What is the best and most unique souvenir you can buy in Argentina?

/ Buenos Aires

Buying a souvenir for friends and family can sometimes be tricky as you want to bring them something special from a country and not something mass-produced. The San Telmo Market is a good place to start buying souvenirs but we have created more ideas that really show Argentina to your friends back home.

Here you have ideas for buying Argentine souvenirs in Buenos Aires: 

As you might have heard, Argentines drink loads of mate, which makes it a perfect souvenir. This mate is also bought as a present among Argentines. 

There are different types (made with glass, plastic, leather, wood, pumpkin, etc.), sizes, and prices. I recommend having a look at markets, fairs, or specialized shops. You’ll find these shops in the city and the fairs are usually on the weekends in parks. 

Alfajores 

Another great souvenir to share with family and friends is Argentine alfajores. You can also buy them for yourself too! 

I recommend buying them in shops around town, Havana, Goulis, and Cachafaz are my top three favorites, but you can find other alfajores in kiosks and supermarkets. 

Warning! ☝️

These alfajores might be too sweet for some people! And there are many types of alfajores: covered in white/black chocolate, glazed, with dulce de leche filling or jam, thinner or triple. You can read more about alfajores here! 

Dulce de leche 

This sweet caramel type is very present in Argentine culture, you’ll find it in desserts, pastries, alfajores, pies, cakes, and chocolates. 

You can buy them in supermarkets, these are more industrialized or mass produced (but nice!) and you can also buy what Argentines call “dulce de leche artesanal”, you can find them in markets or fairs. 

It’s a nice present for someone that likes cooking because it can be used for baking. It’s also great for people with a sweet tooth! They can eat it with biscuits or just bread and butter! 

Cookbooks 

There are plenty of bookshops in Buenos Aires city, and many of them have books in English. I recommend that you ask first if they have the books in stock, some of the Argentine cuisine’s recommended books are: 

  • Seven Fires, Grilling the Argentine way by Francis Mallmann ^ Peter Kaminsky
  • Mallmann on Fire: 100 Inspired Recipes to Grill Anytime, Anywhere by Francis Mallman 
  • Green Fire: Extraordinary Ways to Grill Fruits and Vegetables, from the Master of Live-Fire Cooking, by Francis Mallman 
  • The Food and Cooking Of Argentina: 65 Traditional Recipes from the Heart of South America, by Cesar Bartolini 
  • Vino Argentino: An Insider’s Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina, by Laura Catena
  • Asi Cocinan los Argentinos / How Argentina Cooks (Spanish and English Edition), by Alberto Vasquez Prego 

Pst! 👀

All these books are also available on Amazon if you want to read the reviews or buy it online! 

You can also buy aprons for the cooks in the house! 🧑‍🍳👩‍🍳

This is great and useful souvenir and NOT heavy to bring back home!

Argentine football jerseys 

These are perfect for soccer (football) fans. You can buy original jerseys or more affordable ones in the many shops and markets around the city. You can get Argentine jerseys or other famous clubs, like Boca and River. 

You can also buy caps and bags with the team’s colors! 

For soccer souvenirs, you can also visit La Boca neighbourhood!

‘Gaucho’ souvenir ideas 

If you have visited Buenos Aires or any other province in Argentina, you probably have heard of the gaucho culture. If you haven’t heard about this, then keep on reading to know who they are and why they are such important figures in Argentine culture and history. 

What are gauchos? 

The term ‘gaucho’ was used during the last decades of the 17th century to refer to people, mostly men, rural, independent and rebellious. They were descendants of Creoles and Indians and settled in the southern part of the continent due to the lack of gold and silver in those lands, which were not used to found settlements or cities.

The gaucho was a nomadic character, who subsisted by hunting wild cattle in the pampas regions. When hunting the cattle, they extracted the leather for later commercialization and consumed the meat roasted on the embers.

What is Gaucho clothing? 

Berets, ponchos, boleadoras, country jackets and silver knives are typical items of the gaucho clothing. 

Be careful with knives, it is better to declare them at customs so that they are not confiscated. There are specialised talabarterías (saddleries) in the city that will be of great help.

Here you can read all about Gaucho clothing! 

Places to buy gaucho products in Buenos Aires City

  • Arandu Talabartería: Ayacucho street 1920
  • El Boyero: Florida street 953
  • Regionales Argentinos: Larrea street 386 

Leather souvenirs 

The leather industry began at the end of the 17th century, when the first exports of salted leather were recorded, with an average of 20,000 pieces per year. 

The four main items that make up the leather manufacturing sector are: 

  • leather goods: handbags, briefcases, trunks, purses, travel articles, wallets, car upholstery, etc.; 
  • leather clothing: jackets, pants, skirts, belts, belts, gloves, etc.; 
  • leather accessories: key rings, bracelets for watches, diaries, cases, etc.; 
  • saddlery: saddles, polo articles, pet entertainment, etc.

Due to the distinctive quality of Argentine leather, the areas that demand this Argentine product are countries of the European Union and the United States. The control of the production processes is carried out by the National Service of Animal Health and Agri-Food Quality (Senasa), which controls the raw materials for obtaining animal by-products; it verifies the process throughout the manufacturing chain and certifies the by-product obtained.

Places to buy leather products in Buenos Aires City

  • Los Robles Polo Time: Santa Fe Avenue 1522 
  • Preta Cueros: Murillo 629
  • Paseo del Cuero: Murillo 550 
  • Raíces Ragalos: Tucumán 2343

Fileteado products 

What is Fileteado? 

Fileteado is a decorative and popular art that incorporates drawing and painting. One of the many definitions that can be found in the dictionary states that filete is: “from the Latin filo = thread/narrow line in molding/thin line to decorate drawings” and filetear is defined as “to decorate with fillets”.

Among historians, there is a general agreement that the fileteado porteño is a decorative and popular art that was born in Buenos Aires in the early twentieth century. 

The first fileteadores developed their activity, in a spontaneous way, in the wagon factories of the City. The testimonies coincide in that these first masters and craftsmen of the trade were Italian immigrants who worked in the wagon factories.

Why is Fileteado porteño different? 

  • Vivid colors.
  • A high stylization in its forms.
  • The contrasts generate a false sensation of volume.
  • The overloading of the available space.
  • The recurrence to symmetry.
  • The symbolic conceptualization of elements.
  • The use of highly ornamented typographies.
Source: turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar

You can buy bottles, tin and wood boxes, signs, guitars, and many more with this style! You can find them in souvenir shops, markets (like the San Telmo market on weekends) and open-air fairs in the center of the city. Check out the La Boca neighborhood for this type of art too! 

You can book a Half Day San Telmo Tour Discovering Fileteado Porteño 👇

More information

Places to buy Argentine souvenirs 

There are many markets and open-air fairs where you can find craft products like mates, paintings, clothes (like woolen ponchos, scarves, and hats), alfajores, and dulce de leche. 

Some popular markets in Buenos Aires are: Mercado de San Telmo, Feria de Plaza Francia (Barrio Norte neighbourhood), Feria de Mataderos, Plaza Julio Cortazar (Serrano square, Palermo), Feria de Artesanos (Costa Rica street, Palermo), Feria Artesanal Parque Lezama, Feria Artesanal Intendente Alvear (Pueyrredón Avenue), Feria Emprendedores Costanera Sur (Puerto Madero). 

At the weekend we visited Florida street and found many shops that sell products like clothes, accessories, and others perfect for souvenir ideas! 

ILoveGifts store in Florida shopping street, Buenos Aires

Opening times: all the markets and open-air fairs are open on weekends (morning to evening) and national public holidays. 

Be aware that these places are very crowded all throughout the year. Mind your belongings carefully and ask questions if you need to! 

Here you’ll also find silver and copper jewelry like rings, necklaces and bracelets, glass ornaments for the house, cooking utensils, craft toys for children, leather products like wallets, handbags, key rings, and belts and incense, candles and aromatic oils. 

You can also buy many products in shopping malls like Alto Palermo, Abasto, Galerías Pacífico, and Dot. Here you’ll find national and international brands. 

We visited Galerías Pacífico near Florida street.

I recommend visiting these places and comparing prices and materials, then save them on your Maps and come back before your flight! 

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