This is a city that truly never sleeps. If you want to see a tango show, visit the neighborhood of San Telmo, where tango halls are filled with locals and tourists every night of the week. If you want to hang with the hip Porteños, head to the Costanera Norte, where the hottest nightclubs, like Pacha, Mint and Jet, sit nestled on the Rio de la Plata. There is a variety of Irish pubs and sports bars located in el centro and Recoleta, which is also home to the city’s red-light district.

International music acts have finally started to return to Buenos Aires following the economic collapse. Norah Jones, David Byrne and PJ Harvey have all played in town recently. There is also world-class opera, jazz, theater and museums in the city. Check the English-language Buenos Aires Herald or the other local papers, like La Nacíon and Clarin, for daily entertainment listings.

Your best bets for shopping are the pedestrian-only Calle Florida, located in the heart of downtown, and the elegant Avenida Alvear in Recoleta, where some of the world’s best-known designers, like Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani, have shops. Argentina is known for its high-quality leather goods, which can be found throughout the city, especially on Murillo Street in the neighborhood of Villa Crespo.

Soccer is the country’s most popular sport, of course, and matches are played throughout the week. Contact the English-speaking staff at Go Football, who specialize in bringing foreigners to matches. The national polo fields and the Hipodromo Argentino are located side by side in Palermo, where you can watch some of the world’s finest horses grunt it out on the field and in the dirt.