10 interesting facts about Buenos Aires
- Avenida 9 de Julio, wandering through the center of the Microcentre (downtown) is the widest street in the world at an imposing sixteen lanes.
- Clothing is very expensive in Buenos Aires, mostly because it’s imported and Argentina has high import taxes. But you can get great shoes for great prices, since they’re mostly made within the country. Electronics and other imported goods are very expensive, compared to the prices we see at home.
- Official language: Spanish.
- Argentineans sleep in. It’s not unusual for people to show up to work at 10 a.m. or later, and on Saturdays you rarely see anyone outside on the streets until about noon.
- In Buenos Aires, Tango music and its trademark dance moves were invented in the 1920s. Since tango was frowned upon, places that played tango were brothels and poorer suburbs.
- Population: 3,000,000 (city); 13,000,000 (metro area).
- When you order a coffee or tea, you always get two things with it: a small glass of sparkling water (sometimes it’s still, though) and a little biscuit, cookie or special treat.
- There is a major shortage of coins in Buenos Aires, which means that sometimes vendors will either not sell something to you or let you have it for less than the price in order to keep their coins. When you pay with coins, you practically get invited over for dinner.
- While high-fashion is very prominent on the streets of Buenos Aires, it’s also very common to see people in sweats or gym clothes, which is very unlike most of the places we’ve been in Europe and much more like the U.S.
- The Argentinean greeting is a kiss on the cheek (just one). Everyone does this - even men with men.
