Buenos Aires Or São Paulo?

KingFriday013 · Fri May 18, 2012 10:24 pm

I hate comparing things that have so many different aspects, but I'm curious. If you could visit Buenos Aires or São Paulo for 3-5 days (but you don't have all the money in the world), which one (and only one) would you pick and why? I'm trying get opinions from a tourist perspective, and thinking about things like costs (excluding flights but including lodging et al.), food, sights, and safety. If you're from either of these places: why should (or shouldn't!) someone visit your city?

Thanks

-J.

zhiao · Fri May 18, 2012 11:02 pm

BA.

Sao Paulo is ugly.

Longhornmaniac · Fri May 18, 2012 11:21 pm

No question. BA.

Cheers,
Cameron

fxramper · Sat May 19, 2012 2:25 am

I value life, so Sao Paulo.

Airstud · Sat May 19, 2012 2:56 am

Buenos Aires - it's more storied.

Home of the tango, the Paris of South America, locus of the Belle Epoque...

São Paulo I know nothing about. And how did that happen? (The answer to that question is the answer to your travel question.)

PPVRA · Sat May 19, 2012 3:29 am

I am from Sao Paulo and as much as I like the city, I can tell you it's not a tourist destination. It's an interesting city and it does have a few things to see and do even for tourists, but it's something you'd do as a tag on to your trip to Rio or Buenos Aires if you have a couple extra days.

You should go to BA, or maybe Rio instead of Sao Paulo.

Pyrex · Sat May 19, 2012 5:30 am

Quoting KingFriday013 (Thread starter):
thinking about things like costs

In that case... Buenos Aires. São Paulo is, right now, quite possibly the most expensive city in the world. Even with an expense account I can barely afford anything when I am there for business.

Quoting KingFriday013 (Thread starter):
food

Buenos Aires might have good, cheap steak, but São Paulo has amazing food of all sorts. You have truly magnificent (and magnificently expensive) restaurants there, with cuisines from all over the world. It all depends of what type of foodie you are

Quoting zhiao (Reply 1):
Sao Paulo is ugly.

It might be, ugly, dirty and absolutely chaotic (you don't know what traffic is until you have been to SP) but it is also a vibrant city with lots of energy and amazing restaurants, hotels, bars, etc. Kind of like New Yõrk, really - one of the world's great metropolis.

That said, if you happen to be in the area for business extending your stay in São Paulo for a couple of days might not be a bad idea, but for a vacation there are much better places...

Quoting fxramper (Reply 3):
I value life, so Sao Paulo.

Not sure Buenos Aires is that more dangerous than São Paulo (if at all) but as much as I would love to visit Buenos Aires and Patagonia I would be afraid of getting harassed by the cash-sniffing dogs on the border, on the way out... not sure how much my desire to visit those places trumps my desire to make sure CfK does not see any more hard currency.

777222LR · Sat May 19, 2012 6:03 am

Buenos Aires for sure. BA is the Paris of the Americas. Beautiful city, with a real old world latin charm to it. Walking through Recoleta I feel like I've gone back to the 1950's, in a very nice sort of way. Food is great as well, and not terribly expensive, at least it wasn't when I was there a few years ago.

I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in BA, but I'm sure there are hundreds of places that are cheaper than that. Also, a big thing that a lot of young American tourists do is find rentals on local websites. They are often much cheaper than hotels, bigger, and are very close to where you want to be.

Ezieza is a craphole however. It's like being in the bowels of LHR T4.

Also, you don't have to go through the Brazilian Visa issue, although you will have to pay a pretty hefty (124.00 I think) reciprocity fee when you land in Buenos Aires.

You are also only a 20 min flight to Montevideo on AA.

777222LR · Sat May 19, 2012 1:33 pm

Having said that, you might also want to consider Santiago, Chile. BEAUTIFUL city with a more mountainous setting. Great food, wine, etc. Generally, I believe it it somewhat cheaper than Argentina. The airport is one of the nicest in South America.

Best of Luck!

luckyone · Sat May 19, 2012 3:38 pm

Quoting 777222LR (Reply 7):
Food is great as well, and not terribly expensive, at least it wasn't when I was there a few years ago.

I was there last June. It's still quite affordable. A steak the size of your plate and almost two inches thick will run you about $12. And it melts in your mouth. Two people can routinely eat a steak each, a salad, and a side of whatever, plus a bottle wine for around 100 pesos each, or $25.

Quoting 777222LR (Reply 7):
Also, a big thing that a lot of young American tourists do is find rentals on local websites. They are often much cheaper than hotels, bigger, and are very close to where you want to be.

I would also recommend this. For ten days in a studio apartment, which is really all you need for a vacation, I paid around $30/night in Palermo Soho. I saved about $200 over a hotel, which is enough to eat steak for the entire week.

Quoting 777222LR (Reply 7):
although you will have to pay a pretty hefty (124.00 I think) reciprocity fee when you land in Buenos Aires.

Which gets you a very ugly black and white sticker in your passport that allows you to return to Argentina without paying again for the next ten years. Of course, you can circumvent this by flying to Uruguay and taking a ferry across the river.

AR385 · Sat May 19, 2012 5:38 pm

Sao Paulo is great for business. It´s a business destination. Touristy? Not so much.

Buenos Aires is the one for tourism.

KingFriday013 · Sat May 19, 2012 6:41 pm

Thanks everyone for your responses! There's really so much to consider when looking at the two cities.

So far it looks like the general consensus is Buenos Aires over São Paulo for a number of reasons. The tango, the steak (I'm a HUGE steak fan so that's a big draw for me!), the architecture, and all of that seem so interesting. And if I understand correctly, BA is generally cheaper than SP, which is also very important.

Now the reason I was asking about it is because I'm beginning to plan a RTW trip

Not getting into specifics yet (since I don't even know if it will even happen),but EZE or GRU would be my final destination before returning to New York. I would have loved to do SCL but it takes me over the mileage cap so I had to look at alternatives. GIG sounds like a great idea also, I didn't think of it but it could certainly work as well. I hate to now add a third city to consider but do yall have any thoughts about Rio?

FWIW, I'd be flying to any of these three cities on AF from CDG. Also, the earliest this trip could possibly take place is next summer, and it's more likely it wouldn't take place until perhaps the summer after that. But it's good to start planning early.

-J.

AR385 · Sat May 19, 2012 7:05 pm

I lived in Rio for two years. Without offending anyone here, and thus I won´t go into specifics, I believe it is overrated.

corey07850 · Sat May 19, 2012 9:40 pm

BA for sure for all of the reasons mentioned above. Assuming you are American you also dont need a visa like you would for Brazil so that will save you some money. SP is still interesting! Especially just seeing how massive of a metropolis it is, but not really for tpurism

Aeroflot777 · Sun May 20, 2012 12:13 am

Buenos Aires.

One of my greatest trips to date.

PPVRA · Sun May 20, 2012 12:34 am

Quoting KingFriday013 (Reply 11):
I hate to now add a third city to consider but do yall have any thoughts about Rio?

Great city, really very nice. History, sights, food, etc. Though lately there has been a big ruckus over hotel costs, which are very high. Since your trip is still some time away I would check back into this before you schedule your trip.

AM744 · Tue May 22, 2012 2:13 pm

I'd think Sao Paulo is more expensive, given the value of the Real vs Peso Argentino. Plus, you'd need a visa in case you are American. Apparently you need to go to the embassy of at least mail your application, so it looks as it's not the easiest thing to do. I'd choose BA.

KingFriday013 · Sun May 27, 2012 3:18 am

It looks like Buenos Aires is still the preferred destination of the three, so I'll hopefully end up going there! The trip is still in the super-preliminary planning stages but if it all works out I hope to be in Buenos Aires at some point on it.

Quoting 777222LR (Reply 8):
Having said that, you might also want to consider Santiago, Chile. BEAUTIFUL city with a more mountainous setting. Great food, wine, etc. Generally, I believe it it somewhat cheaper than Argentina. The airport is one of the nicest in South America.

I've heard marvelous things about Santiago, Chile also, but unfortunately it's a little too far for the trip, as it goes over the mileage limit

Thanks again everyone for your input!

-J.

bjorn14 · Sun May 27, 2012 9:38 pm

Quoting 777222LR (Reply 7):
Beautiful city, with a real old world latin charm to it.

More like old world European charm. Argentinians don't even consider themselves Latinos they're Europeans. Dontchyaknow.

Mendoza would be my Argentinian choice. Mountains and wine!

shaq · Sun May 27, 2012 9:55 pm

My sister says Buenos Aires!
She have been on both cities, and says that Buenos Aires is a really charming city.
Sao Paulo is not very "touristy".

Derico · Mon May 28, 2012 2:01 pm

Quoting fxramper (Reply 3):
I value life, so Sao Paulo.

If you are going to make such arrantly piquant one liners, would you like to provide any hard factual evidence to back up your talk? Like, how can you prove this statement is the case compared to Sao Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Miami, etc??

It's one thing to make such a claim when it is clearly true, but to make such foolish and obviously personally tainted expressions and I will call you on it.

If you value your life, don't go to a school, university or shopping mall in your country, perhaps?

TR763 · Mon May 28, 2012 8:33 pm

I would only recommend São Paulo if you're staying at a friends house, that has a car and can take you to places in his/her vehicle.
I am from SP, but from a tourist point of view, the city is VERY expensive, public transportation is not good and the city is HUGE, so getting lost is quite easy. English is spoken by part of the people, so if you don't speak a word of Portuguese, things can get complicated, if you are lost, for example.
On the other hand, SP has better restaurants, bars and nightlife in general than BA or Rio. But always more expensive.
You won't spend less than US$200,00 in a fine restaurant for a couple's dinner here.

It's hard to choose between BA or Rio.
Both cities are awesome, but they have very different things to do. Rio is the most beautiful city I have ever been. It's nature, combined with the men work gives the city a so special and unique environment. People there are hot! In all means, you will be very well received by the cariocas!

Buenos Aires is a more romantic city, even because it's constructions and streets gives a very glamorous and classy feeling. The Tango shows are nice but you'll have to be very careful when choosing where to go, because you can find some real tourist traps. They also have a Casino there, something you won't find in Brazil (at least not legal ones).

You'll end up making a good decision!
Post a Trip Report for us!!!

Rgs!

sturmovik · Tue May 29, 2012 4:40 pm

Quoting KingFriday013 (Thread starter):
Buenos Aires or São Paulo

Buenos Aires.

Oh wait, I thought I was on the 'this or that' thread..

RodRB · Thu May 31, 2012 4:07 am

I've been to both city many times. They are very different. Sao Paulo is a great great city. It has everything, such as many great restaurants, bars, nightlife. It's full of wealthy people, so things are a little expensive there. It's a business destination.

Buenos Aires is really a great city to visit. You gonna love it.

If you like steak, you can't miss Cabana de Las Lillas Restaurant at Puerto Madero (http://www.laslilas.com/).

Cheers

Gonzalo · Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:33 am

Quoting KingFriday013 (Thread starter):
I hate comparing things that have so many different aspects, but I'm curious. If you could visit Buenos Aires or São Paulo for 3-5 days (but you don't have all the money in the world), which one (and only one) would you pick and why? I'm trying get opinions from a tourist perspective, and thinking about things like costs (excluding flights but including lodging et al.), food, sights, and safety. If you're from either of these places: why should (or shouldn't!) someone visit your city?

If you want to see curiosities like animal traction vehicles in the middle of the streets and avenues, crowds of people looking for food in the garbage outside the McDonalds, or if you want to be harassed by sniffing dogs and inspectors trying to remove every dollar or Euro from your pocket in the border or EZE, I recommend to you Buenos Aires.
If you want to know a city with the same advantages of Buenos Aires but without all the bad things, go to Montevideo.

Quoting Derico (Reply 20):
how can you prove this statement is the case compared to Sao Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Miami, etc??

I think he can prove his statement with just a link to one of the big Argentinian newspapers, but you probably don't believe in the newspapers. I guess the best way to see who is closer to the truth is to expect a trip report from KingFriday013 if he finally decides to go to the "Paris" of South America ( yeah, right.... very similar to Paris.... in the Jean Valjean times ).

G.

danvs · Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:24 am

I would rather go to Rio instead of Buenos Aires.
People travel to see different things. Sure, Buenos Aires has unique places and experiences, but overall it's a Latin version of some European cities (which you'll probably include in your RTW trip).
Rio de Janeiro, on the other hand, is unlike anywhere else. The culture, the setting between the sea and the mountains, the people, the energy... you won't find it anywhere else. You'll always have something to do there, many of them different from the usual "restaurant-museum-nightclub" which you'll find in any major city around the world.

Quoting Pyrex (Reply 6):
you don't know what traffic is until you have been to SP

Traffic in SP is really awful, but I've seen even worse traffic in Rome, Cairo and most of the Indian cities I've visited, just to name a few.

[Edited 2012-06-08 19:25:22]

corocks · Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:23 pm

Quoting bjorn14 (Reply 18):
Mendoza would be my Argentinian choice. Mountains and wine!

Second that. I enjoyed my time in Mendoza much for than BA.

airxliban · Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:11 pm

I had this exact choice and I was coming from Qatar, so I could have gotten off the QR flight in GRU or stayed on until EZE. I chose EZE for the simple fact that I didn't need a visa for Argentina. I don't know much about Sao Paolo, but I definitely recommend Buenos Aires. It's a beautiful city and there are plenty of things to do, you can have a great time there without breaking the bank.

There are plenty of tourist type places to see, there are cultural events like going to watch a tango, etc...you can go to the Boca Jrs stadium, the town of San Telmo, la recoleta, lots of things...I was very easily able to find an english speaking tour from my hotel and I met some people and had a great time. The food is also very good.

Safety? I have heard horrible things about Sao Paolo, I am kind of shocked that someone suggested that Buenos Aires was worse. I went around all over the place, often by myself, and I never for one second felt unsafe. I was advised not to be in San Telmo by myself at night, which I abided by, but I really never felt unsafe. Definitely can recommend BA.

But yes....Ezeiza is not that great! But I don't think Guarulhos is, either.

connies4ever · Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:56 pm

Kind of biased, my grandfather was born and raised in Argentina (Rosario). So I pick BA.

Derico · Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:34 am

Gonzalo,

You are clearly a very bitter person with a massive chip towards Argentina, as seen multitude of threads here and in civil avation. Your "reply" here is more than enough evidence for anyone who already did not know this about you. But most already do. You believe anyone will even take you remotely as impartial?

I was in Munich once. After eating our obligatory sausage with beer, we got up and immediately a homeless man sat down to consume the semese leftovers. So if you wan't to see haggared men rummaging for nourishment, go there right?

I really won't say what I have seen in Santiago (I'm from Mendoza, you can't hide from us)

Nuff said.

Quoting Airxliban (Reply 27):
Safety? I have heard horrible things about Sao Paolo, I am kind of shocked that someone suggested that Buenos Aires was worse. I went around all over the place, often by myself, and I never for one second felt unsafe. I was advised not to be in San Telmo by myself at night, which I abided by, but I really never felt unsafe. Definitely can recommend BA.

There is a fairly large-sized coven of people in this website who have a visceral loathing of Argentina, for a variety of reasons. It is not the normal "I dislike this country for X reason", that is expected and part of life. But in this forum, there is a group of people that post incredibly vitriolic commentary, much of it cheap exaggerations and half-truths. I have seen it for years: one time for our independence, one person celebrated the sinking of an argentine ship in a war. Then here, you see a couple of reponses. There is nothing constructive about them and everyone knows they are garbage.

Another way of proving this is that when any thread about Argentina is put up, they tend to be locked up pretty quickly or in fact removed entirely which is an extremely rare move here at A.net.

[Edited 2012-06-13 18:47:34]

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