11 Things to Do in Buenos Aires in July

Winter in Buenos Aires can be the perfect excuse to do some activities that become less attractive in the summer heat. From visiting its museums, taking a touristic bus ride, watching a tango show or enjoying its gastronomy... July is a very good time to visit this jewel of Latin America.

It is one of the favourite cities of Europeans, thanks to the fact that everything, from its architecture to the layout of its streets or its cultural offer is reminiscent of Madrid or Paris. There are many things to see and do in Buenos Aires in July, so get ready, because here I have selected my favourites.

If you are going to Buenos Aires in July, you should know that July 9th is Independence Day in Argentina, and throughout the neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, as well as the rest of the country, there are a great number of celebrations that you can't miss. In the Mataderos fair, in the neighbourhood of San Telmo, in Plaza de Mayo and in San Isidro you can enjoy military parades, typical food, such as empanadas, locro, tortas fritas or pastelitos dulces.

Living the patriotic fervour in the heart of Buenos Aires is one of the most interesting and emotional things you can experience. In Argentina everything has to do with gastronomy, whether it is the asado and empanadas, its incomparable popular pastries, its mate or its wines, recognised all over the world, it is always a good time to sit at the table and enjoy.

If you want, you can take advantage of the date to go to the Plaza de Mayo and visit the inside of the Casa Rosada in one of the best tours of Buenos Aires. Then you can continue with a walk around the Buenos Aires Cathedral and the Cabildo. You'll feel like you've gone back in time to 1816, when the people gathered in the square, amidst flags and cockades.

The city of Buenos Aires is famous for its important cultural activity. If you are one of those who need to be indoors when it is a bit cold, July is an ideal month to visit museums and cultural centres in Buenos Aires. Here is a list of my favourites:

MALBA

MALBA is the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires, and if you book your tickets to visit this museum, you will find the most subversive contemporary art. In addition to its permanent collection, it has rooms for exhibitions of pictorial art, its own cinema, and spaces for audiovisual installations.

National Museum of Fine Arts

The Bellas Artes is one of the most important museums in the country. With a collection of works from all over the world, here you can see paintings by: Goya, Manet, Monet, Gauguin, Degas, Pissarro, Renoir, Pollock, Fontana, Rothko, sculptures by Rodin, and much more. Admission to the museum is free. Without a doubt one of my favourite museums.

Nestor Kirchner Cultural Centre (CCK)

The CCK is one of the most popular and lively museums in Buenos Aires. With exhibitions of all kinds and a rich agenda of concerts, exhibitions and playful spaces for children and adults, this is one of the art spaces that you cannot miss during your visit to Buenos Aires.

Chosen as one of the theatres with the best acoustics in the world, the Colon Theatre is located in the heart of the city, about 200 metres from the Obelisk, and is one of the places you cannot miss if you are passing through Buenos Aires in the month of July. Although it can be visited all year round, the low winter temperatures make it the perfect excuse.

Due to its beautiful architecture and rich history, you can visit it inside and see costume pieces used by famous singers, sets and much more. The current building was opened in 1908 and is an architectural masterpiece. On a guided tour of the Teatro Colón you will discoverall the secrets hidden in one of the largest and most elegant theatres in the world.

With a varied agenda, seeing an opera or a ballet show at the Colón is quite an experience. However, I recommend you buy your tickets in advance, even a few months before your trip, as they tend to sell out easily.

The architecture of the neighbourhoods of Congreso and Downtown Buenos Aires is absolutely amazing. Inspired by the architecture of Madrid, Paris and London, but with a strong Latin American stamp, the architecture of Buenos Aires has a casualness of the fortuitous. Here you can see Gothic-style churches (such as the San Miguel Arcángel parish church or the First Methodist Church of Buenos Aires) alongside modern glass skyscrapers or theatres with marquees from the last century.

If you plan to visit Buenos Aires in July, signing up for a tour to appreciate the architectural beauty of the city can be a very good idea, as they usually include visits to the interior of each of these buildings, so you will find refuge from the cold and enjoy the ride.

With an endless number of domes, spires, colourful vitraux, galleries under roof, Buenos Aires is an architect's dream, as it is home to a variety of surprising styles. Some of the 10 best buildings in Buenos Aires that you can't miss during your visit are:

The Güemes Gallery

A beauty under roof, the Galería Güemes is considered the first skyscraper in the city of Buenos Aires, with a glass dome, a theatre and shops from the beginning of the 20th century, its architecture is one of the most refined in Downtown Buenos Aires. It has an entrance on Florida and San Martin pedestrian streets.

The Barolo Palace

The Barolo Palace owes its name to Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Its architectural beauty offers a truly unique and provocative mix of styles. In this palace, located in the heart of the Congreso neighbourhood, neo-gothic and neo-romantic styles coexist. Its dome (which can be visited) is Indian style, and represents the union between Dante and Beatrice. Its author described it as a Latin skyscraper.

The Confiteria Del Molino

This building is considered an emblem of art nouveau. Its interior is as striking as its exterior, with marble cladding on its columns, pilasters and panels. At the end of the 20th century the building passed into the hands of the Argentine government, and was declared a National Historic Monument. Its dome with marvellous vitreaux and its details make the Confitería del Molino one of the most beautiful buildings in all Latin America.

As I always say, a great way to get in touch with a city is to hop on the tourist bus. This way you will be able to make your own map and locate where the main attractions are, and then go back to the ones you liked the most to explore them in detail.

Like other big capitals in the world, Buenos Aires has its own tourist bus. Under the Hop on-Hop off modality, you will be able to visit the main highlights of the city. Summer in Buenos Aires is usually very hot, so July is an ideal month for this kind of tours. Of course, I recommend you to bring a warm jacket.

Some of the stops on the tour are:

• Recoleta
• Colón Theatre
• Congress Square
• San Telmo - Plaza Dorrego
• La Bombonera
• La Boca - Caminito
• Puente de la Mujer - Puerto Madero
• MALBA
• Planetarium
• Palermo Woods - Rose Garden
• National Museum of Fine Arts

The total tour takes 3 hours and 20 minutes, and the buses run every 20 minutes. They have audioguides in 9 languages (Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Russian). As they are open-top buses, you can get great 360-degree views of the city.

The postcard of Caminito has gone around the world. The colourful facades of the old tenement houses, where immigrants from all over the world lived together (especially after the two world wars) have become a tourist attraction. Located in the neighbourhood of La Boca, a few metres from the Boca Juniors football stadium, the area is a must for tourists and the curious.

Here you will find a large number of souvenirs, most of them related to tango and football. Besides being able to walk through the corridors of old tenement houses, now restored, and watch a live show. Caminito is a museum street almost 150 metres long and one of the most emblematic places in the neighbourhood of La Boca. It was the plastic artist Benito Quinquela Martín, neighbour of the neighbourhood, who promoted the creation of this open-air museum to rescue part of the area's past.

If you plan to visit Bueno Aires in July, Caminito is the ideal place, as you will always find something tasty to eat, shows that will warm you up and a good dose of walking. One of the best things to do in winter in Buenos Aires.

In July, the winter holidays take place in Buenos Aires. This fills the city with activities to enjoy, many of them oriented to children. From theatre plays, circus shows, dance and museums that open their doors for free, to shows in open spaces. Although temperatures are usually quite low, it is unusual for them to drop below 10 degrees Celsius, so you can enjoy all the charm of the city.

In July, the Buenos Aires Children's Book Fair is also held, from July 11th to 31st. Every year, the Centro Cultural Kirchner opens its doors for this celebration of children's literature. If you are visiting during these dates, it is an excellent plan to do with children in Buenos Aires.

Like its adult version, the Children's Book Fair brings together authors and personalities from the publishing world for this celebration of art and literature.

The bohemian Buenos Aires is famous all over the world, and much of the inspiration of poets, playwrights and writers comes from the cafés. In order to preserve the charm of these old bars and cafés, full of history, the Argentinean government decided to highlight the most representative ones and group them under the name of "Cafés Notables".

Most of them are located in the area of Congreso and Centro Porteño, but you can also find them in San Telmo, Recoleta, Almagro, Flores, and other areas of the city. If you visit Buenos Aires in July, they can be a great way to escape from the cold while you get to know some of the history of the city. Here is a list of my favourites:

• Café Tortoni: without a doubt, the most famous café in Buenos Aires. Café Tortoni has seen tango singers, presidents, thinkers, artists, poets, famous actors and actresses. You should always save a moment for a coffee at the Tortoni.
• La Biela: located in the Recoleta neighbourhood, the Café La Biela was one of the places frequented by Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares. So much so that you can have your picture taken next to its realistic sculptures at one of its tables.
• Bar Británico: the old Bar Británico is one of the oldest in the city. Here, another literary figure, the writer Ernesto Sábato, used to sit and write some of his novels. In fact, the action of the book "Sobre Héroes y Tumbas" (On Heroes and Tombs) begins a few metres away from the café.
• Bar Los Galgos: located in the neighbourhood of Congreso, about 500 metres away from the majestic building of the National Congress, is the Bar Los Galgos. Another café with history that you can't miss. My recommendation: Have a vermouth at the bar and order some picadas.

Few cities in the world have such a fertile theatrical pole as Buenos Aires. Along the mythical Corrientes street you will find theatres, cafés, restaurants and bookshops, where you should stop and explore. With the low temperatures in July, you can stroll along Corrientes and attend a performance, the options are varied. Places like Paseo La Plaza offer different shows in one place.

Walking down Corrientes street, with all its marquees, neon lights, advertisements and stars on the floor, will make you feel like you are on Broadway. Get your tickets in advance online or diagonally across from the Obelisk, and after the show choose from one of the endless dining options. Here are some of the best pizzerias in town. If you want to try the typical Argentinean pizza, I recommend Guerrin orLas Cuartetas, both on Corrientes street.

This is definitely one of the best things to do at night in Buenos Aires.

But Buenos Aires is not only the capital, you can also take a tour around some of the most representative cities of the province. Undoubtedly, one of the most striking and picturesque is Mar del Plata. With a charm that combines the houses of the 19th century gentry with the most modern constructions, a layout of undulating streets and a perfect natural balcony facing the sea, Mar del Plata is a real pearl on the Argentinean coast.

If you visit the city in July you will need to warm up, so you can't miss a delicious snack of churros at Manolo or some pasta at Sorrentinería Véspoli, two classic places on the Mar del Plata gastronomic scene. You can also walk around the port and see the sea lion community, stroll along the promenade, visit the Aquarium or Villa Victoria, the home of writer Victoria Ocampo.

As you can see, Mar del Plata has hundreds of attractions and places worth visiting.

July in Buenos Aires tends to be a bit chilly, with temperatures hovering around 10 degrees Celsius. That's why I recommend you to visit one of the most modern neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. Puerto Madero is built entirely on land that was reclaimed from the Río de la Plata. Here you will find a wide range of restaurants, bars and cafés to face the cold weather, while you enjoy a totally relaxed atmosphere. Enjoy all the beauty of the city next to the yachts and small boats.

It is a perfect place to taste the typical Argentinean food. Although vegans and vegetarians can also find options here, meat lovers can be sure that they have arrived in paradise. On the banks of the canal you will find all kinds of first class steakhouses, where you can try the typical Argentinean cuts, those that have earned it its worldwide fame. Places like Rodizio, La Parolaccia, Siga la vaca or Estilo Campo are some of the best.

And if the culinary universe is your thing, I recommend you sign up for one of the best gastronomic tours in Buenos Aires.