5 Best Sights in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Plaza Dorrego is the heart of the Feria de San Pedro Telmo—an open-air market that stretches for more than a kilometer (0.6 mile) along Calle Defensa each Sunday. Thrust your way through the crowds to pick through antiques and curios of varying vintages as well as tango memorabilia, or watch professional tango dancers perform on the surrounding cobbled streets. The unofficial "stalls" (often just a cloth on the ground) of young craftspeople stretch several blocks up Defensa, away from the market proper. As it gets dark, the square turns into a milonga, where quick-stepping locals show you how it's done.

Cobblestones, tango dancers, and haphazardly constructed, colorful conventillos have made Calle Museo Caminito the darling of Buenos Aires' postcard manufacturers since this pedestrian street was created in 1959. Artists fill the block-long street with works depicting port life and the tango, said to have been born in La Boca. These days it's commercial, but it can make a fun outing if you embrace it. The name "Caminito" comes from a 1926 tango by Juan de Dios Filiberto. It was chosen by local artist Benito Quinquela Martín, who helped establish the street as an open-air museum.

Painters peddle their creations from stalls along Caminito. Quality varies considerably; focus on the mosaics set into the walls, such as Luis Perlotti's Santos Vega. Brightly colored scrollwork known as fileteado adorns many store fronts; another highlight here are the tango dancers. Expect to be canvassed aggressively by rival restaurant owners touting overpriced menus near the start of Caminito.

Each weekend, artisans sell handmade clothes, jewelry, and housewares as well as traditional crafts at this sprawling open-air market that winds through several linked squares outside the Recoleta Cemetery.

The business conducted in hip Palermo Viejo's Feria de Plaza Cortázar (also known as Plaza Serrano) rivals that done in the neighborhood's trendy boutiques. In a small square—which is actually round—artisans sell wooden toys, ceramics, and funky jewelry made of stained glass or vintage buttons. This is also a great place to purchase art: the railings around a playground here act as an open-air gallery for Palermo artists, and organizers control the quality of art on display. The feria continues on the sidewalks of Honduras and Serrano, which intersect at the square, then down the former on weekends and inside the bars on the square itself, which push their tables and chairs aside to make room for clothing and accessory designers: expect to find anything from cute cotton underwear and one-off T-shirts to clubbing dresses. Quality is often low, but so are prices.

On the edge of Palermo Hollywood lies the large warehouse sheltering the Mercado de las Pulgas, packed with furniture on its second—or third or fourth—time around. You won't come across any Louis XV, but original pieces from the 1940s, '50s, and '60s may turn out to be (relative) bargains. Lighting up your life is a cinch: choose from the many Venetian-glass chandeliers, or go for a chrome-and-acrylic mushroom lamp. If your taste is more rustic, there's also a sizable selection of hefty farmhouse-style tables and cabinets in oak and pine. Don't be deceived by the stalls' simple-looking set-up: vendors are used to dealing with big-name local customers, and can often arrange overseas shipping.