Q&A: Gay-Friendly Spots in Buenos Aires

Joao Pina for The New York Times
Q.

My boyfriend and I plan to take a two-week wedding trip to Argentina around Thanksgiving. We’d like to spend part of the time in Buenos Aires, with a side trip or two. And we’d enjoy some time at a nice beach. Any recommendations for some gay-friendly destinations?

Zach Patton, Washington

A.

Buenos Aires is a sprawling city with 48 barrios, so you’ll want to concentrate on a handful of neighborhoods. It’s best to get around on foot, or by metro (www.subte.com.ar) or taxi.

According to Frommer’s (the online content partner of the Times’s Travel section), Buenos Aires has become “a major Latin American gay-tourism mecca.” You can find listings of gay and gay-friendly venues at G-Maps (gmaps360.com) and at the Buenos Aires Gay Travel Guide (thegayguide.com.ar).

Consider staying at the Axel Hotel (axelhotels.com), which welcomes a gay clientele in the bohemian neighborhood of San Telmo. This is one of the city’s oldest barrios, with cobblestone streets, boutiques, 19th-century buildings and some of the best tango halls in the city.

Take a walk along the pedestrian Calle Florida in Microcentro, the city’s core, and enjoy the sidewalk shows in the evening. Next, visit the Plaza de Mayo area, the historical and political center, where you’ll find the Casa Rosada (Presidential Palace) with Eva Perón’s famous balcony. Later, dine at the friendly Inside Resto-Bar (Bartolomé Mitre Street 1571; 54-11-4372-5439; www.restaurantinside.com.ar), with tango shows (and several stripper shows). In Palermo, the city’s largest district, visit the 400-acre Parque Tres de Febrero (known as Los Bosques de Palermo), where residents picnic, sunbathe, bicycle and jog, and stroll through El Rosedal, a romantic rose garden, and along the park’s lake, where you can rent a boat. Don’t miss Malba (malba.org.ar), the Latin American contemporary art museum, then head to Sitges (Av. Cordoba 4119), a large, popular gay bar that features drag shows on weekends.

Cafes are plentiful in Recoleta, an exclusive shopping and residential neighborhood. Here, you can visit La Recoleta Cemetery, where some of the city’s wealthiest and best-known citizens, including Eva Perón, are buried. Take a break at Milión (Paraná 1048; 54-11-4815-9925), an elegant, gay-friendly bar that occupies three floors of a renovated old mansion.

Frommer’s recommends several side trips, including the Tigre Delta (about an hour north), “a beautiful complex of islands and marshland full of small bed-and-breakfasts, resorts and adventure trails.” Another option is San Antonio de Areco (about two hours north), a great place to experience Argentina’s gaucho culture. Or take a ferry (one hour high-speed or two-and-a-half-hour ferry) across Río de la Plata, to Colonia, in Uruguay, a small and romantic colonial town (and Unesco World Heritage site) with cobblestone streets, museums, galleries and antiques shops. It may not be warm enough for the beach in November (spring in Argentina) but at Mar del Plata, a popular seaside resort about five hours south of Buenos Aires, you can enjoy the colonial architecture, parks, gardens and night life at any time of the year.