Feria de Mataderos

Just half an hour from the centre of the city, the quiet neighbourhood of Mataderos is home to this week craft fair that offers a glimpse of the country's history and traditions.

Located opposite the old Mercado Nacional de Hacienda (National Livestock Market, where cattle arrived from the Pampas to be checked and sold for consumption), the market attracts around 15,000 people every weekend with up to 700 stands selling gaucho crafts like mates, ponchos, blankets and silver and leather goods.

If you get here for lunchtime, then all the better because there are stall offering traditional regional cuisine like locro (a meat and corn stew) empanadas (baked or fried pasties) and tamales (corn and meat steamed in a corn husk).

A large part of the fun and atmosphere of this fair comes from the artistic displays - with regular music and folk dance performances as well as gaucho horseriding competitions and games of pato - Argentina's national sport, which is something like a mix between polo and netball.

When to visit?

Sundays and public holidays 11am - 8pm,  from Abril to December inclusive.