You are met at the Buenos Aires airport this morning upon arrival of your international flight and transferred to your hotel for a morning of rest. This afternoon you meet your guide in the lobby of your hotel, for a short orientation followed by a city tour. Your hotel is located in the very heart of Buenos Aires’ most elegant neighborhood. Just steps away from the Pilar Church, the Recoleta cemetery, art galleries, and hundreds of lively restaurants and bars, the hotel is ideally situated to take advantage of the city’s varied attractions and nightlife. Buenos Aires is undoubtedly the Latin American city that most resembles the cosmopolitan and aristocratic atmosphere of European capitals. Beyond this Buenos Aires, however, lies another one: the small, colored houses of La Boca and the tango that you see, live, and feel in the streets of San Telmo. This mixture, both modern and historical, makes Buenos Aires an irresistible metropolis.

The city walking tour includes the Avenida de Julio-arguably the widest avenue in the world; the Plaza de Mayo-home to the presidential building; and the Casa Rosada or Pink House, where the mothers of Plaza de Mayo have famously marched for years in protest over the disappearance of their children during the military dictatorship. You explore the bohemian district of San Telmo and the old port of La Boca—home to La Bombonera, one of Argentina’s most famous soccer stadiums and home of Boca, one of the most revered soccer teams in the country. Exploring the city’s highlights through a cultural perspective culminates with a visit to the famous Recoleta Cemetery, where you discover the “streets” of ornate mausoleums.

You celebrate your arrival in Buenos Aires with dinner and drinks at an exclusive tango venue, El Viejo Almacén. It has been said that only in Buenos Aires could the tango be born. Only in this haunting city of immigrants could music of such emotional depth spring forth and take hold of a population.

You begin the day with a 1½-hour drive to the traditional gaucho town of San Antonio de Areco for un dia de campo, or a day in the country. San Antonio de Areco is located in the pampas, or fertile grasslands, surrounding Buenos Aires. En route, your guide recounts the fascinating history and traditions of the gaucho (loosely translated as cowboy) before stopping for a visit to the gaucho museum. You absorb the local life as you walk through the park and small townfamous for its silver, rope, and leather workshops. You may catch a glimpse of the skilled artists at work and stop in for a cortado (espresso cut with a dash of hot milk) at the old general store. You continue on to a private estancia, or ranch. Dating back to the 1800s, many ranches in this area were used as post-houses or wayside inns on the Camino Real-the Royal Road-from Buenos Aires to the north of the country. You are welcomed with freshly made empanadas and refreshment as you watch a gaucho demonstration.

For lunch you savor a typical Argentine asado, or barbecue of fine beef, and sip wines under a canopy of ancient trees on the lush lawn of the estancia. Following a leisurely meal, you have the option of a short but scenic walk through the surrounding pampas on foot, or you can saddle up a well-tempered criollo horse and explore the area in true gaucho style, or you may remain at the estancia to simply relax and absorb the wide-open views of the pampas. Dinner, later this evening after returning to Buenos Aires, is at a restaurant within walking distance of your hotel.

If continuing on to the Argentina: Mendoza & Patagonia tour, you rise early this morning and transfer to the domestic airport for the approximately 2-hour flight west to the city of Mendoza. Upon arrival in Mendoza, you are transferred to Lares des Chacras—the meeting point for your tour.