Argentine Chic

head to Recoleta’s mall if you’re feeling rich).

Days in Buenos Aires are a joy. Beyond the glorious sights of the Recoleta cemetery, the pink palace and the polo club (we’ll get to that later), the city offers a wealth of street life to immerse yourself in. Believe me, it’s definitely worth digging a bit deeper and leaving the tourist-world behind to experience the real (and very hip) B’aires.

My suggestions? Forget the city centre and the wealthy quarter of Recoleta and head for Palermo, where the real people live. Stroll through the achingly cool Palermo Viejo neighbourhood where Argentina’s up-and-coming designers peddle their wares from bespoke boutiques and the young and beautiful lounge in pavement cafés and restaurants.

At night this area comes to life with countless bars and restaurants hidden down its quiet, residential streets. Then of course there’s Palermo Hollywood which is, if possible, an even cooler nightspot. Fancy a bit of dinner? Las Canitas is undoubtedly the place to go for anything from a great steak to a bento box.

And what time should you plan your evening sortie, you ask? Well there are two phases to the B’aires night: first is the ‘after-office’ scene which starts at about 5pm and plays hard for several hours; then there’s the real, clubbing scene that starts no earlier than midnight and continues til dawn.

The best place for after-office is the centre of town (unsurprisingly where lots of the offices are located). Head to Opera Bay in Puerto Madero for a taste of the scene at its best – be forewarned that the scale of this place is, frankly, massive.

For hard-core clubbing you’ll have to head down to the docks where warehouse super clubs pump out the beats until the sun comes up. The best place to recover with a Bloody Mary and some dark glasses? Try the revamped docks area of Puerto Madero were lounging is the order of the day.

I can’t recommend a better time to visit than during the annual world polo finals.