I went in December 2010. Spent a week in Buenos Aires & would love to go again. In general, it’s got a ton of places to soak in the ambiance. The Palermo area (there are a couple neighborhoods: Palermo Soho, Palermo Hollywood if memory serves) is a fun area with lots of bars/restaurants/shopping. Also enjoyed San Telmo, with its open air market (Sunday I think) around Plaza Dorrego. La Boca has the colorfully painted buildings but I wouldn’t put it at the top of the list. If you are into soccer, Boca Juniors is Right there too. Recoleta with its mansions and famous cemetery (Eva Perón’s grave is there) is worth the visit.
If you are going with locals, they’ll have a much better list of things to do than I. Try the Freddo gelato, hit up a steak place (parrilla) with a bottle of Malbec (or whatever red you prefer). On our last evening, we hit up a parrilla and went to a tango show. After the tango show, we headed to a local bar where there were people dancing. Big fun. Not sure what the exchange rate is these days, but it was worth the money for us.
There are some seedy areas but you can avoid them. We felt pretty safe even at night in most areas. It helps to speak Spanish of course but I assume your friends will help.
I’m envious. Next time we go, we’ll prob spend 4 or 5 days in BA and then try to hit the wine region and then head on to Chile.
