Guide to visit Buenos Aires at the Summit

Buenos Aires is known for its European-style architecture, vibrant culture, and bustling streets. With a population of over 2.9 million people, Buenos Aires is a major economic, political, and cultural hub of Argentina, attracting millions of visitors each year to enjoy its rich history, delicious food, and exciting nightlife.

We have made a small guide with some tips and information on what to do in the city during your visit.

If you need help or have any doubts or questions, you can contact directly with: 

Juan Kontarovsky
Mail: juan@magmapartners.com
Whatsapp: +54 9 11 5261-6662

Eduardo Hernández 
Mail: eduardo@magmapartners.com
Whatsapp: +52 55 4551 9995 

Anything about migration I should know? 

Requirements and recommendations:

• Valid passport and/or a valid Identity Card from your country of origin, being any of the following: Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.
• It is also recommended that you have a place of accommodation and a valid transportation ticket to leave the country. 

Here you can find the list of countries that require a visa to travel to Argentina

What about money?

In Argentina, there are two dollar exchange rates: the official dollar and the blue or parallel dollar (this is the one we are interested in). Blue dollar rate is higher than the official dollar due to the limited availability of dollars in the Argentine market.

Every day the price of the blue dollar is changing, you can follow the value day by day in this link

To exchange currency you can do it in the following places: 

• Money exchange houses 
• Hotels 
• Banks
• “Arbolitos”

In the first three it is very possible that they will exchange at a price similar to the official dollar, so not recommended.

The “arbolitos” are people who exchange dollars in the street. They exchange at  dollar blue rates, which is almost 2x cheaper than  the official rate. In Buenos Aires it is common to see “arbolitos” on Florida Street, near Plaza de Mayo. Once the price is established, they will take you to an office or a newspaper shop (caves) where the transaction will take place. This is very common practice in Buenos Aires.

Here are some contacts with whom you can make the exchange, that can bring you the Argentine pesos to your hotel: 

• Federico: You can send him a whatsapp message. Tell him you’re speaking on behalf of Juan from Magma. The least amount he exchanges at once is USD $1,000. He asks to be paid in $100 usd bills. Phone number: +54 9 11 5896-3879.
• If you are exchanging less than $1,000, you can contact Carlos Lopez at Florida 331. Phone number: +54 9 11 5041-7978

You can also change at the following address: Cambio baires Plaza Italia

Advice: $100 bills are better paid than lower denomination bills. We recommend that you bring new and big face bills to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Would write this as anything other than new, unmarked $100 bills will get between a 10-25% discount from blue. Don't change dollars in the airport or in a bank. Don't use your credit card (they will charge you the official rate).

We should add for credit cards, that AMEX is the official rate, or 2x the price, but VISA and Mastercard from some countries give you the tourist rate, which is 5-10% off the blue rate. We recommend making a small test purchase on the first day.

How do I move around the city?

Uber and Cabify work in Buenos Aires, but you have to change the payment method to cash. 

Don't: do not take taxis on the street and do not trust anyone that offers to take you somewhere.

To do: Nowadays Cabify is the best app to move from one place to another.

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Where to stay?

CasaSur Palermo

The official venue of the Magma Summit. CasaSur Palermo features 61 elegant rooms and suites, each designed with a contemporary style and modern amenities.

We have a 20% discount for all the attendees of the Magma Summit. Just book online with the code: MAGMA

Selina Palermo Soho

Hotel Selina Palermo Soho is a trendy and vibrant accommodation located in the heart of Palermo Soho, one of Buenos Aires' most lively neighborhoods.

We have a preferential rate for the attendees of the event: write an email to natalia.benejam@selina.com mentioning the name of the event Magma Summit.

Shoshana Apart Hotel

Shoshana is a different and distinguished boutique hotel with an avant-garde style like the one proposed by the neighborhood of Palermo Hollywood.

We have a preferential rate for the attendees of the event: write an email to reservas@apartshoshana.com.ar mentioning the name of the event Magma Summit.

Where to eat?

Some recommendations of where to eat in Buenos Aires: 

There’s usually high demand for the best restaurants in Buenos Aires, so we strongly recommend making reservations ahead of time if you want to have dinner somewhere. 

If you need help to make a reservation you can contact Marcelo Antonio from Meitre and tell him that you’re part of the Magma Summit. This is his email and WhatsApp number: marcelo@meitre.com +54 9 11 6701-4279

Don Julio

The Rivero family’s pledge to use only prime-quality beef from animals raised in the open, combined with master parrillero Pepe Sotelo’s ability to get the best out of the already excellent raw material, are the keys to the high quality of this well-known steakhouse. There are also a couple of excellent vegetarian options in the form of the vegetable parrillada, or the salad of quinoa, squash, spring onions, mint, and toasted hazelnuts. The wine list is also excellent.

La Brigada

Owner Hugo Echevarrieta transformed what was a small neighborhood parrilla into one of the city’s temples of beef. The restaurant has a distinctly Argentine style, with attention to the details and a good wine list. Favourites on the menu include lamb’s tongue, goat’s intestines, longaniza sausage, baby beef, tapa de ojo de bife, buffalo colita de cuadril, and entraña.

La Cabrera

The success of La Cabrera comes down to the quality of its barbecued beef and its dozens of garnishes. Its rapid rise soon led the restaurant to open another branch just meters from the first, following the original concept: quality meat, creative garnishes, and original style. The wine list is also good. Reservations are necessary.

Nuestro Secreto

This impressive glass structure belonging to the Four Seasons hotel gives diners the feeling of eating outdoors in a winter garden. There are clay ovens for slow cooking, a creole-style barbecue, and a good kitchen. Recommended dishes include ojo de bife, bife de chorizo, lomo, entraña, goat and cow provoleta cheese, sweetbreads, chorizo, costillar de asado, goat and rustic sides cooked with perfect technique.

Cabaña Las Lilas

Located in Puerto Madero, this smart steakhouse boasts a river view and top-notch bife ancho, lomo, tapa de cuadril, bife de costilla, asado de tira, vacío and pork matambrito, which arrive as ordered. There are plenty of options for accompanying them; the vast wine list meeting the quality of the meat.

Mishiguene

Mishiguene, which means ‘crazy’ in Yiddish, honors Argentina’s Jewish immigrant heritage by reinventing Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Israeli and Middle Eastern cooking with Latin American twists. Here, nouvelle techniques are applied to old world recipes, using the highest-quality ingredients possible.

El Preferido de Palermo

 In a large 20th-century house where one of the first restaurants in the neighborhood of Palermo was founded, restaurateur Pablo Rivero (of Don Julio fame) and chef Guido Tassi set to work. They recovered one of the most emblematic corners of the area, maintaining the essence of a Buenos Aires bodegón.

Chila

For locals in Buenos Aires who enjoy the morning sunshine, it is a common sight to see Chila head chef Pedro Bargero exploring the markets at first light to ensure his restaurant receives the freshest produce.

Aramburu

Back in 2007, Gonzalo Aramburu opened his first restaurant in Argentina after training in some of the most important kitchens in the world under chefs such as Daniel Boulud, Charlie Trotter and Martin Berasategui. With a creative vision anchored in research and technique, he put forward a tasting menu with seasonal products that elevates Argentine cuisine to a new level.

Elena

Argentinian steakhouses have long held a reputation for being among the world’s best. Elena, located in the Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires, doubles down on this identity, unwavering and unapologetic in its mission to deliver the classic Argentine steakhouse experience fine-tuned to a tee.

Gran Dabbang

Chef Mariano Ramón brings Asia’s wide-ranging street food scene to Buenos Aires at this tiny spot in Palermo. He combines flavors and ingredients from the east with Latin American flair to create an original sensory experience

Julia

Elegant and intimate. Seating just 22 across the dining room and sidewalk in Villa Crespo, the restaurant hosts two sittings per night. Those with a window into the open kitchen can appreciate just how hard the small team works to create the 16-dish menu. Low lighting makes it a hotspot for lovers looking to celebrate special moments, but it’s bright enough for food fans to enjoy the beautifully prepared, flavourful fare.

Güerrín

One of the oldest pizzerias on Avenida Corrientes, with more than 70 varieties to choose from. Güerrín was founded by Genoese immigrants at the start of the 1930s and is a popular place to eat before or after attending a show at one of the many nearby theaters. You can eat standing at the original bar at the front of the restaurant, or seated in the larger dining rooms behind the ovens or upstairs. Pizzas are served deep-pan style with very generous amounts of cheese, and traditionally accompanied by a cold beer, moscato, or a soda siphon.

Popular toppings muzzarella, the especial Güerrín (with cheese, ham, red peppers and olives) and verduras con salsa blanca (vegetables and white sauce).

Places to visit

Some places to visit during your stay in Buenos Aires:

Teatro Colón 

Renowned for its acoustics and stunning architecture, the Colón theatre is considered one of the best opera houses in the world, together with La Scala in Milán, the Opera Garnier in Paris and the Royal Opera House in London.

The building also houses set and costume workshops and the renowned Instituto Superior de Arte, where future singers and dancers such as Julio Bocca and Maximiliano Guerra once trained.

You can check out the schedule at this link 

Recoleta Cemetery

Over 6,400 statues, sarcophagi, coffins and crypts commemorate some of Argentina’s most celebrated sons and daughters, not least Eva "Evita" Perón, in this labyrinthine city of the dead

The cemetery is open daily, 8am to 6pm. Free guided tours in Spanish take place at 11am and 2pm Tuesday to Friday, and at 11am and 3pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The city tourist board also offers a guided tour of the cemetery and the wider Recoleta neighborhood once a week.

Caminito 

Located in La boca, the Caminito (little path, in Spanish) is a street museum of colorful painted houses typical of the immigrant dwellings that came to characterize this portside area towards the end of the 19th and start of the 20th century.

Today, there are several works by Argentine artists incorporated as part of the street museum and the Caminito has become a favorite with visitors to the city. Several restaurants offer tango and folk dance shows and street fills with artists offering original crafts and paintings.

Café Tortoni

Café Tortoni is the oldest and perhaps best preserved of the city 's many officially recognized historic cafés, known as "bares notables". Founded in 1858 in the neighbourhood of Montserrat, this elegant venue was frequented by important politicians and cultural icons including writers such as Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar, the musician Arthur Rubinstein and the singer Carlos Gardel.

Puente de la Mujer

El Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge) is one of the most famous landmarks in the neighborhood of Puerto Madero. The rotating footbridge was the first work from Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava in Latin America and demonstrates Buenos Aires' constant effort to position itself at the vanguard of art and architecture in the region.

The bridge represents a couple dancing tango, with the white mast symbolizing the man and the curve of the bridge, the woman. It has a large turning mechanism, allowing it to swing open to allow sailing ships to pass. The bridge was constructed in Spain and donated to Buenos Aires through a private donation.

Plaza Dorrego

Plaza Dorrego is the historic square in the heart of the San Telmo neighborhood, surrounded by bars and cafes. Every Sunday, the square is the focal point for a bustling arts and antiques fair that has something of a carnival atmosphere. Almost 300 antiques sellers set up shop in the square and along Calle Defensa, offering a mix of old furnishings and ornaments - some that belonged to the historic mansions in the area - plus old advertising signs, vinyl records, soda siphons, musical instruments, clocks and more

The Feria de San Telmo is an open-air crafts and antiques market held in Plaza Dorrego and Calle Defensa on Sundays, and the ideal place to find an original souvenir from the city.

Palacio Barolo

The building was designed by Italian architect Mario Palanti for the businessman Luigi Barolo with many allegorical architectural references to classical poet Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, including its division into three sections, heaven, hell and purgatory. Palenti also incorporated Indian influences into his design, taking inspiration for the building's dome from Hawa Mahal in Jaipur and Rajarani temple in Bhubaneswar.

Inaugurated in 1923, the building was the tallest in South America until the construction of the Kavanagh building in 1935. It was also the first reinforced concrete building measuring more than 100m and is topped by a searchlight which originally was able to communicate with a twin building, the Palacio Salvo, over the other side of the Río de la Plata in Montevideo, Uruguay. In 1923, the light was used to announce to Buenos Aires the result of a world title boxing match between Luis Angel Firpo and Jack Dempsey in New York.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore

According to British newspaper The Guardian, El Ateneo Grand Splendid is the second best bookstore in the world.

It preserves the splendor and elegance of the former Gran Splendid theater/cinema, which was designed by architects Peró and Torres Armengol.

The obelisk

The iconic Obelisco de Buenos Aires stands at the intersection of two of the city’s most important streets, Avenida 9 de Julio and Avenida Corrientes. The former is often credited as being the widest street in the world, with an incredible 16 lanes at some points, while the latter became famous as the street that never sleeps, home to Buenos Aires' main theaters and many pizzerias that open way into the early hours.

The obelisk has since become a symbolic icon of the city, marking a strategic central point - three of the city's underground metro lines connect underneath the obelisk and the Metrobus dedicated bus corridor passes at street level - while the monument is also a beacon that is often the central focal point for everything from sporting celebrations to political demonstrations.

Places to party 

Uptown 

Uptown is one of the latest addition to Buenos Aires’ bar scene and reservations are mandatory if you want to avoid a long wait. The cocktail list is great. The menu was designed by Dante Liporace, one of Argentina’s best chefs (he used to lead the Presidential kitchen!)

Florería Atlántico

From the street, the Florería appears to be a mixture of tavern, record shop and florists, but climb down a staircase hidden behind the door of a fridge and you'll find the impressive basement bar decorated in the style from the first decades of the 20th century, harking back to Buenos Aires' portside, immigrant past.

Acclaimed as one of the world's Top 50 Bars, the venue offers a cocktail menu divided by country according to the type of alcohol used as the base of each drink, and drinks can be accompanied by tapas, grilled meat or fish dishes.

Presidente

Presidente is the bar created by Buenos Aires' acclaimed bartender Seba García, bringing world-class cocktails to the heart of Recoleta, the city's most elegant district. The beautifully decorated main bar offers inventive creations, those seeking traditional classics, including the bar's signature Negroni can ask to pass through to the hidden "library".

Trade Sky Bar 

At the top of the Comega building, at the intersection of Corrientes and Alem avenues, a classic of Buenos Aires art deco architecture, this bar-restaurant is located where locals and tourists are rediscovering the city between flavors and high-altitude drinks.

Other options: 

Nightlife: Afrika, La Fernetería Bellas Artes, BNN, Moby Dick, Presidente‍

I am in Argentina, what else can I do?

It is relatively easy to travel by domestic flights in Argentina. The country has a wide infrastructure of airports and several national and international airlines offer flights to and from different cities.

The most important airlines operating in Argentina are Aerolíneas Argentinas, Flybondi and JetSmart.

Some destinations that might be of interest to you: 

Bariloche

Is known as the "Argentine Switzerland" and is famous for its stunning mountain landscape, crystalline lakes and delicious cuisine. 

​​We have a 20% discount at Selina Bariloche in case you decide to visit the city. Write an email to natalia.benejam@selina.com or luisinap@selina.com mentioning the name of the event: Magma Summit.

Ushuaia 

The most southern city in the world, is a must-see destination for nature and adventure lovers, with its impressive Tierra del Fuego National Park and its activities such as hiking, skiing and sailing on the Beagle Channel.

Mendoza

Has some of the best wine producers and vineyards in the country, where you can taste delicious wines and enjoy an exceptional gastronomy.

Calafate 

A city surrounded by glaciers and spectacular landscapes, where you can visit the famous Perito Moreno glacier and enjoy outdoor activities such as trekking and sailing on the lakes of the region.

Uruguay 

If you're looking for a quick and close getaway from Buenos Aires, Uruguay is definitely a destination you can't miss. With a relatively short distance by ferry or plane, this small country offers a great variety of activities and places to explore. From the historical and architectural beauty of the colonial city of Colonia del Sacramento, to the white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters in Punta del Este

The ferry travel time varies depending on the destination city, but it usually takes between 1 and 3 hours. The most popular ferry companies are Buquebus & Colonia Express. Prices and schedules may vary depending on the season and the company, but it is possible to book tickets in advance online or in person at the ferry companies' offices in Buenos Aires.

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