On a river plain with near limitless space, laid out in a loose grid with a core of leafy parks, monuments and grand avenues (with nine lanes of traffic, Avenida 9 de Julio must be one of the world's widest), BA's districts are all very distinct.
Some areas feel like upscale Madrid or Paris, others could only be in South America. But throughout, the European influence is strong. This may be Latin America - with all its energy and sexiness - but BA doesn't really have the edginess and semi-chaos of, for example, Sao Paulo and Rio.
Grand 18th and 19th century palaces are evidence of the city's spectacularly prosperous past, as are the parks and grand gesture monuments - but as you'd expect from a place that has been through such massive social, economic and political upheavals, poor barrios and shanty towns also abound.
The divide between the rich and the poor is enormous and evident. Virtually overnight the middle class became poor and the poor had absolutely nothing. At night the poor comb the rubbish bags of the wealthy for stuff to recycle or sell on...
And that's what's a bit odd; despite severe economic issues and having defaulted so many times on its massive international debt, the city puts on a strong, proud face, conveying an impression of upbeat prosperity. Here, it's all about appearance - and this applies as much on an individual level as a city-wide one.
But cosmopolitan and magnificent Buenos Aires is an exciting one-off and you can't help loving the place.
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