A Couples’ Guide to Tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina, has its attractions for families, but traveling there to experience the city’s tango culture is a getaway better suited to couples. As they say, it takes two to tango.

Tango is to Buenos Aires what flamenco is to Seville. More than just a dance or music, these are rhythms defining the very soul of the city. Unlike flamenco, the tango is a dance for everyone —  and, in Buenos Aires, a dance for everywhere, even on the streets.

Although it is regarded today throughout the world as a stylish, sophisticated dance, the tango was born in the crowded streets of the San Telmo and La Boca barrios of Buenos Aires. It was a dance of the poor immigrant populations in the 1870s, but by the roaring ‘20s, its staccato rhythms and intricate steps had moved to ballrooms and smart clubs of Paris and New York.

Tango was a worldwide sensation, but, in Buenos Aires, it was — and still is — a dance for everyone. You can still find it in the streets, and it’s not unusual to find couples dancing in front of a café or wherever the tango’s provocative rhythms prompt them.

To watch top professional dancers in choreographed shows, go to Teatro Astor Piazzolla, a magnificent Art Nouveau theater where top dancers perform. In another restored concert hall, this one Art Deco from the 1920s, Carlos Gradel is named for the famous Argentinian singer.

A variety of clubs have tango shows, among them El Viejo Almacen, in the dance’s original neighborhood of San Telmo. El Querandi, in a restored 1920’s café, adds some tango history along with its dance performances. All these shows are in a dinner theater environment, but you can usually choose just the show and drinks.

To watch locals dance or to join in yourself, choose one of the many neighborhood milongas, old-school clubs and dance halls. Each has its own night of the week when locals, expats and tourists can gather to dance. La Milonga de los Zucca is one of the best-known, but your hotel can suggest others.

If those sensuous rhythms call to you, go to La Viruta, a dance club in the Armenian Cultural Center where locals mix with expats and tourists to learn the tango on Tuesday and Saturday evenings. Before the serious dancing gets started, there are dance lessons for beginners. When the professionals hit the floor, you can find a table and watch the show.