Our Favourite Activities in Buenos Aires While Studying Abroad
Lis and Sarah are back to share some of their favourite places and activities that they discovered in Buenos Aires while completing a study abroad program. And the best thing is, you don´t have to break the bank to enjoy and explore the city.
Read about Lis and Sarah´s full study abroad experience here.
There are so many beautiful, cool, and accessible places to visit! We were trying to stay on a budget and we were still able to explore and enjoy our time there because many of the museums, parks, and events were free or offered student discounts. Furthermore, Expanish also set up trips for us which were so wonderful (and free)! We wanted to pull some of our favorite places and events that we fully recommend:
Expanish: Of course we had to have Expanish in here! As we mentioned before, it was one of our favorite places to be. From eating lunch, to locking in, and to having "The Summer I Turned Pretty" watch parties (shoutout Jio!!!), Expanish was the place to be. We were always warmly welcomed and we got to talk to a lot of cool people like Isa, Gabriel, Julia and Jio! They always had full cookie jars and mate for us to enjoy. Furthermore, they had free guided tours that we went to such as La Boca, and they also had event nights like learning how to properly prepare mate with their very own mate expert, Profe Rosana!
Speaking of La Boca.... We were able to take a guided trip to this part of Buenos Aires and it was so vibrant and colorful! On our way there, we took linea 152 and we got to get to know the driver, Alejandro and he gave us a little keychain of his bus as a keepsake. We learned about the history of La Boca, walked around the stands, saw a group of little kids perform their percussion and even tried ron de dulce de leche!
Now that we’re talking percussion…another event that Expanish set up for us was a visit to Ciudad Cultural Konex. We saw La Bomba de Tiempo perform live and the beats, the vibes, the colors were all so wonderful! It truly was an incredible experience. To add to this, we saw Barbatuques perform Baiana LIVE!!! Lis was obsessed with this song at the time and it was just so crazy that we got to see them live, we most definitely lost our voices that night!
One of the most remarkable days we had in Argentina was when we had our Estancia Day! It was a beautiful and sunny day and we were greeted by lots of cute puppies, wonderful people and amazing food. We ate so well that day! We had empanadas, choripán, asado, and more. And then flan for dessert! We learned about gauchos and their crucial roles in the estancias. We also learned how to dance chacarera and got to try on some ponchos as we danced alongside live music with a bandoneon. Lastly, they taught us how to make empanadas and lasso objects. We ended the day with some merienda and headed back home. We were there for a long time, but the time felt so short, and it was all so beautiful!
One place we were always at on the weekends was the San Telmo market. This place is huge and has so many cool and unique vendors, but make sure to hold onto your belongings tight! Every time we went, we found something new and lowkey. A lot of our money stayed in San Telmo, but it was very much worth it! Afterwards, we would go in search of some food and we would typically find some milanesas from restaurants nearby, or we would get some ice cream, which can never go wrong in Buenos Aires!
Ecoparque was one of the last places we visited before we left Argentina. It’s like a zoo and a big park with a pond all at the same time! We got to take pictures with a dinosaur statue, saw peacocks strolling around and even saw a puma that was rescued from illegal captivity. Our group was walking around taking so many pictures and stopping to see and hear all the different animals, so this is very much something that keeps you entertained for a good while!
Our last place that we visited was the Immigration Museum (Museo de la Inmigración). Our Spanish professor Rosana recommended it to us and we couldn’t leave without going. The trip there was a journey itself because we got caught in the rain and got a little lost, but we eventually made it! They had so much information that we were taught about in our UBA and Spanish classes and we got to see videos, archives, and physical collections of people’s stories. Furthermore, they had a cool and interactive area with art, exhibits, and activities by students and professors from a local university! This museum was one of our personal favorite and we also spent quite some time there, so we also recommend going early so you can make the most out of your time!
Find our more about our study abroad programs, including our new semester programs, now available in Spain, Argentina and Costa Rica.
