If you have 3 days in Buenos Aires, you can have a great time and see most of the sights. I highly recommend taking a tour as the city is quite big to get around and there are many places to see. You can take the hop-on hop-off bus which I really enjoyed or take a small group tour. You will also have time to take a day trip if that is what you want to do.
This itinerary is perfect for 3 days in Buenos Aires but you can also take the 2-day itinerary and spend one day on an optional day trip.
| Morning | Afternoon | Evening | |
| Day 1 | San Telmo | La Boca | Tango show |
| Day 2 | Recoleta Cemetery | Palermo parks | La Cabrera |
| Day 3 | Puerto Madero | Galeria Pacifico | Pizza at La Guerrin |
Buenos Aires is a fantastic city to see on an open top bus as you can look at the beautiful architecture and parks and the city is also relatively spread out.
You can take the hop-on hop-off for either 24 hours or 48 hours and the bus runs from 9pm- 5pm. For a 3 day visit to Buenos Aires, I recommend getting the 48-hour ticket to help you get around the city and using it for the first 2 days.
You can read more about the hop-on hop-off tours here.
Day 1
The first day of your itinerary will be to try and see most of the attractions. You can get around the city with public transport and it is very cheap but I think the hop-on hop-off or a guided tour are the most efficient ways to see the city
Morning
Get breakfast in your hotel and get going! First stop is San Telmo which isn’t very far and you can check out the market. There are so many stalls to check out and you can also grab another coffee (Check out El Bar Federal). Wander around the old streets and then you can do a guided tour of El Zanjón at midday.
Remember that the open-air fair is not open during the weekdays.
Lunch
You can choose to eat in San Telmo or go straight to La Boca where you will be spending your afternoon. The places in La Boca can be quite touristy but we had a decent lunch there and some places have short Tango shows where you can take a photo. If you stay in San Telmo then check out the “Mercado San Telmo” and get some bondiola sandwiches
Afternoon
Next up is the La Boca neighborhood which is brimming with history. There is a lovely walk called “ El Caminito” where the old housing complexes have been turned into cute little shops.
📍 La Boca
Evening
A Tango show is a must-do experience in Buenos Aires and you can spend your first evening enjoying one in the Astor Piazzolla Theatre. The theatre is intimate and the show gives a nice overview of the history and passion of Tango in Argentina. You can also enjoy dinner with your show.
Day 2
Day 2 is when you can start to enjoy the parks of the city. People from Buenos Aires love to spend time in many of the beautiful parks.
Morning
For the morning of Day 2, you can go to the famous Recoleta Cemetery and learn about the famous people from the past and see the beautiful tombs and mausoleums. A guided tour here is recommended so you can hear the various stories about the cemetery.
You can check out this tour of the cemetery in English at 13 USD per person.
If you feel like checking out some art, you can see some exhibitions in the nearby Recoleta Cultural Center. It’s also good for families with children.
Lunch
There are many many places to have lunch in Palermo and Recoleta so it depends on the food you like. In Palermo, I have seen (and tasted) Mexican, Jewish, Armenian, Japanese, Chinese, Italian food. The choice is yours. My favorite place for lunch was “Sarkis” Armenian food but it is a little out of the way for your itinerary.
📍 Palermo
Afternoon
Take a trip to the fashionable Palermo neighborhood and check out the Palermo Forest (Bosques de Palermo) park and also enjoy the Rose Garden (El Rosedal).
You can continue your walk down through the Ecoparque and The botanical gardens and then enjoy the shops, bars, cafés and restaurants.
Evening
Why not stay in Palermo and try some of the famous steakhouses? You need to book the most popular ones in advance (Don Julio/1 month, La Cabrera/1 week) or you can show up early and there are also sometimes discounts available.
Then end your night in a themed bar like a prison bar called “The Hole bar” (you can go for drinks from 8 PM or book a table in advance for dinner) or one that looks like a New York subway called Uptown (You have a book a table in advance for this place). Or if you like Jazz music, check out ‘The Bebop Club’ or ‘Backroom bar’. (For shows you can buy the tickets at the place)
Day 3
For Day three, you can stay closer to your hotel downtown and see Puerto Madero and do some shopping.
Morning
Head west from your hotel to the neighborhood of Puerto Madero. Puerto Madero is one of the richest and safest areas of Buenos Aires after continued investment since the 1990s. There is also a beautiful nature reserve which you can walk around or you can just admire the riverside.
Read more about things to do in Puerto Madero here
Lunch
Why not do the ultimate Buenos Aires thing and eat a “choripan” on the Costanera. There are food trucks on the far side of Puerto Madero where you can buy your Argentinian hotdog.
Afternoon
Head back towards the city center and spend the afternoon shopping. Head to Galería Pacifico which has to be one of the most beautiful shopping malls in the world. The mall is expensive but really it is worth it just to walk around.
The café near the fountain is a great place for “merienda”. There is also a really nice art gallery called the “Borges Cultural Center”. You are also near Calle Florida (Florida street) where you can find more budget-friendly shopping.
Evening
Pizza is a big thing in Buenos Aires and the oven at “La Guerrin” has been on the go for 90 years (literally!) and the pizza there is fantastic.
You may have to queue as it is extremely popular but it is huge and has a new patio out back so you won’t have to wait long. Highly Recommended!
Where to stay for 3 days in Buenos Aires
If you are staying for only 3 days in Buenos Aires, then I recommend staying in the center of the city so it will be easier to get to the start of the tours. The Marriott Hotel is an excellent location right on Avenida 9 de Julio. If you are on a budget, check out the lovely Melia Hotel which is also well located for our Itinerary.
Optional Day Trips
You can also replace one of the days with a day trip. The only day trip I would recommend is to Tigre which is not very far and worth visiting. To be honest, Buenos Aires the city offers so much, I probably wouldn’t plan a day trip when you only have 3 days in the city.
Read more about Day trips from Buenos Aires
How to get around Buenos Aires
There are three main ways to get around Buenos Aires and transport is very cheap here compared to other places. There is the Metro which is called the “Subte”. There are also buses which are very frequent. You can also use taxis or Uber.
Public transport is only a good idea if you are staying for a longer time or if you are on a tight budget. If you want to be more efficient then take one of the minivan tours or a taxi.
A taxi from downtown to Palermo only costs around $4-6 so it is totally worth it rather than learning the public transport system. If you want to travel by public transport, then you buy a “Sube” card which works on both buses and the metro. You can get it and top it up in kiosks.
Are 3 days enough in Buenos Aires?
Three days isn’t really enough time to really get to know Buenos Aires as the city has so much to offer. If you follow the itinerary above, you will get to see quite a good amount of the main attractions though.
If you are only in Buenos Aires as a stopover to Patagonia, then 3 days is a good amount of time so you can also enjoy hiking and seeing the glacier “El Perito Moreno”.
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