Fast Facts

American Express -- The enormous American Express building is located next to Plaza San Martín, at Arenales 707 (tel. 11/4312-1661). The travel agency is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm; the bank is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. In addition to card-member services, the bank offers currency exchange, money orders, check cashing, and refunds.

Area Code -- The city area code for Buenos Aires, known locally as a característica, is 011. Drop the 0 when calling from overseas with Argentina's country code, 54. A 15 in front of a local number indicates a cellular phone. This will need the addition of the 011 when calling from outside of Buenos Aires but within Argentina. Also see "Telephone."

Business Hours -- Banks are open weekdays from 10am to 3pm. Shopping hours are weekdays from 9am to 8pm and Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Shopping centers are open daily from 10am to 10pm. Some small family-owned stores close for lunch, though this is becoming rarer, especially in the Microcentro.

Currency -- Although U.S. dollars are often accepted in major hotels and businesses catering to tourists, you will need Argentine pesos for ordinary transactions. Credit cards are widely used, although some businesses charge a small additional fee for the convenience. It's easiest to change money at the airport, your hotel, or an independent exchange house rather than at an Argentine bank. Traveler's checks can be difficult to cash: American Express offers the best rates on its traveler's checks and charges no commission. ATMs are plentiful in Buenos Aires, but you should only use those in secure, well-lit locations. At some ATMs you can withdraw pesos or dollars. Even if your bank has a high withdrawal limit, many Argentine ATMs do not dispense more than 500 pesos at a time, about US$160 (£84). You can also have money wired to Western Union, Av. Córdoba 917 (tel. 0800/800-3030).

Driving Rules -- In cities, Argentines drive exceedingly fast and do not always obey traffic lights or lanes. Seat belts are mandatory, although few Argentines actually wear them. When driving outside the city, remember that autopista means motorway or highway, and paso means mountain pass. Don't drive in rural areas at night, as cattle sometimes overtake the road to keep warm and are nearly impossible to see.

Drugstores -- Ask your hotel where the nearest pharmacy (farmacia) is; they are generally ubiquitous in city centers, and there is always at least one open 24 hours. In Buenos Aires the Farmacity chain is open 24 hours, with locations at Lavalle 919 (tel. 11/4821-3000) and Av. Santa Fe 2830 (tel. 11/4821-0235). Farmacity will also deliver to your hotel.

Electricity -- If you plan to bring a hair dryer, travel iron, or any other small appliance, pack a transformer and adapters because electricity in Argentina runs on 220 volts. Note that most laptops operate on both 110 and 220 volts. Be aware that there are two kinds of outlets in Argentina, the round two-prong European-style, and the Australian-style slanted flat-prong kind. Some hotels will have both throughout a room. It is necessary to have both adapters as you will not know what to expect. These adapters can be cheaply bought throughout Buenos Aires. Luxury hotels usually have transformers and adapters available, as well as American-style plugs at workstations and desks.

Embassies -- U.S. Embassy, Av. Colombia 4300 (tel. 11/4774-5333); Australian Embassy, Villanueva 1400 (tel. 11/4777-6580); Canadian Embassy, Tagle 2828 (tel. 11/4805-3032); New Zealand Embassy, Carlos Pellegrini 1427, fifth floor (tel. 11/4328-0747); United Kingdom Embassy, Luis Agote 2412 (tel. 11/4803-6021).

Emergencies -- The following emergency numbers are valid throughout Argentina. For an ambulance, call tel. 107; in case of fire, call tel. 100; for police assistance, call tel. 101. These numbers are free from any phone. For an English-speaking hospital, call Clínica Suisso Argentino (tel. 11/4304-1081). The tourist police (tel. 11/4346-5770) are located at Av. Corrientes 436. They also have a national toll-free number (tel. 0800/999-0500).

Internet Access -- Cyberspots have begun to pop up on seemingly every corner in Buenos Aires and are found in other cities as well, so it won't be hard to stay connected while in Argentina. Access is reasonably priced (usually averaging under US$1/50p per hour) and connections are reliably good. Internet access is also available in many telecentros and locutorios, communication stores that have numerous telephones in glass booths and a running meter keeping track of charges for your phone calls where you pay after your call instead of putting in money beforehand. In-room high-speed Internet access is becoming standard in most hotels, but bring a DSL cable with you just in case the hotel runs short of them. Most luxury and even budget hotels now also have Wi-Fi access within lobbies and other public areas.

Language -- Within most shops, hotels, and restaurants in Buenos Aires that cater to tourists, you will almost always find English-speaking staff. However, this is not always the rule in nontouristy places or in budget hotels and restaurants. Argentines speak Spanish, which locally is not called español as in other countries, but is instead referred to as castellano. Argentine Spanish differs from other countries in its pronunciation of the ll and y not as a y but as English speakers would pronounce a j. The word vos is substituted for the informal tú (both meaning "you" in English), but Argentines happily understand if you do not use vos when speaking Spanish with them. They're just glad you've tried at all.

Laundry -- Nearly all hotels will have both laundry and dry-cleaning services. This service can be very expensive in luxury hotels, as much as US$10 (£5.30) a garment. Self-service Laundromats are rare in the city, but wash-and-folds are common and are called lavanderías. A load of laundry washed, dried, and folded usually runs about US$2 to US$3 (£1.05-£1.60). Dry cleaners are called tintorerías. A suit will run about US$3 to US$4 (£1.60-£2.10).

Mail -- You never have to venture more than a few blocks in Buenos Aires to find a post office, which are open weekdays from 10am to 8pm and Saturday from 10am until 1pm. The main post office (Correo Central) is at Av. Sarmiento 151 (tel. 11/4311-5040). In addition, the post office works with some locutorios that offer limited mailing services. Airmail postage for a letter 20 grams or less from Argentina to North America, Europe and other countries is 4 pesos, or about US$1.35 (80p). The price for letters trends high after this -- for instance, a 30-gram letter is about US$3 (£1.60). Parcel rates, however, can be inexpensive, as little as US$15 (£7.95) for a one-kilogram package. Mail takes on average between 7 and 10 days to get to the U.S. or Europe. The purple-signed and ubiquitous OCA is a private postal service with significantly more expensive mailing rates than the government post office.

Maps -- Reliable driving maps can be purchased at the offices of the Automóvil Club Argentino, Av. del Libertador 1850, in Buenos Aires (tel. 11/4802-6061 or 11/4802-7071). Great laminated city maps of Buenos Aires on various themes such as tango and dining are available from the Argentine company De Dios (tel. 11/4816-3514; www.dediosonline.com). Free maps are available at hotels, tourism kiosks, restaurants, and shops all over Buenos Aires. Within Palermo Viejo, most venues have free themed maps on shopping, sites, and restaurants specifically for that area. Within each area of this book, if there are specialized maps by neighborhood or theme, I generally mention this as well.

Safety -- Petty crime has increased significantly in Buenos Aires as a result of Argentina's economic crisis. Travelers should watch out for pickpockets and purse-snatchers on the streets and on subways, buses, and trains. Tourists should take care not to be overly conspicuous, walking in pairs or groups when possible. Avoid demonstrations, strikes, and other political gatherings if they appear to be violent, though the vast majority of these are safe and peaceful. In Buenos Aires, it's not recommended that you hail taxis off the street. You should call for a radio-taxi instead. Particular areas of the city considered to be unsafe, which I discuss in detail in this guide, are parts of Monserrat, especially at night, and La Boca. Parts of San Telmo have historically been considered dangerous, but in general that is no longer true. However, you should still take precautions. Particular caution should be taken when using the Constitución train station or while in that neighborhood, though I do not discuss it touristically except in terms of a side trip to La Plata. In an emergency, call tel. 100 for police assistance. This is a free call. With the increase in tourism, Buenos Aires has also engaged in a massive police-hiring program to ensure tourist safety, so you are generally never more than a block or two away from a police officer. In the event of an incident where you cannot find an officer, go to a hotel, restaurant, or shop and ask them to call the police for you. If you take a tour and feel you've been the victim of fraud or misrepresentation of any kind by businesses serving tourists, or you have been the victim of a taxi scam, the tourism office has a special number for reporting this. The program is called Buenos Aires Te Protégé, Buenos Aires Protects You, and it can be called toll-free at tel. 0800/999-2838.

Smoking -- Until the passing of an antismoking law in November of 2006, smoking was a pervasive aspect of Argentine society. While few laws in Argentina are followed, this one has had unprecedented success. While outdoor dining has always been popular in Buenos Aires, it has renewed popularity with smokers (reversing the trend before where nonsmokers sought refuge outdoors from indoor smoke.) Some restaurants also have smoking and nonsmoking sections, but those are few and far between. That said, you will still see people lighting up in bars and discos now and then, but never in the numbers seen before. Moreover, depending on your opinion of smoking, the milongas, or tango halls, so associated with cigarette smoking, have either improved or not.

Taxes -- Argentina's value added tax (VAT), which is abbreviated locally as IVA, is 21%. You can recover this 21% at the airport if you have purchased local products totaling more than 70 pesos (per invoice) from stores participating in tax-free shopping. Forms are available at the airport. Ask when making purchases or look for the TAX-FREE sign in the store's window. Most shops catering to tourists will gladly explain the procedure to you and provide you with the special receipts you'll need to present to Customs when leaving the country.

Telephone -- The country code for Argentina is 54. The city area code for Buenos Aires, known locally as a característica, is 011. Drop the 0 when calling from overseas with Argentina's country code, 54. You will, however, need to use the 011 when calling within Argentina but from outside of Buenos Aires. A 15 in front of a local number indicates a cellphone. Dialing this from overseas is tricky. You do not use the 15 at all. Instead, dial 54 for the country code, then 9, which indicates to the system you want a cellphone, and then 11 for Buenos Aires, and then the eight-digit Buenos Aires cellphone number. When making domestic long-distance calls in Argentina, place a 0 before the area code. For international calls, add 00 before the country code. Calls to the U.S. and Canada would begin with a 001, then the city area code, then the normal seven-digit phone number.

Take note that in 2000, Buenos Aires went from a seven-digit-phone-number system to an eight-digit one, with most numbers beginning with a 4. Many people, however, still give out seven-digit phone numbers, and some businesses list such numbers on their windows. If someone gives you a seven-digit number, ask if a 4 or another number belongs in front of it for clarification, as with ever-expanding faxes and other communication systems, many numbers are now starting with a 5 or a 6. Adding to the confusion is the fact that phone numbers in the provinces can have anywhere from six to eight digits.

Direct dialing to North America and Europe is available from most phones. International, as well as domestic, calls are expensive in Argentina, especially from hotels (rates fall 10pm-8am). Holders of AT&T credit cards can reach the money-saving USA Direct from Argentina by calling toll-free tel. 0800/555-4288 from the north of Argentina or tel. 0800/222-1288 from the south. Similar services are offered by MCI (tel. 0800/555-1002) and Sprint (tel. 0800/555-1003 from the north of Argentina, or tel. 0800/222-1003 from the south).

Unless you are calling from your hotel (which will be expensive), the easiest way to place calls in Buenos Aires is by going to a locutorio or telecentro, found on nearly every city block. Private glass booths allow you to place as many calls as you like, dialing directly, after which you pay an attendant. A running meter tells you what you'll owe. Most locutorios also have fax machines and broadband Internet computers. Calls to the U.S. or Canada generally run about a peso or less per minute.

There are some coin-operated public phones in Buenos Aires, but most require a calling card, available at kiosks, which are specifically branded for the various communication companies. These cards, which access a system via a toll-free number, are significantly cheaper than even a locutorio, sometimes running as little as 10¢ (5p) a minute for calls to North America or Europe. Note that distance does not always bear a relationship to call rates: Calls to other parts of South America and even the provinces within Argentina can cost two to six times that of calls to North America or Europe! Local calls, like all others, are charged by the minute. Connections using calling cards can be tenuous, either statical or easily disconnecting as they get patched through various telephonic systems.

Dial tel. 110 for information, tel. 000 to reach an international operator. To dial another number in Argentina from Buenos Aires, dial the area code first, then the local number, the same process for dialing cellular numbers. Be aware that phone numbers in the provinces can have as few as five digits or as many as eight digits, so ask for clarification when a number seems unusual to you.

Note:If you call someone's cellphone in Argentina, the call is also charged to you, and can cost significantly more than calling a standard land line. It's a good idea to be sure you have either a high-value calling card when trying a cellphone or use a locutorio so you are not cut off while calling, if the call is important.

Time -- Argentina does not adopt daylight saving time, so the country is 1 hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States during the Northern Hemisphere summer and 2 hours ahead in the Northern Hemisphere winter. Argentines, being Latinos, do not always run on time. It is rare for events with large numbers of people to start on time, so expect schedule glitches, and make allowances accordingly. However, if you are late for an appointment, expect that someone will be taken in your place and you will be even further delayed. Planes are generally on time, but trains and buses can usually be delayed a few minutes. I would not recommend, however, that you head to stations late with this in mind. Argentina also uses military time (the 24-hr. clock) in virtually all transactions, schedules, and social gatherings.

Tipping -- A 10% tip is expected at cafes and restaurants, 15% for better service and in fancy places. Give at least US$1 (50p) to bellboys and porters, 5% to hairdressers, and leftover change to taxi drivers by rounding up to the nearest peso or 50 centavo mark above the charge. Leave about a US$1 (50p) a day for maid service at hotels, more in fancy places. Bartenders do not expect a tip; when they get them, it is a happy surprise.

Water -- The water is perfectly safe to drink in Buenos Aires. It's not to everyone's taste, however, and bottled water is very cheap.