Many will mention Argentine steaks and the famous Malbec wines when speaking about Argentina’s culinary highlights. But many portenos wouldn’t even make it to those hours if their day doesn’t start with a ‘café con leche’ – coffee with milk.
Buenos Aires has a century old tradition of coffee houses with writers, artist and regular inhabitants discussing life, love and politics for hours over a cup of hot brew or a drink. With nightlife a very important part of Buenos Aires, you might well be in need of some strong cups yourself the morning after, so here’s our guide to the most important cafes to visit during the best tours to Buenos Aires.
Tortoni
By far the most famous café of Buenos Aires and multiple times rewarded as one of the most beautiful cafes of Buenos Aires and the world.
Be prepared to pay an upscale price for your coffee or as we would recommend coffee with churros. This café is one of the major tourist attractions, but did thanks to the wonderful building and its artistic decoration never lose its charm. If you can avoid the lines that often form outside this former hangout of Borges and Einstein, it’s well worth a visit during best the tours to Buenos Aires.
(Avenida de Mayo 825 – Microcentro)
Confiteria Ideal
Founded in 1912, one of the oldest tearooms in the city, its second floor houses a grand ballroom that hosts tango lessons and milonga’s almost every afternoon and evening. Various days the dancing is accompanied by live musicians and on Friday and Saturday evening they host tango shows as well
(Suipacha 384 – Microcentro)
Las Violetas
An unchanged classic since 1884 with a beautiful, gilded interior, high ceilings and waiters in complete uniforms, all together the perfect timeless atmosphere, not to be find anywhere else. This is one of the few cafés where waiters are still dressed like well-heeled gentleman and one is even more elegant than the other. The place to go for an old fashioned high tea named after opera singer Maria Callas in the afternoon that includes enough food to leave you filled till well after even Buenos Aires dinner time.
(Rivadavia 3899 – Almagro)
La Biela
Named after the piston in an engine, it started out as the hangout for Argentina’s aviation pioneers and in later years became the unofficial club house for some of the most famous race car drivers in Argentina, including 5 time Formula 1 world champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
(Quintana 596 – Recoleta)
Bar Plaza Dorrego
One of the oldest bars in the city, located at Plaza Dorrego since the 18th century. Original wooden iceboxes en tables and a bar people have been carving their names in for many decades, make this the perfect location to rest up from visiting the Sunday antique and crafts market that occupies the street out front.
(Defensa 1096 – San Telmo)
Visit one of Buenos Aires’ many cafés during your private Buenos Aires tour, hosted by a local. You will be shown around the capital’s most important buildings and neighborhoods, the majority of the above named cafés are on this route. Ask your local host for a ‘coffee’ stop or visit plan a visit to one of the cafés during a day at leisure in Buenos Aires with Class Adventure Travel.
