Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires is a great city to live in and my second favorite city in South America (Medellin is my first).   

It's a great time to visit right now as everything will be quite affordable due to the devaluation in currency.

The current official rate is around 56 ARS to 1 USD.   You can find the current rates here.

This article will cover:

-How to get the best exchange rate in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
-The best restaurants, cafes and clubs.

​My top tip would be to bring in hard currency in the form of $100 Euro or US bills.  

ATM's charge large fees to withdrawal money and they often run out.  Also, the amount you can pull out each time is quite small.  I would use ATM's just as a backup.  Also you can get a slightly higher exchange rate using the money changers.

$100 dollar bills will give you the best exchange rate as they're easier to transport in greater quantity than smaller denominations.  $20 dollar bills will get a slightly lower rate, while $5's and $1's, the lowest rate and sometimes not accepted.

In Buenos Aires you can find money changers on the corner of Florida and Corrientes downtown.  Just compare rates between the different people and try to haggle a bit.  Most are within .1 - .3 of each other.   It's pretty obvious what you're doing so for safety reasons, after exchanging your bills, I suggest hopping in a taxi and going directly back to your lodging to store your cash before doing anything else.

There are also physical office locations where you can exchange but you'll need to ask a trusted local friend for the locations.

So now that we've gotten your money situation taken care of, let's hit the town.  My favorite area is also one of the most touristy but I still love it.  It's called Palermo (Soho and Hollywood) and home to great cafes, restaurants and pubs.  I chose to live in this neighborhood as it was easy to walk to all my favorite spots.  I could hit the gym, go home for lunch, and then go work at a cafe without ever hopping in a taxi or the metro.

Here is a list of my favorite cafes.  Buenos Aires has a great cafe environment, perfect for the ex-pat/entrepreneur to post up and work.

Cafes

bBlue - 1692 Armenia
Coco Marie Cafe - 1764 Armenia
Bar du Marche - 5946 Nicaragua
Quimbombo (upstairs terrace) - 4562 Costa Rica
Oui Oui - 6068 Nicaragua                          
Cocu - Malabia 1510
Nucha - 6055 Nicaragua         
Marks deli - 4701 el salvador

When you're ready to let loose, check out some of my favorite bars and discos:

Bars and Clubs

Sugar -  4619 Costa Rica 
Frank's - 1445 Arevalo   
Ferona - 1445 Humboldt     
Ocho7Ocho - 878 Thames
Mott - 4685 el salvador     
Bangalore - 1416 Humboldt
Podesta - 1740 Armenia     
Tequila - Costanera Norte y La Pampa         
Pacha - 6151 Ave Rafael Obligado
Caracas -   4802 Guatemala     
Congos - 5329 Honduras
Uniclub - guardia vieja y gallo . Wed   
Rio - 4772 Honduras        
Soria - 5151 Gorriti
Levitar - 1715 Godoy Cruz
La Princesa - 4756 Honduras
Niceto Club - 5510 niceto vega
L'Arc - 5452 niceto vega
Puerta Uno -1667 juramento

Fun events around the city.  One of my favorites is Bomba del Tiempo, the high energy drum concert on Monday nights.

Things To Do

Roda2oro.com bike rentals 75 pesos all day
Bomba del tiempo. 3131 sarmiento
San telmo sundays
Teatro colon - friday free tix for sun
Uniclub / guardia vieja and gallo Wednesday. 3360 guardia vieja
M.o.d. - 563 balcarce - saturdays
Soria Bar/mundo lingo - 5151 Gorriti

The food scene is surprisingly good if you're looking for more than just steak and potatoes.  Here's a list of my favorite restaurants to explore:

Restaurants
Fukuro noodle bar - 5514 costa rica
Taco Box - 5581 soler     
Lupitas - 1834 Fitz Roy y El Salvador  
Baez 227
Muu Lecheria - 1810 armenia
El trapiche - 5099 paraguay
Peru ray shack - Paraguay y fitz roy    
Sudestada - 5602 guatemala
Sipan - 1648 uriarte 
Mumbai - 5684 Honduras      
Al-Zein - 488 Arce  4775-1402    
Colombia mia - 5719 Honduras    
Fabrica del Taco -   5062 Gorriti     
Bbq town - 1656 Juramento
Hong kong style - 2149 montaneses
Asian Food counter - 1661 mendoza (supermarket)
Sarkis - 1101 Thames
Koh lanta -  4647 Gorriti      
Senior shawarma - 5328 honduras   
Burger joint - 1766 Borges   
Dean & Dennys - 1591 Malabia  
Siamo Nel Forno - 5886 Costa Rica
Kansas Grill - 4625 Ave Libertador    
Magdalenas - Thames y costa rica
Don julio - 4691 Guatemala                          
Las cabras - 1795 fitz roy
Cabreras - 5099 cabrera y thames
Morelia - 260 Baez 
Ceviche - Costa Rica 5644

I will be updating and editing this list on an ongoing basis so check back for updates.