Buenos Aires deserves time. Five days is enough to see the major sights without turning it into a race, and the city is best experienced on foot, with long lunches, cafés, neighbourhood wandering and at least one late night.

Day 1 — Historic Buenos Aires

Start in the heart of the city:

• Plaza de Mayo
• Casa Rosada
• Metropolitan Cathedral
• Avenida de Mayo
• Obelisk
• Teatro Colón
• Calle Florida
• GUM-style grandeur, Buenos Aires version: Galerías Pacífico

Finish around Puerto Madero for an evening walk and dinner.

Day 2 — La Boca and San Telmo

Spend the morning in La Boca.

Walk through colourful Caminito, see the murals and old immigrant houses, and visit La Bombonera, home of Boca Juniors. La Boca developed around the old port and its strong Genoese immigrant community, which is still reflected in the neighbourhood’s identity. (Buenos Aires Tourism)

Continue to San Telmo, one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, with cobbled streets, historic houses, cafés, antique shops and tango. If you’re there on a Sunday, the San Telmo market and street fair are worth planning around. (Buenos Aires Tourism)

Stay for dinner and, if you want one, a tango show.

Day 3 — Recoleta and Palermo

Start in elegant Recoleta:

• Recoleta Cemetery
• Avenida Alvear
• Floralis Genérica
• El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore
• nearby museums if you want more culture

Then continue to Palermo.

Spend the afternoon around:

• Palermo Soho
• Palermo Hollywood
• Botanical Garden
• parks and lakes
• street art
• cafés, bars and boutiques

Recoleta and Palermo work well together and show a much more relaxed side of the city than the historic centre. (Buenos Aires Tourism)

Day 4 — Buenos Aires Culture

Use this day for the places that interest you most.

Visit the Evita Museum, learn more about Eva Perón and Argentina’s political history, then explore some of the city’s architecture and museums.

You could include:

• Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
• MALBA
• Palacio Barolo
• Teatro Colón tour
• Congress building
• one of Buenos Aires’ historic cafés

Finish with a proper Argentine dinner — steak if that’s your thing, empanadas, provoleta and Malbec — or hunt down the city’s excellent pastries and ice cream instead.

Day 5 — Tigre or More Buenos Aires

For a change of pace, take the train north to Tigre and the Paraná Delta.

Spend the day around the waterways, take a boat trip through the delta and explore the town before returning to Buenos Aires.

Alternatively, stay in the city and spend your final day revisiting the neighbourhood you liked most.

Buenos Aires isn’t really a city where you run out of things to do.

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If You Have Extra Days

Tigre — 1 extra day

If you didn’t use Day 5 for Tigre, add it here. It is one of the easiest escapes from central Buenos Aires.

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay — 1–2 days

Take the ferry across the Río de la Plata to Colonia, a compact historic town with cobbled streets, colonial buildings and an old quarter that’s easy to explore on foot.

Montevideo, Uruguay — 2–3 days

Continue across the river to Montevideo for its old town, markets, waterfront rambla and a much slower pace than Buenos Aires.

Adding Paraguay

Paraguay is much further away, so I wouldn’t treat it as a casual Buenos Aires day trip. It makes more sense as a 4–7 day extension involving a flight or incorporating it into a longer overland South America route.

Asunción — 2–3 days

Asunción is Paraguay’s capital and one of South America’s older cities, founded in 1537. Spend time exploring the historic centre, museums, government buildings, markets, parks and the Paraguay River waterfront. (Visit Paraguay)

It’s not packed with blockbuster tourist attractions, which is actually part of the appeal. You get a much more everyday South American city experience.

Encarnación — 2 days

Head south to Encarnación, on the Paraná River opposite Argentina.

The main reason to come this way is to visit the nearby Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue, some of Paraguay’s most important historic sites.

Encarnación itself has a riverfront beach, promenade and relaxed atmosphere.

Ciudad del Este and Iguazú — 2–3 days

Ciudad del Este sits on Paraguay’s border with Brazil, close to Argentina as well.

The city itself is hectic and highly commercial, but it fits well into a trip incorporating:

• Iguazú Falls
• Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil
• Puerto Iguazú in Argentina
• Itaipu Dam

Rather than flying Buenos Aires → Asunción → Buenos Aires, a better extended route would be:

Buenos Aires → Asunción → Encarnación → Ciudad del Este → Iguazú Falls → Buenos Aires

Allow roughly 10–14 days beyond your Buenos Aires stay if you want to do that properly.

For a shorter South American extension, I would choose Colonia + Montevideo before Paraguay. For a bigger trip, Paraguay works particularly well when linked with Iguazú Falls, rather than as a standalone side trip from Buenos Aires.