Some useful things to know: Electricity: 220V, 50Hz Time Zone: 3 hours ahead of GMT, 4 hours ahead of San Francisco Country dialing code: 54 Before you go: Reading: Check out "Bad Times in Buneos Aires by Miranda France".  It captures our beloved city, Buenos Aires and its Portenas and Portenos seen through the eyes of a British woman who doesn't dance Tango.  Her amazement at how people live down there, the culture of beauty, the bronca and all is very funny! You get to learn about the rich history of Argentina and its culture in an entertaining way.  Once in Buenos Aires, you can visit the places she describes in her book, and form your own opinion of  Buenos Aires. Music: Listen to some Tango music, buy our great CDs (also on iTunes with this link )    traditional and electro-tangos    instrumental tangos Click here for a  little history of Tango Once there: At the airport: As you exit the terminal, ask for a free city map at the tourism booth. Change some dollars or euros at the airport, but remember that the "casa de cambio"'s downtown (for example Metropolis) have a better exchange rate than at the airport. Getting to town: By Taxi: Only board a taxi that you choose yourself, don't accept a ride from someone holding a badge and offering you a cheaper ride. The official taxis at the airport charge 88 pesos flat rate (as of May 2008) By Bus: A reliable bus line is "la Tienda Leon" that you can take from the airport to different locations downtown. Departs frequently. You can buy a ticket before exiting the terminal on the left of the tourism office. If you stay at the Loft: Ask to be picked up by the Loft manager who will have a sign with your name and bring you directly at the Loft. This is actually cheaper than a taxi. Live Music: - Go hear the Quinteto Real perform at the Club del Vino (Cabrera 4737).  It's a must do in Buenos Aires!  They play on Saturdays evenings.  It's one of the best Tango bands (after Trio Garufa of course ;-)  It's really worth it, especially if Salgan still plays.  The venue is quite special too.  Excellent wine of course, and a small wine-making expo in the basement. - Stop at the Centro Cultural San Martin for a free brochure of Live Music events, held both at the centro cultural, and also at the famous Teatro San Martin Places to dance for hardcore Tangueras and Tangueros: Here are some of the best milongas:     - Salon Canning (Scalabrini-Ortiz 1331) on Mondays       - Confiteria Ideal (A historical place that you must see!  In the Golden Age, they used to fly orchestras from Paris for the week-end and have a milongas.  There is a new milonga with live music on Wednesday nights.     - La Glorietta (an ouside milonga in the Recoleta neighbourhood, informal, a must see)     - La Nacional (same crowd as Canning, young, good music)     - La Viruta (Armenia 1366) has a fun crowd, but mixed levels, people come to date more than to dance.  It's a huge dance floor.     - Porteno y Bailarin (Riobamba 345)     - El Beso (very traditional).  Although the music is old and dusty, and the floor is slippery, it can be interesting to see the excellent old milongueros and feel the strong social codes/attitude like in the old times.  Go there on a Tuesday, and if you don't like it, Porteno y Bailarin is just a block away.     - La Catedral, (Sarmiento 4006), on Tuesday nights.  This is one of the underground milongas in BsAs.  The atmosphere is fun! You can have dinner there until 5AM.  But beware it's an all-vegetarian delicious menu (which is very rare in BsAs).  The class before the milonga is usually good too, at about 9pm.      - One more practical thing: on Fridays the most popular itinerary is to go to Salon Canning first, and then after 3AM walk to La Estrella (same place as La Viruta) which is a few blocks away. Where to buy Tango shoes: - Comme Il Faut (excellent shoes for Woman, expensive) - NeoTango, Sarmiento 1938 - ArSil custom shoes, Garay 908 - Fattomano, Guatemala 4464 is very good (somewhat expensive) - Flabella, Suipacha 263, has good Tango shoes http://www.geocities.com/flabella_2000/ - Awoman comes to sells beautiful shoes at La Ideal on Friday afternoons I think (2nd floor). Tango Music: Check out the stores on Corrientes between Callao and 9 de Julio.  The best one is Ghandi (mid block on Corrientes & Callao), but small stores have great selections too.  Zivals is quite known but less friendly than Ghandi. Dining: If you want to get out of the tango ambiance and check out hip Buenos Aires, go to Palermo Hollywood (it's a neighborhood with nice restaurants and bars). Another great place is las canitas, you can actually walk from the Loft. Tourism: Cafe Tortoni on Ave de Mayo 825, http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar It's the oldest cafe in Argentina, very beautiful. Right on top of it there's the Academia del Tango, with classes and some interesting reading material.  The temperature in Buenos Aires: Some safety tips:  When going out at night: - Don't take your passport along - Take only one credit card, leave ATM cards if possible, and your 2nd and 3rd credit card in the apartment - Don't take all your cash reserves with you.  Bring more or less what you will need that night. At the airport, don't accept rides just from anybody approaching you.  The safest way to get a taxi is to call a "radio taxi" and ask for a pick up. If you flag down a taxi in the street, try to look for "radio taxis". As you guessed it, when an incident happens, it's usually that you end up "loosing" your wallet.  So these tips will minimize the damage. Polo! and other exciting adventures in Argentina: Want a break from Tango or a unique adventure? Call Melina at +54 11 4785 6947 or visit her office in Buenos Aires, to book a Polo experience while you are in Argentina. There's an experience you're not about to forget... Snapshots of Buenos Aires: