How to Enjoy Buenos Aires

What sort of place could inspire the dreamy, cerebral writings of Jorge Luis Borges, as well as the melodrama of "Evita"? That would be Buenos Aires, "The Paris of South America," and when you visit there, you'll find it's as comompolitain as that French cultural center.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Tour La Casa Rosada, the offices of the President of Argentina, at Hipolito Yrigoyen 219. There's a museum dedicated to Argentine history on the premises, and you can glimpse, although you cannot step onto, the famous balcony from which Eva Peron addressed the masses during the 1940s.

2. Visit a cemetery where the tombs may be nicer than your home: Cementerio de la Recoleta at Junin 1790. This large, crowded cemetery is filled with elaborate mausoleums. It's the resting place for many of the Argentinian notables, including Eva Peron. Carlos Gardel's tomb is marked with a statue of the tango singer suavely smoking a cigarette.

3. Head to the Campo Argentino de Polo at Avenida del Libertador 4300 and Dorrego, to see the best polo players in the world. Polo games are held here from September to mid-November, with the Argentine Open Polo Championships taking place from mid-November to December. Touring international music acts play here the rest of the year.

4. Eat some Argentine beef, probably the best in the world after Kobe beef. Some of the top steak houses in town include Cabaña Las Lilas, at Avenida Alicia Moreau de Justo 550; La Cabaña, at Rodriguez Peña 1967; La Chacra, at Avenida Cordoba 950; La Cabrera, at Cabrera 5099; El Obrero, at Agustin Caffarena 64; and Spettus Steak House, at Alicia Moreau de Justo 876.

5. Attend an opera, ballet or orchestral performance at the elegant Teatro Colón, locate at Libertad 621. The theater offers tours of the backstage area, workshops and rehearsal spaces.

6. Enjoy the tango, either as an observer or as a dancer. You can watch performances at El Querandi, at Perú 302; Esquina Carlos Gardel, at Carlos Gardel 3200 in Almagro; Esquina Homero Manzi, at Avenida San Juan 3601; Michelangelo, at Balcarce 433; Complejo Tango, at Avenida Belgrano 2608 in Balvanera; or Señor Tango, at Vieytes 1655. Learn the tango at Tango Ideal, at Suipacha 380 in San Nicolás; Sin Rumbo, at José P. Tamborini 6157 in Villa Urquiza; Club Gricel, at La Rioja 1180 in San Cristobal; or Centro Cultural Torcuato Tasso, at Defensa 1575 in San Telmo.