6 Days in Buenos Aires: First-Timer Plan
Six days gives you the full core, two day trips, and enough slack to actually slow down in Palermo and San Telmo rather than rushing through them, well beyond the 4-day sweet spot most visitors settle for.
Before You Go: The Money Reset
The old advice to bring USD cash for the “blue dollar” black market is out of date. Argentina abolished its currency controls in April 2025, and by mid-2026 the blue, official, and MEP rates had converged to within a few percent of each other. Foreign cards now convert at essentially the market rate, so pay by card by default and treat cash as an optional backup. Check a live rate at dolarhoy.com close to your travel dates, since inflation (around 33.8% annually in mid-2026) makes any fixed peso figure stale within weeks.
Day 1
Morning: Arrive, settle into Recoleta or Palermo.
Afternoon: Recoleta Cemetery, now ticketed for foreign visitors at roughly $15-20 USD; Eva Perón’s grave is in the Duarte family mausoleum. See the Floralis Genérica nearby.
Evening: A proper asado at a parrilla, starting with achuras, then tira de asado, then bife de chorizo or ojo de bife.
Day 2
Morning: Palermo Soho’s boutiques and street art.
Afternoon: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, free, then Bosques de Palermo and the free Rosedal rose garden.
Evening: Palermo Hollywood for dinner and the neighborhood’s bar scene.
Day 3
Morning: Taxi or Uber to La Boca’s Caminito strip, daylight only, stay on the painted blocks, then taxi or Uber back out; a street or two off the strip is a real robbery risk. La Bombonera stadium tours run from about $32 USD.
Afternoon: San Telmo’s cobblestone streets, antiques, and colonial buildings.
Evening: A tango show at El Viejo Almacén or El Querandí, or a milonga at Plaza Dorrego if it’s a Sunday evening.
Day 4
Morning: Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada, then the Obelisco and Avenida 9 de Julio.
Afternoon: Café Tortoni for coffee, then a guided tour of Teatro Colón, about $46-47 USD.
Evening: MALBA (about $7-10 USD, half-price Wednesdays) if you haven’t been, or El Ateneo Grand Splendid, free to walk in.
Day 5
Full day: Tigre and the Paraná Delta, about an hour by train from Retiro, a boat ride, the Puerto de Frutos market, and a riverside lunch. Return to Buenos Aires in the evening.
Day 6
Morning: If it’s Sunday, the Feria de San Telmo (about 270 stalls, 10am-5pm around Plaza Dorrego and down Calle Defensa). Otherwise, a slower morning in Puerto Madero, the Puente de la Mujer footbridge, and the free Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur.
Afternoon: Last-minute shopping or a return to a favorite neighborhood.
Evening: A farewell dinner in Palermo, the strongest concentration of restaurants in the city.
Where to Stay
Palermo Soho or Recoleta both work well as a base for a stay this length; either lets you reach the rest of the core easily.
Getting Around
The Subte and buses need a SUBE card or a contactless bank card. Uber, Cabify, and DiDi operate normally; Tigre is reached by train from Retiro station.
The Honest Take
Six days is enough for the full core plus one substantial day trip and real breathing room. If you have 10 or more days total in Argentina, weigh spending only 3-4 in Buenos Aires and flying onward to Iguazú, Patagonia, or Mendoza against staying this long in the capital alone.
Read more: the 5-day itinerary trims one day trip, the 7-day itinerary covers a full week, and the travel guide has the full background.