4 neighborhoods you don’t want to miss in Buenos Aires

There’s one important thing to know about Buenos Aires: The city is guaranteed to charm you. I've heard so many stories of travelers who came for a vacation, couldn’t bear to board their return flight, and now call the “Paris of Latin America” their home.

No matter how welcoming BA feels, though, it's still huge. Nearly 15.5 million people live here, double the population of Chicago. And the sprawling city has 48 different neighborhoods, so it's impossible to see them all in one go.

The good news is I moved here 15 years ago and have spent countless weekends exploring the city seeking out the very best stuff—and these are the four neighorhoods I recommend you check out.

Palermo is young, trendy, and somewhat overpriced, but no matter how hard I try to judge it for being hipster pretentious, I have to be honest and say I enjoy it. It’s filled with color and life, plus all the vegetarian and vegan food you could want (a rare commodity in a city known for steak).

It’s also one of the city’s most walkable areas, so you can easily explore on foot. (When exploring the area note that Palermo has several subsections: garden-filled Palermo Chico; hipster Palermo Viejo; filmmaking hub Palermo Hollywood; and fashionable Palermo Soho.)

Start with a walk through the park. There’s greenery everywhere in Los Bosques de Palermo (Palermo Forest), which was built to resemble Paris’ Bois de Boulogne. It’s almost 1,000 acres and is a great place to observe Buenos Aires park culture, where couples and friends and families gather to drink yerba mate together, take a siesta, play frisbee, or simply stroll the grounds.

Stop for an undeniably fantastic latte at Al Diablo Coffee Roasters. For a peek into Argentine horse culture, catch a match at the nearby polo fields or a race at the Hippodromo, the city’s surprisingly clean racetracks.

Then, get a look at what I think is the world’s best graffiti on a tour by Graffitimundo. The 2-3 hour tours end in Palermo Soho at the only gallery in the city run by street artists. If you don't have time for the tour, some of the most interesting graffiti can be found in the alleyways (pasajes) of Palermo Soho on Pasaje Soria and Pasaje Russel.

Stop for a salad at the darling Artemesia or a mid-afternoon tapa and glass of wine at Hache to keep you from starving until dinner which won’t start until at least 8 p.m. or later (11 p.m. dinner reservations are completely normal here).

If it’s a Saturday or Sunday, I wander the weekend street fair of stalls that sell everything from funky jewelry to handmade leather purses. (Speaking of purses, keep a close eye on yours here. There are pickpockets that focus on phone theft, as electronics have a huge street value in Argentina.) And I always grab a gelato from Alchemy by Plaza Serrano.

If you’re in Buenos Aires, dinner means one thing: steak. Don Julio and Fogon Asado are justly famous for a luxury steak experience, but don’t overlook lesser-known and less expensive parillas such as La Dorita de Palermo.

After dinner, catch an unforgettable show of Fuerza Bruta, a dynamic, joy-filled theatrical show somewhat like Cirque du Soleil but more interactive, also right here in Palermo.

Recoleta is an opulent, affluent area where former palaces dot jacaranda-lined streets. (Think: women with immaculate taste in pencil skirts walking small dogs on designer leashes.) Even the labyrinth-ical Recoleta Cemetery. where national icon Eva Peron is laid to rest, has ornate mausoleums as big as cottages (though the creepy cats that wander the grounds add a more “Stephen King novel” vibe than a “quiet elegance” one).

Plan your trip around a legendary Sunday brunch at the Elena restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires. This is no ordinary quiche and mimosa event. Elena takes it up a few notches with fresh oysters and prawns, excellent wine by Catena Zapata, and an entire dolce morte (death by dessert) station.

After, head to what is considered one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world: El Ateneo. The carefully restored Belle Epoque theater contains more than 100,000 books under a glorious dome painted with frescoes.

Then it’s time to make an art decision: Either head to the National Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes) with its classic works by Goya, Manet, Monet, and Van Gogh. Or, for a more modern take, visit the Centro Cultural Recoleta, adjacent to the Gomero de la Recoleta park. The converted nursing home is now a performing-arts center and has a constantly changing exhibition space for visiting artists.

Although everyone is speaking Spanish here, there’s a distinctly Parisian feel to the neighborhood, especially at French restaurant Roux (don’t miss the truffle risotto).

End the evening with cocktails at a speakeasy. Floreria Atlantico is tucked behind a hidden door in a florist shop. It’s a bit dark and narrow and loud, but the inventive cocktails that give a nod to the native land really are some of the most creative I’ve ever seen. The Temaukel, for example, is the essence of Patagonia made from Perro Loco whisky, calafate cordial, mushroom water, wild berry vinegar, and maqui (a native tree) perfume.

To get to the incredibly gentrified Puerto Madero, you have to cross the Puente de la Mujer bridge. In doing so, you’ll leave behind the 1800s architecture the city is known for and enter a glossy world of sleek skyscrapers and luxury apartments filled with tech employees, financial consultants, and basically all the city’s new money. Puerto Madero is quiet, it’s manageable, and OH, is it an expensive, exclusive bubble compared to the rest of the city.

Flanked on one side by a river and another by an ecological reserve, this bubble comes surrounded by nature. Grab some fresh-pressed juice and vegetarian-friendly brunch at Ol’Days before hitting some easy trails that loop around several lakes at the wildlife-rich Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve. Relax on a bench with some bird watching or peddle around the park with a rental from BA Bikes.

For lunch, I like to pop into the local hotspot on the water, Dandy Deli, for some empanadas. Then I check out what artsy experimental exhibition is at the massive Faena Art Center.

(The Faena family gentrified this old port neighborhood and made it BA's bougiest place for new money. They opened both this art center and eponymous hotel, below, which are at the center of all events in the area and are the spots to see and be seen.)

Get dolled up for dinner and by far the best tango show in town, Rojo Tango. The show takes place at the “imagine if David Lynch had an unlimited budget and designed a hotel while blissfully high” Faena Hotel. While most tango shows in town are big productions on massive stages with hundreds of people in attendance, Rojo Tango has only a handful of tables in a swanky, low-lit venue with dancers and a live band within mere feet of you. Adding to the decadent atmosphere is the seemingly endless, and very delicious, wine poured throughout the show.

On the other side of that Puente de la Mujer lies the highly Instagrammable San Telmo. Gritty, graffitied, and just the right amount of sketchy, this was originally an immigrant and working class stronghold that’s now undeniably bohemian. It’s where 80-year-old men drink Fernet and soda while reading the newspaper at the oldest bar in the city, Bar El Federal, while a group of 18-year-old traveling puppeteers sip beers at the table next to them. It’s a place of colorful street performers, locals tango dancing all night long, pop-up art galleries, cobblestone streets lined with antiques dealers and the flea market of Plaza Dorrego.

San Telmo is for meandering and throwing the day wide open to spontaneity. The tree-lined streets, colonial architecture, and busy plazas make this neighborhood the perfect place to wander.

Dig for treasures in the antique shops before heading to an inexpensive lunch at the bustling indoor San Telmo market filled with food stands selling everything from craft beer to choripan (grilled chorizo sandwiches).

If you can, plan your trip so that you can be in San Telmo on a Sunday, because the neighborhood becomes electrified. The Sunday-only Feria of San Telmo began as a 270-stall antiques market in 1970 and has now exploded into a massive street bazaar that draws more than 12,000 people every week. The heart is at Plaza Dorrego, but the impressive market stretches down 13 blocks of the cobblestone Defensa Street and even shoots off into a few side lanes. If you are looking for an unexpected souvenir to take home, this is definitely the place to come across one.

Not a Buenos Aires visit goes by without me prioritizing dinner at La Brigada. It’s Diego Maradona’s favorite old stomping grounds for steak; this place has history and you feel it in the soccer-memorabilia covered walls. Start out with mojellas (sweetbreads), then dive into the best ribeye of your life; they literally cut it with a spoon to show you how tender it is (no matter how many times I’ve seen it done, I still get my dad on Facetime to watch every time).