Argentina
Dinner at 10pm is normal. Turning up at 8 means an empty restaurant
Population
46m people
Currency
Argentine Peso
Main Language
Spanish
best time to visit
October – November and March – April
Climate
Subtropical north, temperate centre, sub-Antarctic in Patagonia
Visa
Visa free for up to 90 days for UK, EU, US and most Western visitors
Country overview
Argentina runs from the subtropics to the edge of Antarctica, which gives it a range of landscapes almost no other country matches. Iguazu Falls in the north, the wine country of Mendoza under the Andes, the glaciers and granite towers of Patagonia, and the sub-Antarctic port of Ushuaia at the bottom.
Buenos Aires is European in a way that catches people off guard, all Parisian boulevards and Italian surnames, with a cafe culture that treats sitting for hours as a right. Dinner starts around ten and nightlife well after midnight. Tango is genuinely lived here rather than performed, though the touristy shows exist too if that is what you want.
The money situation deserves attention. Argentina has had persistent high inflation and a history of parallel exchange rates, and the practical advice changes frequently. Check the current position before you go, because getting it right can materially change what a trip costs. Beef and Malbec, meanwhile, are as good and as cheap as the reputation suggests.
Annual events and festivals
- Carnival (Feb-Mar) — biggest in Gualeguaychu, which runs Sambadrome-style parades over several weekends.
- Vendimia, Mendoza (Mar) — the wine harvest festival, with a huge staged spectacle and a harvest queen.
- Tango Buenos Aires Festival and World Cup (Aug) — the world championship of tango, held in the city that invented it.
- Fiesta de la Tradicion, San Antonio de Areco (Nov) — the definitive gaucho festival, with horsemanship and folk music.
- Buenos Aires International Film Festival (Apr) — the leading independent film event in Latin America.
- Revolution Day (25 May) — marks the 1810 May Revolution.
- Independence Day (9 Jul) — marks the 1816 declaration.
- Fiesta Nacional de la Nieve, Bariloche (Aug) — a winter sports festival in the Lake District.
- Semana Santa (Mar-Apr) — Holy Week, with processions and a national travel rush.
- Dia del Amigo (20 Jul) — Friend Day. Restaurants are booked out. A genuinely Argentine institution.