 or visit www.aapolo.com.

BEAM DOWN

British Airways (0870 850 9 850, www.ba.com) flies from Heathrow to Buenos Aires via Sao Paulo in Brazil. Aerolineas Argentinas (020-7290 7887; www.aerolineas.com) flies from Gatwick via Madrid. Iberia (0845 601 2854; www.iberiaairlines.co.uk) flies from Heathrow, Birmingham and Manchester via Madrid. Fares are high and seats arelimited in December. In January, Journey Latin America (020-8747 3108; www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk) is offering return fares with Lufthansa via Frankfurt for £510 return. The international airport is 21 miles west of the city. Manuel Tienda Leon (00 54 11 5480 0374; www.tiendaleon.com) operates a bus to the Plaza Saint Martin in the city centre, with one-way fares starting at $6 (£1.20); the $ symbol is used for the Argentinian peso. Taxis cost around $38 (£8) one-way.

GET YOUR BEARINGS

Buenos Aires is Latin America's third-largest city, but the centre is built on a grid system and is fairly manageable. The city's borders are the river Plata to the east and the Riachuelo river to the south, while to the west it's contained by Avenue General Paz. The heart of the city concentrates around the Plaza de Mayo . Nearby is the dock area of Puerto Madero and the colonial-style San Telmo. Further south is La Boca. This is where Buenos Aires was founded in 1536. To the north are the leafy districts of Recoleta and Palermo. The city's main tourist office, Centro de Informacion Turistica , is at the intersection of Avenida Diagonal Roque Saenz Pena and Calle Avenida Florida (00 54 11 4311 0528; www.buenosaires.gov.ar). It opens Monday to Friday 10am-1pm and 2-5pm. Another office at the Retiro Bus Terminal at Avenida Antartida Argentina, Calle 10, opens Monday to Saturday 7.30am-1pm.

CHECK IN

The Alvear Palace at Avenida Alvear 1891 (00 54 11 4808 2100; www.alvearpalace.com) is a spectacular building dating from 1932. It has recently played host to the King and Queen of Spain. Doubles start from £310 including breakfast and the services of a butler. Loisuites Recoleta Hotel at Vincente Lopez 1955 (00 54 11 5777 8950; www.loisuites.com.ar) is a modish hotel in Recoleta. Doubles cost from £220 including breakfast. A cheaper alternative, but no less fashionable is 1555 Malabia House at 1555 Malabia Street (00 54 11 4831 2102; www.malabiahouse.com.ar). This self-styled "designer B&B" is a historic house in Palermo Viejo immortalised in the writings of Jorge Luis Borges. Doubles start from £67.

TAKE A VIEW

To get a real idea of the scale of Buenos Aires, fly over it. Patagonia Chopper, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Terminal Sur (00 54 11 4795 6410; www.patagoniachopper.com.ar) offers helicopter tours of the city taking in the river, Palermo, Retiro, Puerto Madero and La Boca. Tours start at £30 per adult.

TAKE A HIKE

Start at the Plaza Dorrego . Continue north along Calle Defensa, past all the antique shops that line it. You'll soon reach the heart of the city, the Plaza de Mayo , which has seen its fair share of demonstrations and social unrest. At the centre is the Piramide de Mayo, erected in 1811 to celebrate the first anniversary of Buenos Aires' independence from Spain. On the right is the "Casa Rosado" or Pink Palace - made famous by a waving Colonel Peron and Evita on its first-floor balcony. Continue along the grand Avenida de Mayo. Turn right along the Avenida 9 Julio, a multi-lane highway, which most Portenos (locals) boast is the widest avenue in the world. Marooned in the centre of the traffic at the junction of Avenida Corrientes is Buenos Aires' most iconic symbol: the 221ft Obelisk , built in 1936 to commemorate the founding of the city four centuries earlier. Continue north along Avenida Cerrito to the majestic Teatro Colon at Libertad 621 (00 54 11 4378 7132; www.teatrocolon.org.ar), Buenos Aires' opulent opera house.

TAKE A RIDE

The underground or "subte" was opened in 1914. The flat fare is 70 cents (15p). More than 100 bus routes, known as "colectivos", criss-cross the city 24 hours a day, also charging around 70 cents (15p). From the main Retiro Station catch the Ramal Mitre II line to Olivos and climb aboard the Tren de La Costa (00 54 11 4002 6000; www.trendelacosta.com.ar). The journey takes you along the coast to the town of Tigre on the Parana Delta. It's a landscape of islands criss-crossed by waterways lined by houses or "pilotes" on stilts. Buy the $3 (60p) ticket and you can hop off at stations along the way. Trains depart at 11am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

LUNCH ON THE RUN

Argentina's favourite fast food is the empanada: a delicious pocket of pastry with a variety of fillings, such as beef, corn or ham and cheese. They are sold from kiosks and cafés all over the city, including the chain, Solo Empanadas. Superior examples can be found at El Sanjuanino at Posadas 1515 (00 54 11 4804 2909), for around $1.20 (25p) each.

WINDOW SHOPPING

Steer clear of international brands and buy locally made products; leather goods are predictably high quality. Around the Avenida Alvear is the place to find upmarket shops. Malls are also popular - try the Galerias Pacifico at the junction of Calle Florida and Avenida Cordoba. Palermo Viejo/Hollywood is a rejuvenated area of Buenos Aires, with atmospheric streets and art nouveau villas. Its cobbled streets are lined with trendy boutiques, cafés, restaurants and interior design shops.

AN APERITIF

Pull up a stool by the long bar in Arguibel Wine Food and Arts at Andres Arguibel 2826, Las Canistas (00 54 11 4899 0070; www.arguibel.com). You can sample a vast array of Argentina's fine wines accompanied by some tapas. It opens daily from 8.30pm-3am. Otherwise, sit at one of the outdoor bars and cafés that line Plaza Cortazar in Palermo Viejo - although the locals use the previous name, Plaza Serrano.

DINNER WITH THE LOCALS

Restaurants in Buenos Aires don't really start filling up until 10pm. The staple item is juicy "bife de chorizo" (fillet steak) cooked over an open hearth. Rodizio at Aveneida Callao 1291 (00 54 11 4814 1776; www.rodizio.com.ar) is a popular spot with locals; for $22 (£4.50) you can eat all you can from a variety of meats and salads. Argentina has a strong Italian heritage; Piegari at La Recova, Posadas 1042 (00 54 11 4811 1108) is a buzzy restaurant filled with well-heeled Portenos serving some of the best fresh pasta and prawns in town. Around $40 (£8) per person excluding wine.

SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH

On the Plaza de Mayo is the Catedral Metropolitana (00 54 11 4331 2845). Behind its neo-classical façade you can pay your respects at the mausoleum of General Jose de San Martin, the country's national hero, who liberated Argentina, Chile and Peru from Spanish rule. It opens Monday to Friday 8am-7pm, weekends 9am-7.30pm. Sunday mass is at 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 6pm.

OUT TO BRUNCH

Portenos don't really go in for breakfast - most are happy with a cup of coffee and a "media luna" (a croissant) from one of the many confiterias around the city. Argentines have a special affection for "dulce de leche", a sweet sickly confection rather like caramel condensed milk, which can be smothered on just about everything. Pop into the traditional La Biela at Quintana 596 (00 54 11 4804 0449) in Recoleta and try a delicious coffee and pastry. The brunch served on the roof terrace of The Alvear Palace is also an institution. It is served between noon and 4pm on Sunday and costs $75 (£15).

A WALK IN THE PARK

The huge Parque Tres Febrero (also called the Bosques de Palermo) is one of the city's rare green spaces. It was designed by the French landscape gardener Charles Thays. Inaugurated in 1875, it's a shady haven full of ombu trees, jacarandas, palms and birds. Within it you will also find smaller gardens such as the beautiful "El Rosedal" with more than 15,000 rose bushes and 1,189 different species of plants. Also look out for the dog walkers, often walking more than 10 hounds at a time from the smart apartment blocks surrounding the park.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON

The Museo de Arte Latin Americano de Buenos Aires at Avenida Figueroa Alcorta 3415 (00 54 11 4808 6500; www.malba.org.ar) opened only two years ago. It houses art from the last century from all over Latin America, including works by Frida Kahlo and and Jorge de la Vega. It opens daily except Tuesday from noon-8pm (Wednesdays until 9pm), admission $5 (£1). Buenos Aires' most important gallery is the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (00 54 11 4803 0802). It contains predominately European works from the 19th and 20th centuries. It opens Tuesday-Friday 12.30-7.30pm, weekends 9.30am-7.30pm, closed Monday, admission free. For a more social history, take a stroll around Recoleta Cemetery. Here you'll find the elaborately designed final resting places of the city's rich and well-connected, including the tomb of Eva Peron, better known as Evita.

WRITE A POSTCARD

Cafés form an integral part of Porteno life and for many are an extension of home. The city's most famous is the fabulous Cafe Tortoni at Avenida de Mayo 829 (00 54 11 4324 4328; www.cafetortoni.com), which dates from 1858. Sit at a table inside its beautiful Art Nouveau interior and sip a cup of "yerba mate", the traditional herbal "criolla" drink and scribble on a postcard of the obelisk.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

Most Argentines are keen to play down the tango clichés, but you deserve a night watching a tango show. Tango's most famous son, Carlos Gardel, has a street and a club (Esquina Carlos Gardel) named after him; the location is Carlos Gardel 3200 (www.esquinacarlosgardel.com.ar; 00 54 11 4867 6363). Shows begin each evening at 8.30pm, and include dinner for $95 (£19) per person.

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