The ultimate guide to Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, the mesmerizing capital of Argentina, is the ideal gateway to South America. Famous for its grandiose European architecture in a lush subtropical setting, it combines French and Italianate palaces with luxuriant parks brimming with exotic palo borracho trees and elegant jacarandas blushing violet in spring and summer. The best time to visit is October and November or March to May (remember the seasons are reversed from those of the northern hemisphere) but even the summer is bearable thanks to breezes from the golden expanses of the River Plate, whose waters lap the edges of this great metropolis. This is a city for shoppers and theatre goers, for opera aficionados and soccer fans, for wine connoisseurs and carnivores - though vegetarians and vegans will definitely not go hungry. Evita and Maradonna, Carlos Gardel and all the great tango musicians can be tracked down in ornate cemeteries or as iconic portraits in murals and street art. The best of Latin American art and some of the finest crafts on the continent can be admired or even invested in. If you want to know just the hotel for you (stylish boutique or grand classic?), where to eat the best beef on the planet or try the best malbec, trust in me. For the past 30 years I have lived on and off in this marvellous city and I know it better than most of its 16 million inhabitants. When should you explore the antique market of San Telmo or avoid the gritty barrio of La Boca, how can you see a football derby without any hassle, those are all things I can answer for you. I look to planning your trip of a lifetime to one of the great bucketlist cities of the world.