Just back from my 5th visit to BA in 19 years. From a visitor's perspective, I don't think there's a major world city that changes so fast -- it's a different city every time I visit!

First, the good news: since my last visit 3 years ago, BA has become significantly safer for tourists. Certainly not as safe as 19 years ago, but reasonably safe for a big city. It seems like the police are patrolling the tourist areas a bit more, but more importantly, the recovering economy is reducing poverty. I walked in all sorts of neighborhoods, took the subway, etc., and I felt reasonably safe. You still want to take all the standard precautions (watch for pickpockets, use radio taxis, etc.), but I think the risk of "running into trouble" is much lower than in recent years.

OK, now a little bad news. For the American tourist, Argentina has gotten more expensive. Over the past 20 years, the costs for foreigners have fluctuated wildly with the exchange rates. While the dollar has actually appreciated by more than 10% against the peso in the past 3 years, compounded Argentine inflation is probably 4 times that during the period, so prices are roughly 1/3 more. So the fantastic bargains are gone -- unless your "home currency" is the Euro! That said, BA is still MUCH cheaper than American cities. A good dinner for 2 costs about US$60, and a comparable meal at home would be at least twice that. A great steak (a la carte) is about US$12. The shopping is still great, although you'll probably want to focus on local crafts and unique leather goods: thanks to cheap Chinese labor, a basic leather jacket is going to be cheaper to buy in the U.S..

Last time I visited, I was really down on staying in Centro, given the large number of homeless or near homeless wandering around. But the area has now regained some of its lost luster. It still wouldn't be my first choice for accomodations, but (at the right price) it is now a good choice. One significant advantage is great access to the various subway lines which, if you can handle the occasional panhandler, is again a good way to get around town. Subway fares are still only 70 centavos (about 23 cents). With the significant rise in taxi fares (still cheap by int'l standards), taking the subway can sometimes save real dinero.

Because I was in BA over 2 weekends, I had a chance to visit several street markets (ferias). "Everyone" will probably come across the touristy market in Recoleta, and it's still quite fun. San Telmo is again enjoyable and safe. I even travelled out to the Feria de Mataderos, an "authentic" gaucho-themed market in a supposedly dodgy neighborhood. Well, even Mataderos is now crawling with tourists and hardly dodgy -- but it is also probably not worth the 30 minute and US$12 cab ride (although market prices are a bit lower, and the selection of provincial crafts and foods interesting).

For the first time, I visited the Murillo leather district, which is a good choice if you're looking for something stylish (and therefore a bit pricey). For basic leather and other Argentine souvenirs, you're probably better off at the small shops in the mall at Florida 844.

I even went to a tango show. Due to a last minute snafu at the hotel, I wound up at La Ventana, a show I knew nothing about. It was 100% touristy (albeit mostly for Latin tourists), and also 100% enjoyable. I listed the discount ticket outlets in this thread a couple of weeks ago. List prices for the shows are crazy.

I'll post my restaurant comments in that thread, but I'll put a plug in here for Gaucho100K's wine shop. If you're looking for high end Argentine wine (like US$25 bottle), you should definitely schedule a visit. Very unique and special.