Currency
The Argentine currency is the peso ($). There are $ 100, $ 50, $ 20, $ 10, $ 5 and $ 2 notes, and 1, 0.50, 0.25, 0.10 and 0.05 cent coins. The U.S. dollar is the most common foreign currency. Banks and casas de cambio (currency exchange offices) exchange foreign currency but remember that you must present your passport to make the transaction. Shops accept credit cards and dollars. The exchange rate in Argentina is quite economical for the foreign tourist (at the moment it hovers around 3.10 Argentine pesos for 1 American dollar). The main banking area is located in the so-called “city”. This area comprises the first five blocks (numbered 100 to 500) of San Martín, Reconquista, 25 de Mayo, Sarmiento, Presidente Juan Domingo Perón and Mitre streets. The U.S. dollar is accepted in most shops, but it more convenient to exchange them for pesos in casas de cambio or banks.
Religion
Argentina recognizes the freedom of worship. The official religion Roman Catholicism, illustrated by an impressive number of churches. There are also other places of public worship, such as the Jewish central synagogue, the only site providing training to rabbis from all around the world, and the Mosque of Palermo neighborhood, the largest Islamic temple in Latin America.
Language
The official language is Spanish. Currently, Buenos Aires receives tourists from varied nationalities that come for different purposes. Some come to shop, others to enjoy the night life and some others to taste the porteños bohemian lifestyle. Also, there are those who engage in an educational tour and want to study the Spanish language. Several entities, academies, institutions and universities (among them the Language Laboratory at the University of Buenos Aires) teach Spanish to foreign people, from beginner to advanced levels, or provide specialization on a specific field. Porteños easily understand persons who speak Italian and Portuguese. Unfourtunatly English is not that popular in Argentina, and is normally spoken in tourist areas.
Telephones
Buenos Aires has many public telephone booths. Public phones operate with 5, 10, 25, 50-cent or 1-peso coins. Phone cards may be bought at any kiosco (small street shops located basically around every corner). The phone cards support urban, national and international calls. In addition to public phones, there are many communications centers (locutorios and telecentros) offering telephone, fax and internet services. For international calls, dial: 00 + country code + area code + local number.The country code for Argentina is 54, and the area code for Buenos Aires is 11. For example, to call to 4555-5555 from outside the country, you should dial: 54-11-4555-5555
Hours
The time zone corresponds to GMT-3 and currently one change is made in the summer months moving 1 hour foward. Activity in Buenos Aires starts in the first hours of the day and extends until late at night. This city has lost the habit of siesta – a nap after midday -, which is still the custom in the interior parts of the country. The hours in which porteños have their four meals are variable, since they are accommodated according to their activities. Breakfast is served between 7 and 10 in the morning. In coffee houses and confiterías (pastry shops), it is possible to find special offers for the typical coffee and milk with medialunas (croissants), both for breakfast and merienda (tea) time.
Shops:
Shops: Most are open Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 8 pm, and Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm; however, shops located in important avenues are also open on Saturday afternoon. In shopping centers, hours usually extend until 10 pm, including Saturday and Sunday.
Banks:
Almost all banks open at 10 am and close at 3 pm, although some banks extend their closing time to 4 pm. Cash extractions and other transactions may be made in ATMs, 24 hours a day. The tourist subsidiary of Banco Ciudad offers this possibility to the tourist.
You can purchase and sell dollars, euros and traveler checks in a broader hour range: Tuesdays to Fridays from 10 am to 5 pm; Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm; and Mondays from 10 am to 6 pm. Cashiers are tourist exclusive. It is a requirement to have your passport on hand. Subsidiary 53, Córdoba 675, Capital City.
Customs
Buenos Aires has always been an open-door city. Its inhabitants are called porteños, which makes reference to the fact that the city is a port. The inhabitant of the province of Buenos Aires is called bonaerense. Porteños are warm and hospitable: they usually invite tourists for lunch or dinner at their homes and prepare typical food.The characteristic infusion is called mate. It is prepared by pouring warm water into a gourd, also called mate that contains yerba mate. It is then drunk using a metal straw-like apparatus called a bombilla. Some people add sugar, but most prefer their mate "amargo" (bitter, or without sugar).
Electric Power
Electric power in Argentina is 220 volt, 50-cycle alternating current. Power outlets have 2 cylindrical holes or 2 flat holes with ground connection. You may bring an adapter from your home country in order to use electric devices, although it is also easy and cheap to buy them once you arrive as they are sold in most hardware stores.
» Geography of Buenos Aires
Location
The City of Buenos Aires is the capital of the Argentine Republic and is located in the southern hemisphere, latitude 34º 36’ and longitude 58º 26’. The city extends on a plain and has 202 square kilometers (78.3 sq miles). Approximately 3 million people live in this city. Including the metropolitan area, the total population of Buenos Aires is more than 12 million, making it one of the 10 most populated urban centers in the world.
The Río de la Plata and the Riachuelo are the natural borders of the city on the east and south, respectively. The rest of the metropolitan perimeter is surrounded by the General Paz Avenue from north to west. This avenue provides a fast connection between the city and the Greater Buenos Aires, a densely populated area with important business and industrial activity.
Climate
The climate of Buenos Aires is mild all year round. The mean annual temperature is 18º C (64.4º F), making extremely hot and cold days very infrequent. Thus, visitors can enjoy walking around the city in any season.
July is the coldest month. Although frosts are rare, a woollen coat, a jacket or an overcoat and a scarf will be required when going out. In winter, cold is moderate during the day, but temperature considerably drops at night.
In summer, the weather is hot and humid. Mornings are warm and during midday and the first hours of the afternoon, the temperature rises. At night, temperature goes down slightly, so people may wear light clothes; coats are not needed.
Rains are more frequent in autumn and spring (from March to June and from September to December, respectively). They are mild or last a short time, thus activities are not hampered and people usually go out with an umbrella or a raincoat.
In the sunny days of autumn and spring, mornings are slightly cold; the temperature rises at midday and drops again at night.
» History
Spanish seaman Juan Díaz de Solís was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata, in 1516. Unfortunately his expedition was cut short as Díaz de Solís was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa or Guaraní tribe.
The city was first founded as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre (literally “City of Our Lady of the Good Air”) on February 2, 1536 by a Spanish gold-seeking expedition under Pedro de Mendoza. The name was chosen by Mendoza’s chaplain, who was a devout follower of the Virgine de Bonaria (”Our Lady of the Fair Winds”) of Cagliari, Sardinia. The location of Mendoza’s city was in today’s San Telmo district, south of the city center.
More attacks by the indigenous peoples forced the settlers away and in 1541 the site was abandoned. A second (and permanent) settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción (now the capital of Paraguay).
From its earliest days, the success of Buenos Aires depended on trade. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain insisted that all trade to Europe initially pass through Lima, Peru so that taxes could be collected. This scheme frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires, and a thriving contraband industry developed. Unsurprisingly, this also instilled a deep resentment in porteños towards Spanish authorities.
Sensing this instability, Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade restrictions and finally declared Buenos Aires an open port in the late 1700s. Those placating actions did not have the desired effect, and the porteños, some of them versed in the ideology of the French revolution, became even more desirous of independence from Spain.
During the British invasions of the Río de la Plata British forces invaded Buenos Aires twice in 1806–1807 but were repulsed by local militias. Ultimately, on May 25, 1810, while Spain endured the Peninsular War and after a week of mostly pacific deliberations, the criollo citizens of Buenos Aires successfully ousted the Spanish Viceroy and established a provisional government. That date is now celebrated as a national holiday (May Revolution Day). Formal independence from Spain was declared only in 1816.
Historically, Buenos Aires has been Argentina’s main center for liberal and free-trade ideas, while many of the provinces, especially to the Northwest, advocated a more conservative-Catholic approach to political and social issues. Many tensions within Argentine history, starting with the centralist-federalist conflicts of the 19th century, can be traced back to these contrasting views.
In the 19th century the city suffered naval blockades on two occasions: first by the French, from 1838 to 1840, and then a joint Anglo-French blockade from 1845 to 1848. Both blockades failed to surrender the city, and the foreign powers eventually desisted from their demands.
During most of the 19th century, the political status of the city remained a sensitive subject. Meant by many to be the nation’s capital, it was already capital of the Buenos Aires Province, and for seven years from 1853 to 1860, it was the capital of the seceded State of Buenos Aires. The issue was debated more than once on the battlefield, until the matter was finally settled in 1880 when the city was declared national capital, separated from the province of the same name, and became the seat of the federal government, with its Mayor appointed by the President. Today, the Casa Rosada is the seat of national government and the office of the President of the Republic.
Railroad construction happened near the end of the 19th century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories, and the town became a metropolitan and multicultural city that ranked itself with the major European capitals. For example, the Teatro Colón was one of the world’s top opera venues. The city’s main avenues were built in those years, and the dawn of the 20th century saw the construction of South America’s then-tallest buildings and first subway network.
By the 1920s Buenos Aires was a favored destination for immigrants from Europe, as well as from the poorer provinces and neighboring countries, and large shanty towns (villas miseria) started growing around the city’s industrial areas, leading to extensive social problems.
Buenos Aires was the cradle of Peronism: the now-mythical demonstration of October 17, 1945 took place in Plaza de Mayo. Industrial workers of the Greater Buenos Aires industrial belt have been Peronism’s main support base ever since, and Plaza de Mayo became the site for demonstrations and many of the country’s political events.
On June 16, 1955, the military uprising that would depose President Perón three months later (Revolución Libertadora) had the Plaza de Mayo area bombed, killing 364 civilians (see Bombing of Plaza de Mayo). This was the only time the city was attacked from the air.
In the 1970s, the city suffered from the fighting between left-wing revolutionary movements (Montoneros, E.R.P. and F.A.R.) and right-wing paramilitary group Triple A, supported by Isabel Perón, who became president of Argentina in 1974, after Juan Perón’s death.
The military coup of 1976, led by Jorge Rafael Videla, only escalated this conflict; the “Dirty War” produced 30,000 desaparecidos, people kidnapped and killed by the military during the years of the junta. By some estimates upwards of 100,000 people were held in illegal detention centers and concentration camps during those years. The silent marches of their mothers (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) are a well-known image of Argentine suffering during those times.
The city was visited by Pope John Paul II on two occasions: in 1982, due to the outbreak of the Falklands-Malvinas War, and a second visit in 1987, which gathered crowds never before seen in the city.
On March 17, 1992 a bomb exploded in the Israeli Embassy killing 29 and injuring 242. Another explosion, on July 18, 1994, destroyed a building housing several Jewish organizations killing 85 and injuring many more.
In 1996, under the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution, the city gained autonomous status, and held its first mayoral elections (its formal title changed to “Chief of Government”). The winner was (later President) Fernando de la Rúa.
On December 30, 2004, a fire at República Cromagnon concert hall killed almost 200 people, the greatest non-natural tragedy in Argentine history. Due to his responsibility over the non-enforcement of safety regulations, and (allegedly) also because of his precarious political standing, Mayor Aníbal Ibarra was impeached by the legislature, and deposed on 6 March 2006. His deputy, Jorge Telerman, who had been the acting mayor since December 2005, was invested with the office.
» Transportation
Buses:
City buses are called colectivos, or sometimes bondis in slang. There are 140 bus lines, many of which run along a variety of routes (ramales) through every city barrio. The service is very frequent -you will rarely have to wait more than five minutes during the day- and companies are obliged to provide all-night service, with at least one bus every half hour, although not every line complies. Bus fares are AR75 cents or AR80 cents for journeys within the capital, paid directly into the machine. Banknotes are not accepted so make sure you have change before you hop onto the bus.
Subway/Metro:
Buenos Aires´ underground train network, operating since 1912, is called the Subte. It is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to get around the city during the day, though it can be very crowded during morning and evening peak hours. The service runs from 5am to 10pm (8am to 10pm on Sundays). Large parts of the city are not served by the network, including some important tourist areas such as Recoleta and Palermo Viejo. A single journey to anywhere on the network cost just AR70 cents.
Taxi:
Taxis in Buenos Aires are reasonable priced and plentiful (except in rainy rush hours). Traveling by taxi, however, has some risks and visitors need to be wary of being taken for a long ride. For this reason, it is recommended that you use a radio taxi or a remise (licensed minicab). You will need at least a few words of Spanish to call a radio taxi company, though staff in Hotels and restaurants will usually be happy to help.
You are not expected to tip taxi drivers and they should give you change to the nearest AR10 cents. Change in the perennial problem with taxis. Anything larger than a AR$10 bill is guaranteed to produce a sigh, a AR$20 bill note may provoke a verbal complaint, and you are unlikely to find a driver if you only have a AR$50 or AR$100. Taxis are black and yellow (radio cabs included), with a red libre (free) light in the front window. Remises look like other private cars and do not run on meters. You should agree a price before setting off. Also, bear in mind that remises are often less punctual than radio taxis.
Train:
Trains connecting the northern suburbs with the city center are more modern -and safer- than those serving the south.
Trains linking the capital with destinations in Buenos Aires province, such as Mar del Plata or Tandil, are not in great shape, but they do have three classes. The main station serving the south is situated right in the middle of the red-light district in Constitución with a street address of 11 General Hornos street.
Trains run north and west from the Retiro station, which is actually three stations in one -known by their old names: Mitre, Belgrano and San Martin. The street address for the Retiro station is Ramos Mejía 1508.
» Consulates & Embassies
• Australia
Villanueva 1400 / Belgrano
(54 11) 4779 3500
ausemba@satlink.com www.australia.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 8.30 to 12.30 / 13.30 to 17.30
• Austria
French 3671 / Palermo
(54 11) 4802 1400 / 7195 / 7096
embajada@austria.org.ar www.austria.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 9 to 12
• Belgium
Defensa 113 8 / Montserrat
(54 11) 4331 0066 al 69
buenosaires@diplobel.org www.diplobel.org/argentina
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 13
• Brasil
Carlos Pellegrini 1363 5 / Retiro
(54 11) 4515 6500
diversos@interprov.com.ar www.brasil.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 13
• Canada
Tagle 2828 / Palermo
(54 11) 4808 1000
bairs-webmail@tfait-maeci.gc.ca www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 14 to 16
• Chile
San Martín 439 9 / San Nicolás
(54 11) 4394 6582 / 6371
cgbairar@consuladodechile.org.ar www.consuladodechile.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from de 9 to 13
• China
Av. Crisólogo Larralde 5349 / Villa Urquiza
(54 11) 4541 5085
embchinaargentina@hotmail.com
• Colombia
Av. Santa Fe 782 1 / Retiro
(54 11) 4312 5538 / 5446
consulado@embajadacolombia.int.ar www.embajadacolombia.int.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 8.30 to 14
• Costa Rica
Av. Santa Fe 1460 3 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4815 8159
embarica@fibertel.com.ar
Dias y Horarios:
monday to friday from 10 to 13
• Cuba
Virrey Del Pino 1810 / Belgrano
(54 11) 4782 9089 / 49 // 4783 2213
consulado@embacuba.com.ar www.embacuba.com.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 12
• Denmark
Av. Leandro N. Alem 1074 / Retiro
(54 11) 4312 6901
ambadane@ambadane.org.ar www.dinamarca.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 9.30 to 12 hs.
• Dominican Republic
Av. Santa Fe 830 7 / Retiro
(54 11) 4312 8562
consuldo@hotmail.com
Day and time:
monday to friday from 10.30 to 14
• Ecuador
Quintana 585 10 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4804 6408
consuldorbaiec@embecuador.com.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 16
• European Union
Ayacucho 1537 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4805 3759
delegation-argentina@cec.eu.int www.delarg.cec.eu.int
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 11 to 13 / 14 to 17
• Finland
Av. Santa Fe 846 5 / Retiro
(54 11) 4312 0600
sanomat.bue@formin.fi www.finlandia.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 9 a 12
• France
Av. Santa Fe 846 3 y 4 / Retiro
(54 11) 4312 2409
consulat-france@consulatfrance.int.ar www.consulatfrance.int.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 12
• Germany
Villanueva 1055 / Belgrano
(54 11) 4778 2500
consulado@embajada-alemana.org.ar www.embajada-alemana.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 8.30 to 11
• Greece
Arenales 1658 4 / San Nicolás
(54 11) 4811 4811
embajada@embajadadegrecia.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 10 to 13
• Ireland
Av. Del Libertador 1068 6 / Recoleta
(54 11) 5787 0801
info@irlanda.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 13 / 14 to 15.30
• Israel
Av. de Mayo 701 10 / Montserrat
(54 11) 4338 2500
israel@buenosaires.mfa.gov.il www.buenosaires.mfa.gov.il
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 9 to 17, friday from 9 to 14.3
• Italy
Marcelo T. de Alvear 1149 / Retiro
(54 11) 4816 6132 al 36
ambitalia@ambitalia-bsas.org.ar www.consitalia-bsas.org.ar
Day and time:
monday, tuesday, thursday & friday from 8 ato11
• Japan
Bouchard 547 17 / San Nicolás
(54 11) 4318 8200 / 8220 www.ar.emb-japan.go.jp
Day and time:
monday friday from 9.15 to 12.30 / 14.30 to 16.30
• México
Arcos 1650 / Belgrano
(54 11) 4789 8826 / 8827
embamexarg@interlink.com.arf www.embamex.int.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 10 to 13
• New Zeland
Carlos Pellegrini 1427 5 / Retiro
(54 11) 4328 0747
kiwiargentina@datamarkets.com.ar www.nzembassy.com/argentina
Day and time:
monday to from 9 to 13 / 14 to 17.30
• The Netherlands
Olga Cosenttini 831 3 / Puerto Madero
(54 11) 4338 0050
bue-tcz@minbuza.ml www.embajadaholanda.int.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 12.30
• Norway
Esmeralda 909 3 / Retiro
(54 11) 4312 2204 / 7418
emb.buenosaires@mfa.no www.noruega.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9.30 to 14
• Paraguay
Av. Gral. Las Heras 2545 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4802 3826
embapar@fibertel.com.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 14
• Perú
Florida 165 2 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4334 0970 al 75
comperbaires@ciudad.com.ar www.consuladoperubaires.org
Day and time:
monday to friday from 8 to 13
• Portugal
Maipú 942 17 / Retiro
(54 11) 4312 3524 / 0187
embpor@embajadaportugal.org.ar www.embajadaportugal.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 12
• Rusia
Gral. Guido 1677 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4812 1794
embrusia@arnet.com.ar www.argentina.mid.ru
Day and time:
monday to friday from de 10 to 12 / tuesday & thursday from 17 to 19
• South Africa
Marcelo T. de Alvear 590 8º p. / San Nicolás
(54 11) 4317 2900 / 2963
info@sudafrica.org.ar www.sudafrica.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to thursday from 8:15 a 12:30 and from 13:15 to 17:15 friday 8:15 to 14:15
• Sweden
Tacuarí 147 6ºp / Montserrat
(54 11) 4329 0800
ambassadn.buenos-aires@foreign.ministry.se www.swedenabroad.com/buenosaires
Day and time:
monday to friday from 10 to 12
• Switzerland
Av. Santa Fe 846 10 / Retiro
(54 11) 4311 6491 al 95
vertretung@bue.rep.admin.ch www.eda.admin.ch/buenosaires
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 12
• United Kingdom
Dr. Luis Agote 2412 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4808 2200
mailmasters@baires.fco.gov.uk www.britain.org.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9 to 13
• United States of America
Av. Colombia 4300 / Palermo
(54 11) 5777 4533
bue-publicopinion@state.gov www.buenosaires.usembassy.gov
Day and time:
monday to friday from 10 to 12
• Uruguay
Ayacucho 1616 / Recoleta
(54 11) 4807 3041 / 40 /
webmaster@embajadauruguay.com www.embajadadeluruguay.com.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9. 30 to 16.30
• Venezuela
Virrey Loreto 2035 / Belgrano
(54 11) 4785 2226
embaven@fibertel.com.ar www.la-embajada.com.ar
Day and time:
monday to friday from 9.30 to 12.30
» Airlines
The Buenos Aires international airport, Ministro Pistarini International Airport, is located in the suburb of Ezeiza and is often called simply "Ezeiza". The Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport, within city limits near the river, serves mostly domestic traffic. Visit: Aeropuertos Argentina 2000
