Spending 5 weeks in Buenos Aires and surrounding starting January 2024

So you know exactly where I’m talking about, in 2016 we stayed at the Scala hotel in the San Telmo area. It is a working class neighborhood but we felt perfectly safe and walked most everywhere. For places a little further away, like La Boca or Recoleta, we took the bus.

While it could change depending on the outcome of the election (and I would wait until the second round is called before booking anything non-refundable - it is planned for 19 Nov), are you aware of the currency situation in the country? It is a major hassle for a long trip.
Basically, you can use a credit card BUT you pay an inflated exchange rate if you do so, 3x the real rate that is available in the street (the "black market rate", if you will, but at this stage it is basically official and all newspapers report it!). Same if you withdraw cash at an ATM.
To circumvent the problem, the safest way is to wire yourself some money in USD through Western Union who will pay you in Argentine Pesos at the real rate, but since the highest denomination is worth $2, you can only do relatively small amounts each time, maybe $500 or less. Sure, you pay fees and don't get the best rates, but you don't have to deal with street changers either.

In theory you do not have to go through this, but your stay would cost almost 3x as much if you do not, so...

In past visits I've stayed in La Boca at a boutique hotel and rented a 1-bdrm in a highrise near Recoleta. Bus system makes it easy and cheap to get around, taxis are still pretty cheap and even easier.

The MALBA museum has a lot of special events and the community center next to the cemetery has even more, great for cultural encounters and meeting people.

If you have a freezer section in the fridge, buy gelato in bulk quantities like the locals do! There are discounts timed for when people get their checks.

Best lunch spots are where the office professionals go in the centro -- they are often in courtyards not visible from the street.

The tours to Tigre are mostly tourist traps; much better to take the coastal train yourself to San Isidro and wander around the neighborhood near the cathedral park.

We stayed both in downtown and in Recoleta hotels. I strongly recommend staying in Recoleta especially for safety reasons. We left the city center as we did feel safe and were harassed. We have happily lived in several US cities without ever feeling that way.

I was just in N Argentina 3 months ago around Puerto Iguacu and Posadas before crossing into Paraguay at Encarnation. I would say that you should try and use your foreign credit card where ever you can in Argentina since foreigners are not charged some of the taxes when paying with a cc. Actual examples that I encountered:
- hotel booked in Posadas via booking.com for $74.7 ended up being about $43.40
- boat ride into the falls - price listed and paid seemed to be about $40 but ended up at 19.64
- hotel in Puerto Iguacu - booked at $577.5 (2 rooms) on Booking.com ended up being $345.57 on the cc

Google to educate yourself on the "blue dollar". Overall, you will be far better off using your cc than paying in cash

Edit - I'm not sure if the situation has changed, but my experience was from the middle of July. I believe the cc exchange rate is more closely tied to the blackmarket or blue $ rate rather than the official exchange rate.

Thank you all for all the advise and suggestions. Yes, we have been reading about the financial situation regarding the exchange rate etc, official versus "blue". Should be interesting and the election was yesterday..Now there's a runoff!
We seem to be leaning on staying in SanTelmo area or Palermo.

It’s been a while but in 2008 I stayed downtown on Avenida de Mayo and the location was perfect with a balcony over looking the leafy street and the elegant Café Tortoni across the street. We got around by the Subte (underground) and taxis. Busses are confusing since you need to know where to catch it and when to get off. Knowing some Spanish is a plus.
La Brigada in San Telmo has one of the best steaks I’ve eaten that you can cut with a spoon. Do your homework before going so you know what cut of meat to order. For dessert, get the dulce de leche, this is the way dulce de leche should taste. Brasserie Petanque located on the corner of Mexico and Defensa was another great find. My beef béarnaise was perfection.
Do visit the milongas (bars and cafes where people not performers tango). Also take a day trip on the Buquebus hydrofoil to Colonia, Uruguay. You must walk a bit to get to the walled city but this area is worth it and where English is spoken widely.
Don’t miss strolling through La Boca where life-size paper-maché people lean out of windows and stand on balconies.
In Recoleta enjoy a coffee or meal beneath a huge, old, rubber tree at La Biela café in Plaza Francia. The Recoleta Cemetery that houses Argentina’s wealthy and famous dead faces Plaza Francia.

Thank you so much for all the tips! We will definitely take advantage and put this in our trip folder!

Google to educate yourself on the "blue dollar". Overall, you will be far better off using your cc than paying in cash
Edit - I'm not sure if the situation has changed, but my experience was from the middle of July. I believe the cc exchange rate is more closely tied to the blackmarket or blue $ rate rather than the official exchange rate.

Ha, then they finally implemented a system to favor foreign cc - it had been discussed for a long time. I was not aware of this.
That definitely makes things much easier!

We did 6 days in Buenos Aires prior to our wonderful Around the Horn cruise to Chile in 2014. It was great.

Sorry, I can't imagine spending 5 weeks there.

One thing to warn you about BA. Find out what neighborhoods to avoid, there are several. We took a bus to the Boca neighborhood and decided to walk back to city center. WRONG idea, after passing the soccer stadium, the neighborhood deteriorated and we realized we needed to get out. Finally, a taxi came by and we flagged it down.

Later, our B&B owner told us that the neighborhood was NOT one to visit. There are more, be careful.

We did enjoy some of the good areas. Also, did a great tango show.
https://secretsofbuenosaires.com/best-tango-show-in-buenos-aires/

Also, consider a trip to Uruguay to visit Montevideo and another city west of that city that I can't remember the name, there are ferries that go there.

Buenos Aires is a great city to visit, but I also want to put a plug in for Salta which is in the northwest. It has a different feel than Buenos Aires and was a nice contrast (it's also very walkable). I would also highly recommend seeing Iguazu Falls. Given the large distances between these places, I had to take internal flights to each. But they were all very worthwhile.

In Buenos Aires, I stayed in San Telmo and in Palermo and enjoyed both neighborhoods. If I was staying as long as you're planning, I would probably pick a few places just to experience the feel of different neighborhoods.

We were there in March of this year. The exchange rate for foreign credit cards was good. The prior year that would not have been the case. The Trip Advisor forum was very helpful as the situation was fluid and uncertain before our trip. It was important to stay on top of the situation.

We took $1000 in cash (something I never do) so we could exchange for Argentine currency in case the credit cards went back to giving a poor exchange rate. (Fortunately, they did not.) This was easy to do at an exchange place recommended by our hotel. We exchanged $300 dollars and received a huge stack of Argentine pesos in return. We came home with 500 pesos, which is worth less than $2.

Buenos Aires is a very interesting city. However, it is not my cup of tea. There are some very pretty parts, but overall it was in attractive and full of litter. I can’t imagine spending more than a week there, and I wouldn’t even choose to do that. My view is colored by the fact that I do not enjoy large cities, and I hate hot weather. It was extremely hot when we’re were there (mid 90s).

On the positive side, the people are wonderful.

Thank you so much for your advice about the neighborhoods especially. We are definitely considering Palermo, Recoleta and San Telmo. Perhaps 7-8 days in each. We love getting to know a city this way. Also are looking at short trips outside BA and your suggestions are most helpful. We have, or rather I have more than a smattering of Spanish, having studied it in school and lived with a Mexican family eons ago. Will definitely brush up tho, thinking of one of the online courses.