Heard of Noche de los Museos Buenos Aires?

The annual Noche de los Museos bonanza hits Buenos Aires on the 9th November and the city comes alive, with an almost carnival-like fever as over 400 museums, galleries and exhibitions open their doors wide, free of charge and until the early hours of the morning. I must add, this is not nearly as nerdy as it sounds... Last year Lara and I, renowned for our culture vulture outbursts spent a magical evening cruising around the lively streets of Buenos Aires, from galleries, to exhibitions, to shows, to cafés and to bars. The streets are packed with porteño families; it has a similar feel to a bonfire evening.

With too many wondrous sights and attractions to visit, we began by planning our route over a cocktail in Retiro. First stop, the Centro Cultural Borges given that we had been studying his work at University, on to a dramatic firework display set up behind the Casa Rosada and on to a live, sultry tango show. Time to recharge, so we enjoyed another cocktail and some food while planning phase two.

We raced over to the grand Universidad Buenos Aires building to catch the ending of a live La Bomba del Tiempo set - a seventeen piece improvisational drum group that incorporates world beats including Central American and African rhythms, samba and Argentina folk. From here, we hopped on a bus to a converted monastery that houses a great, yet small costume collection and was hosting a variety of live shows in the beautiful open-air courtyard. We sat and swayed amongst some porteños (people from Buenos Aires), sharing fernet and taking in a rather bizarre comedy show, a theatrical piece and some more tango dancing.

Any of our Argentina holidays which visit Buenos Aires can easily be tailor-made around this vibrant arty evening in November.