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It’s slightly unnerving when you’re seated too close to the next table in a jam-packed parrilla (steakhouse), the clatter of dishes and voices and the televised futbol game in the background, and your stoic waiter, a giant of a man in a stained white apron, approaches your table. As you tell him what you’d like to eat - steak, naturally, and papas fritas (french fries) and a pinguino (penguin-shaped pitcher) of the house Malbec, you notice that he’s not writing anything down - in fact, he’s not looking at you at all. He saunters off and you wonder if your dinner will ever arrive. A few minutes later, he’s back, plonking a basket of bread on the table, splashing the wine on the paper tablecloth as he pours your drink. And then, course by course, all the dishes you ask for arrive, simply presented on white plates, and the roar of the game and the conversation around you rises to a pitch.


This is Desnivel, a bare-bones San Telmo parrilla that’s nearly turned into a caricature of itself. Some days you’ll find more tourists than Argentinians. Other days, it’s a bunch of local guys sitting around digging into the restaurant’s famous deep-fried beef empanadas. Love it or hate it, it’s a Buenos Aires icon.

It’s America’s largest city-owned island park, and it’s right in downtown Detroit. Belle Isle is home to an aquarium, a beach, a museum of Great Lakes maritime memorabilia, and the romantic Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, which holds one of the largest collections of orchids in America. Pack a picnic and take in a view of downtown Detroit just across the river.

Foro Sol, like Auditorio Nacional, is a massive venue for big concerts, and if your favorite group hasn’t played Auditorio Nacional, it’s probably taken the stage at Foro Sol. Newer than Auditorio Nacional (it was built in 1993), Foro Sol is also an entirely different kind of venue; the Auditorio is entirely indoors, while Foro Sol is a stadium. Familiar names who have played here in recent years include Bon Jovi, Joan Baez, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Tool, among dozens of others.

Amble down La Rambla, stopping to admire fresh flowers, original artwork, and Barcelona souvenirs at your leisure. Watch living statues come to life when you drop a euro in their cups—most will pose with passersby, for a price, of course. Keep an eye out for the pavement mosaic by Joan Miró at 80 Pla de l’Os and the Canaletes Fountain at the top of La Rambla (across from No. 133), where FC Barcelona fans come to celebrate victories.

You don’t have to be a fan of soccer (or fútbol, as it’s called here) to enjoy a visit to La Bombonera. This stadium, officially named the Estadio Alberto J. Armando, is home to one of South America’s most celebrated soccer teams, the Boca Juniors. The club was founded in 1905 by a group of immigrants from Genoa, Italy, and became wildly successful. Star player Maradona, considered by many to be the best of all time, put the Boca Juniors on the international map. The stadium was built in the early 1940s in the La Boca neighborhood; the fans are known to be especially rowdy. La Bombonera’s museum is a window into a key element of Porteño culture.