Excursions:
Buenos Aires abounds in beautiful architecture, much of it traced to an ambitious rebuilding project instituted long before Argentina's 1910 centennial celebration of its independence from Spain. The building plan was put into action in the 1880s, when the French Beaux Arts movement was at its worldwide height, and therefore much of the city looks more like Paris than any other Latin American city. Avenida de Mayo is an excellent example of this; it is the city's official processional route that links the Presidential Palace (Casa Rosada) to the National Congress Building.
The corner buildings along the wide Diagonal Norte, also known as Avenida Sáenz Peña, are all topped with fantastic neoclassical domes from the street's beginning at the Plaza de Mayo until it hits the Obelisco, Buenos Aires's defining monument, at Avenida 9 de Julio, the world's widest boulevard. Don't miss the neighborhoods of San Telmo and Monserrat either, with their balconied late-19th- and early-20th-century structures decaying gracefully as they await gentrification when the economy improves.
The Palermo Park system runs along Avenida Libertador and is one of the world's most beautiful. You could spend a long time wandering this tree- and monument-lined part of the city, and never tire of its beauty and mystery.
Buenos Aires's vast arrays of museums, many in beautiful neoclassical structures along broad tree-lined Avenida Libertador, are as exquisite as the treasures they hold inside.
If shopping is your thing, there's no shortage of top designer shops along Calle Alvear. Leather shops abound on Calle Florida, near Galerías Pacífico, where you can have items custom-made. For small boutiques specializing in the Argentine look, wander the cobblestone streets of Palermo Soho. If outdoor markets are more your style, there is no market like the San Telmo Antiques Fair held every Sunday in Plaza Dorrego, the old colonial heart of the San Telmo district. You'll find lots of small antiques and collectibles dealers here along with kitschy souvenirs, local crafts, and lots of free live tango dancing as good as anything you might pay $50 to see onstage. The Feria de Plaza Francia, in front of the Recoleta Cemetery, is another can't-miss market, with great crafts, live music, and a beautiful setting on a grassy hill.
Speaking of the Tango... Recently in danger of dying out, the tango has experienced explosive growth in popularity as far afield as Finland. New varieties of shows demonstrate a wide variety of tango styles. But why watch when you can tango yourself? Traditional, 1930s-style milongas (tango salons), have recently opened in spaces all over town. In addition to the traditional set, these milongas draw young Argentines, who have rediscovered their grandparents' favorite dance, as well as young ex-pats from all over the world who are making Buenos Aires the world's new hot city.