Cheap things to do in Buenos Aires
Parrillas, markets and cold beer, without burning through your pesos
This is a Buenos Aires for people who eat at the counter, drink where the locals drink and treat a free park as a full afternoon. Three days cover San Telmo's market lanes, the grand avenues of Centro and the leafy blocks of Palermo, all without a pricey meal in sight. If you are happy walking, carrying cash and staying out until midnight on a beer budget, this trip is yours.
Day 1: San Telmo: markets, meat and marble bars
Start slow in a corner café, graze the 1897 market, collapse in Parque Lezama and end the night at a no-frills parrilla and one of the city's oldest bars.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:15 AM
Mercado de San Telmo
Wander the covered 1897 market, free to enter, stalls of antiques, produce and street food bites.
Map - 12:30 PM
EL Hornero de San Telmo
Cheap, top-rated empanadas right on the block, the local go-to for a fast, filling lunch.
Map - 2:00 PM
Parque Lezama
Free park on the ravine where the city was supposedly founded, with the Russian Orthodox domes alongside.
Map - 7:30 PM
Nuestra Parrilla
Bare-bones San Telmo grill: a choripán, a slab of vacío and a house red for very little.
Map - 9:30 PM
El Federal
1864 corner bar with a carved wooden back bar; a cold Quilmes or a vermouth costs little.
Map
Day 2: Centro: grand avenues, cheap grills
A spice-shop coffee on Corrientes sets the tone for a day of iconic free facades, a legendary pizza counter and a classic vermouth bar.
- 9:30 AM
El Gato Negro
Classic spice-shop café on Corrientes, great local coffee and atmosphere for a few pesos.
Map - 10:30 AM
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Free to walk in: a 1919 theatre turned bookshop, with reading chairs in the old boxes.
Map - 12:30 PM
Parrilla Peña
Neighbourhood parrilla beloved by locals, solid cheap Argentinian grill, no tourist markup.
Map - 2:30 PM
Teatro Colón
Walk round the outside of the great 1908 opera house for free; the guided tour costs real money.
Map - 7:30 PM
Pizzería Güerrín
Güerrín is the legendary standing-room pizza counter on Corrientes, cheap, iconic, cash only.
Map - 9:15 PM
Los Galgos
1930 corner bar on Callao revived with vermouth on tap and classic cocktails; good value for the room.
Map
Day 3: Palermo: green mornings, street food, late cocktails
Peacocks in the botanical garden give way to choripán off the grill, an afternoon browsing the railway-arch outlets and a great-value dinner before a nightcap.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:15 AM
Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays
Free 1898 botanical garden with an iron glasshouse and plants from every Argentine region; closed Mondays.
Map - 12:30 PM
Chori
Palermo choripán shop doing chorizo sandwiches with homemade sauces and pickles; cheap and fast.
Map - 2:00 PM
Distrito Arcos
Open-air outlet mall under the Palermo railway arches, browse local brands without spending much.
Map - 7:30 PM
Reliquia
Neighbourhood bodegón in Palermo Hollywood for milanesas and homemade pasta at local prices.
Map - 9:30 PM
Backroom Bar
Low-lit Palermo cocktail bar for one well-made drink after dinner; porteños are only just going out.
Map
Where to stay
Recoleta Grand, Buenos Aires, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Sits at the Recoleta edge, walkable to Centro and Palermo, and the $$ price is as low as this area gets.
Hub Porteño
Hub Porteño keeps rates sensible for Recoleta and puts you within easy reach of all three days without a taxi.
Make Buenos Aires your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Salón Canning: a few days ahead
- Teatro Colón: weeks ahead
- Estadio Alberto J. Armando: weeks ahead
- Estadio Monumental: weeks ahead
- San Antonio de Areco: weeks ahead
- El Ombú de Areco: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Boca match tickets from touts or resale sites: the most reported scam, with fake or mis-sold seats. Non-members get in through hosted match packages.
- Florida Street cambio men and airport exchange desks, small premium and counterfeit or short count risk.
- Dinner show tango as your only tango, and wandering beyond the Caminito circuit in La Boca.
- Café Tortoni for a full meal, random Puerto Madero dockside grills, and Buenos Aires in a day mega tours.
The full Buenos Aires travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around