After hiking Patagonia for two weeks, my wife and I finished our South American jaunt recently by overnighting in one of its greatest cities—Buenos Aires. Our first time there, we did what any tourist would do in an attempt to see as much as possible in only 27 hours before our scheduled flight home.
Specifically, we booked a five-hour bicycle tour, reserved a room in the coolest part in town, and sought out as much tango, grilled meats, drive-by culture and caffeine-rich mate that we could find. This is what I learned from the short-lived but invigorating experience.
This Metropolis is Big
It is the fourth largest in the Americas, in fact, after Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and New York. As we approached our landing one golden afternoon, I was struck by the the amount of sprawl we were heading into. Similar to Sao Paulo and seemingly more than even New York in my experience. But when crisscrossing its streets, this botanical port city feels a lot more like Boston than the aforementioned giants. It’s also more colorful, warm and soothingly lined with inviting palm trees and European architecture.
Biking is the Way to Go
Over the last five years, city officials have reportedly installed over 100 miles of bike lanes. We rode many of these lanes on a guided “heart of the city” tour with Biking Buenos Aires and never felt unsafe. Since the city is flat, we zoomed through the more interesting neighborhoods with ease, stopping for lunch (included) at the scrumptious Mi Sueno sandwich truck in Parque de Mujeres and finishing in the tourist-packed La Boca (pictured) for knick-knack shopping and street tango. As long as you steer clear of the notorious Villa 31 slum, I can’t imagine a better way to feel the pulse of the city.