As usual check the web sites www.booking.com and www.venere.com we stayed at the Hotel Argentino, Espejo 455, it is very central and seemed to be mainly a business hotel. The rooms were fine but on the small side and the service was on the cool side but it was perfectly adequate.

Restaurants

El Palenque, Av. Aristedes Villanueva 287, is a popular old fashioned tavern (pulperia) which serves large portions of traditional food, friendly service and good atmosphere.

Anna’s Bistro, Av. Juan B Justo 161, is a lovely restaurant with a great terrace and an incredible value lunch menu. Excellent food and service.

Siete Cocinas, Av Mitre 794, this was recommended by our wine guide and booking is required. The food was excellent, they also have a BYO policy with a reasonable corkage charge. Very handy if you happen to have bought a bottle while visiting the wineries.

Bars & Cafes

Avenida Aristedes Villanueva is the street to find as it has many different types of bars however it is a long walk from the centre of the city.

Antares at no 153 is a microbrewery with a number of bars in Argentina and this one like all the others seems very popular with young locals, they have a number of their own beers on draught and a selection of food. It is quite expensive compared with other bars but they have Happy Hour where you buy one and get one free.

Drink

If you are there for the wine then I can really recommend Ampora Wine Tours www.mendozawinetours.com there were good reports and we used them for a full day trip to Lujan de Cuyo. The whole experience from start to finish was fantastic, our guide was super, the choice of wineries and wines excellent and a great lunch with a view of the Andes.

There is a viewing gallery on the roof top of the City Hall which gives you great views of the Andes.

As usual check the web sites www.booking.com and www.venere.com we stayed at Carpe Diem, Urquiza 329, it is a B&B run by a lovely couple Silke and Riccardo, the friendly feel of the place is wonderful. It has excellent rooms and there is home baking for breakfast. It is centrally located and very popular, so book well in advance at www.carpediemsalta.com.ar

Restaurants

Jovi II, Balcarce 601, is a great old fashioned Salta restaurant with large portions of well cooked food, try the rabbit, and reasonably priced wines. Lovely to sit outside and watch the great mix of locals and visitors. It was recommended by our B&B but was also on our list of places to try.

El Solar de Convento, Caseros 444, this seemed as if it might be a bit “touristy” however it was mainly full of locals and a very busy place. There is a complimentary glass of fizz and they have excellent beef as you would expect but with a variety of sauces. Thoroughly enjoyable experience from start to finish,

Jose Balcarce, is on the corner of B. Mitre & Necochea, it is the most upmarket restaurant we visited and the food was excellent, try the llama carpaccio. The service was very good as you would expect and incredibly good value for the quality. Totally amazed that it is not higher up the list of Salta restaurants.

Cafes & Bars

Casa Moderna, Espana 674 is a grocers and wine shop but it does do some food including the best empanadas I have ever eaten. They have a selection of wines and also do meat and cheese plates. It is a gem of a place, seek it out and you will feel like a local in minutes.

New Time Café, is on one corner of the main square Plaza 9 Julio, it is a great place to sit outside with a beer during the day or a post dinner drink. They have a large range of food as well and efficient service.

Balcarce Street is where all the bars are, they seem to attract a very young crowd and only open at night. There are one or two places in the street which open during the day if you are around that part of town.

Drink

The region of Salta is home to the Cafayete wine appellation and the well known white Torrontes, which is prized for it’s perfumed aroma. It is becoming much better known outside Argentina and should be tried when you are there. The area also produces other wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay.

The Museum of High Mountain Archaeology in the main square is a must to see the exhibits on child sacrifices in the Andes. The story of the exhibits and how they were found is fascinating.

Pajcha, 20 de Febrero 831, is a private collection of indeginous art and culture, the curator is fascinating although his English is limited.

If you are there in September you may be lucky enough to coincide with the Fiesta del Milagro (“Miracle Fiesta”), which is held each September, commemorating the aftermath of a particularly severe earthquake in 1692 when religious icons are paraded through the streets. People from the surrounding area walk into town to celebrate the anniversary of the miracle, there are tens of thousands of pilgrims and the atmosphere is incredible.

Walking round the city there are numerous churches, convents and buildings to explore. There is also a cable car to the top of the hill overlooking the city.

You can check out the usual web sites but after our visit there is only one place that I would stay and that is a gem called the Secret Garden, www.secretgardeniguazu.com which is owned by the excellent host John Fernandes. There are only three cabins in the garden which are well fitted out and with your own terrace seating outside. Breakfast is included and is a great selection of fruits, toasts and amazing preserves.

John is a mine of knowledge and will advise on how to get to the park, arrange visits to the Brazilian side and of course your transfers  as well as the best restaurants and arranging taxis if needed. However the street with most places to eat  is only 13 minutes walk as we were reliably informed.

Saving the best to last, John serves caipirinhas on the terrace at 7pm these are accompanied by great snacks, excellent music and the good company of your fellow guests and John. A great place to stay

Acqua, Av Cordoba, stands out for everything, the food, the service, the staff, including the excellent manager. The beef is as you would hope, fantastic, try Las Terrazas Malbec, and enjoy your complimentary drink after your meal. It was so good we went back. The local fish is also very good.

La Rueda, also in Av Cordoba is a nice looking place and the food was fine but the service was nowhere as good as at Acqua.

When you are in the park at the end of the lower trail you can walk up the hill to the Sheraton, yes it is a horrible looking building but sit on the terrace and have lunch while looking over the falls, it doesn’t get much better and the burger is excellent, also it does not cost that much more than a snack and drink in the park. You can get the local bus from the main road in front of the hotel back to town.

There are lots of other places to eat, some basic grill type places, Parillas, and a more upmarket one which overlooks where Argentina, Brazil & Paraguay meet.

Bars

Not a lot, but if you stay at the Secret Garden the sweet shop and café at the top of the street just round to the left on the main road does a great selection of chilled beers including Patagonian Amber which is lovely and stays open late. Great chance to meet some locals.

Across the main street is a garage and up the side street there towards the football courts is a little Italian place with a very friendly owner, it is a good for a stop in the late afternoon or evening.

Drink

If this is your first entry into Argentina as it was ours, then your first chance to have a wonderful steak and a bottle of Malbec, what a start to the adventure. There will be lots of wines from Argentina to try with meals, also local beers.

Well no words can describe the falls, they are amazing, you probably need two days to do all the routes. Access to the park by local bus is very easy and cheap, the park is incredibly well organised, if you are going to spend two days there then get your ticket stamped at the end of day one, you should have a passport copy with you, and you will get access for 50% discount the next day.

Do take a cheap raincoat or poncho with you as you will get soaked particularly on the lower trail at one point.

If you are eating at the cafés in the park watch your food as the coatis, similar to raccoons, will jump on the table and eat your lunch before you can blink.

As usual check the web sites www.booking.com and www.venere.com, however our choice would be either San Telmo or Palermo. This is simply because the range of eating and drinking places in both areas is great and after sightseeing in a big city all day it is nice to have lots of options on your doorstep.

We chose San Telmo and loved the area. The Hotel Babel www.hotelbabel.com. is a gem we could not fault anything. The building is an old conventillo style building with all 9 rooms on two floors off the courtyard. The hotel is beautifully designed and the staff are fabulous, they are all so helpful and great to chat with. Breakfast is included and you can have freshly cooked egg dishes and waffles.

If you decide to go for Palermo there are numerous boutique type hotels at all price levels. As an area it is more trendy than the traditional San Telmo, so it is down to taste.

For our second visit we chose an apartment, we used a small apartment company with various places in the San Telmo area, the web site is santelmoloft.com they are very helpful and the apartments are very individual. An alternative is Friendly Rentals www.friendlyrentals.com who are recommended on many of my European pages.

Restaurants

People eat late in the city from around 10 pm, however restaurants in the main only take bookings up to 9.30 pm, so either book for that time or be prepared to take a chance and perhaps have to queue.

San Telmo

Well of course you have to eat steak and drink great local red wine in a Parilla, and in San Telmo there is no shortage from the upmarket to the hole in the wall.

Gran Parilla del Plata, Chile and Peru, San Telmo, has been our choice on several occasions and it does not disappoint, a mix of locals and tourists, unlike some places. The meat was fabulous, the atmosphere great, glasses of complimentary fizz and reasonable prices. We returned on our second visit to BA and had another great meal and the usual glass of fizz, and prices are still reasonable.

If grilled meat is getting you down, Brasserie Petanque, Defensa  596, San Telmo, is a touch of France in Buenos Aires. It is run by the charming owner and serves traditional French food with a bit of a twist.

Lunch can be a bargain as loads of places do set lunches, usually a main and dessert and including a glass of wine or soft drink. One street in San Telmo that has a lot of choices is Chile near the junction with Defensa. Granados, Chile 378, is a smart modern place with an excellent lunch menu. Similarly Via Via, at No. 324 is also a great place for lunch and both these have hostels attached.

Café Rivas,. Estados Unidos and Balcarce, San Telmo, also does a set lunch at a similar price to the ones mentioned above, it is very good and has a wider choice than some other places. All the above are very popular so get in and get your table.

Bar Seddon, Defensa 695, at the junction with Chile is a lovely bar and restaurant, always packed, so be prepared to wait for a table or to eat at the bar. The cold platters of meats and cheeses are excellent, and the bar is open till late every night.

Caseros, Caseros Ave. 486, this is on the edge of San Telmo but in a street where there a number of places to ear, it was recommended by a local and we thoroughly enjoyed the food and the atmosphere in the restaurant, it is apparently excellent value at lunch time when you can enjoy the nearby park.

Sagardi, Humberto Primo 319, San Telmo, is a branch of the Spanish chain specialising in pinxtos (small tapas) where you help yourself from a selection and at the end the waiter counts the number of cocktail sticks. It is very smart with excellent wines it was not particularly busy when we visited, they also have a restaurant.

Casal de Catalunya, Chacabuco 863, between Estados Unidos and Independencia, is a social club in a Gaudi type building which is lovely to see. It has a restaurant and a tapas menu, we did not have a chance to try the food but it looked good and have heard great reports.

Palermo Viejo

This area is full of places to eat, it is basically in two sections Soho and Hollywood divided by the railway tracks. Soho has more boutiques and possibly younger, louder bars than Hollywood.

Las Pizarras, Thames 2296, Palermo, we had booked dinner here as a special night on our travels and while we enjoyed the food I am not sure that I agree with some of the rave reviews. I personally found having all the menus including the wine list on a blackboard on the wall annoying and also found that it did not seem to have a very relaxed atmosphere despite it’s casual appearance. The tables are incredibly close together, luckily we sat next to a lovely Canadian couple and struck up a great conversation.

Social Paraiso, Honduras 5182, between Thames and Uriarte, in Soho is modern Argentinian cooking, with excellent food and service and a lovely place for a relaxed dinner.

Del Fin Del Mundo, Honduras 5673 near Fitzroy, Palermo Hollywood, is owned by the winery of the same name. It is ultra smart, beautifully designed and as well as a full menu it does tapas and wine pairings in the early evening which are fantastic value. The staff are very helpful and as you would expect, very knowledgeable. The executivo lunch menu is a bargain but book in advance as it is very popular.

Green Bamboo, Costa Rica 5802, Palermo Hollywood, is Vietnamese and very trendy, the food is good, but some dishes are more expensive than the average dish in most middle range places.

Congreso

Chan Chan, Hipolito Yrigoyen 1390, at the rear of the Palacio Barolo is a Peruvian restaurant open for lunch and dinner, it was so good we went back again and were not disappointed. The dishes are mainly fish and seafood but not just cerviche although that is of course excellent. The staff are lovely and prices amazingly reasonable.

Bars

San Telmo

The bars in San Telmo are mainly lovely old fashioned bars, most doing food including excellent meat and cheese platters.

Bar El Federal, Carlos Calva 599. This is one of BA’s most historic bars and is always busy, the prices can be a bit higher than other places nearby and the service varies but it is a must visit at least once.

El Refuerzo, Chacabuco 872, between Estados Unidos and Idependencia,  is a relative newcomer but is a lovely old fashioned looking bar doing food and a good selection of wines and nice staff. We tried this several times on our return to BA and the food is very good, the staff are still great and it is highly recommended.

La Poesia, Chile 502 and Bolivar, new but looks like one of the old style places, the staff are good and the meat and cheese platters very good value.

Gibraltar, Peru 895 near Estados Unidos, a proper British type bar, but with a good range of beers at reasonable prices and open till 4am daily, a good place to watch sports.

Territorio, Estados Unidos and Bolivar, is a small bar with excellent wine and great meat and cheese platters.

Doppel, Juan de Garay at the corner of Bolivar is a bit further to walk but it is worth it for the cocktails, a huge range of classics and very different ones, also does food till late.

Round Plaza Dorrego there are a number of bars, some of which have tango shows and happy hours.

Boedo

Boedo is local neighbourhood which is worth exploring and becoming popular with young visitors to the city with a number of hostels and apartments.

Café Margot, Boedo 847, Boedo, is one of BA’s landmark bar cafes and is worth seeking out. It has a similar menu to La Poesia in San Telmo and indeed one of the same waiters.

Cossab, Carlos Calvo 4199, Boedo is a very popular beer bar with numerous Argentinian and other beers, they also do food. Service was not as helpful as several reviews had indicated.

Recoleto

Casa Bar, Rodriguez Pena 1150, Recoleto, if you need a change this is very much a ex-pat bar but in a lovely old building, pleasant staff and a selection of pizzas and burgers.

Drink

There are many good reasons to visit Argentina and one must be to taste the fabulous wines in the country where they are produced and even if you do not make it to Mendoza then during you time in BA you will have lots of chance to sample the country’s wines. It is the 5^th largest wine producing country and historically consumed 90% of this at home, thank goodness things have changed.

Most people will have heard of Malbec as it is the best known type produced and most frequently available in other countries and this is a great chance to try a wide range of one of my favourite reds, especially with a fabulous steak. Also look out for Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonarda and Pinot Noir among the reds on offer.

The most seen white is Torrontes, which is aromatic and similar to Viognier, it is not one of my personal favourites so also look out for some excellent Chardonnay wines, and do give them a try. Chardonnay still has such a poor reputation not deserved when you try a good one.

You may feel the need for a chilled beer after exploring the city so try the local Quilmes beer, there are other smaller breweries opening up around the country including Patagonia, look out for them

Try one of the bus tours round the city, normally in two or three different loops as it is a vast city and it will let you see areas that you may not otherwise visit. They will all go to La Boca which while touristy is worth seeing, and also is not an area you would want to go to by yourself.

Puerto Madera is worth wandering around but the restaurants all cater for expense accounts unless you go to the cheap open air grill places on the far side near the nature reserve.

Cementerio de Recoleto is a must to visit. This is where Eva Peron is buried. At the weekend the craft market in the nearby park is great to wander through, you are then close to some of BA’s best museums and galleries and also the Floris Generica the huge metal flower sculpture which opens and shuts every day. Stop for a refreshment and food at the Buller Brewing Company, Ortiz 1827. They brew a variety of beers which you can sample.

Japanese Gardens, Av. Casares & Av Figeuroa Alcorta, is the largest Japanese garden outside of Japan apparently and we enjoyed walking round it and it is an oasis of calm away from the outside traffic. The nearby Botanic gardens are disappointing.

If you can take a day out of the city visit Tigre and explore the delta by boat and see the lovely town. There is a tourist train but the best way is to take the local train from Retiro Mitre station, the trains run every 10 minutes and a return costs less than 50p. The tourist office at the boat station on the river is very helpful, they will advise on which boat trips suit the time you have and what you want to see. There are a variety of places to stop at Tres Bocas is good as it has a very good walk and 3 places to eat.

Lastly do not miss seeing some Tango, on Sunday go to the market at San Telmo mainly along Defensa and in the Plaza Dorrego. As the market shuts classes start in the square around 6 pm but there is the chance to see and hear the dance and music all around during the day,

Go to a Milonga, which is a social club, ballroom type experience. The Confiteria Ideal, Suipacha 382, near Corrientes in the Micro Centre area has Milongas most nights, some with quite big bands and some with just a few musicians and singers but it is great to see old and young, fantastic and not so fantastic, dancing. There is a small entrance fee and the waiters serve drinks at your table.