LANGUAGE
The official language is Spanish. However, those travellers that speak English or Portuguese will have no problems in making them understood.

RULES OF COURTESY
A wide-open city such as Buenos Aires has an identity of its own, marked by the influence of all immigrants that have arrived on its shores and which gives it a totally cosmopolitan air. Its people are warm hearted and hospitable, and it is not uncommon that a short exchange of words with a "Porteño" will more often than not lead to an invitation to visit his home.
It is considered good manners to bring a small gift when visiting.
Courtesy rules and respect are closely related to certain informality. Men and women usually give each other a peck on the cheek when meeting or leaving. A smile, a hug, to get up close when speaking to someone, together with gesticulating is considered the most common and friendly forms of communication.
Something which makes a difference between Argentinean way of speech and other Spanish speakers is their use of the word "vos" instead of "tú" amongst friends and the use of the word "che" when calling on a third person.

TIMELINES AND OPENING HOURS.
The local timeline corresponds to GMT-3 and there is no adjustment in summertime.
Buenos Aires awakes before dawn but also keeps very late hours. While the rest of the country sleeps the traditional siesta Buenos Aires stays awake, active and open to the public.
Shops are open Mondays through Fridays from 9 AM till 8 PM and on Saturdays from 9 AM till 1 PM. In the shopping malls opening hours continue on until 10 PM, including Saturdays and Sundays.

Banks open at 10 AM and close between 3 and 4 PM. ATM machines work around the clock and you can make withdrawals and other transactions through them.
When do the "Porteños" find time to eat their four daily meals? It all of course depends on what they do for a living and what their daily schedule looks like.
Breakfast is between 7 and 10 AM. In bars as well as in the pastry shops or confiterías it is possible to find special offers, both for breakfast as well as for "merienda" literally a snack but in reality a kind of high tea. Lunch is a short affair, between noon and 3PM. Different diners, to be found in the centre or wherever there is a lot of commercial activity and offices offer a great variety of ready-to-eat meals. At mid-afternoon, between 4 and 6PM it is merienda time, but the most important meal of the day is dinner, which you sit down to from 9PM onwards. It is a time of gathering among family and friends.

Tips, although always welcome after having given good service, are not something mandatory or even always expected. It is customary to leave 10% on top of the bill in coffee shops and restaurants and also to tip bellboys, porters, and ushers.

PUBLIC RESTROOMS.
If nature calls while you are out walking in the city, you can enter any bar or restaurant that all have public restrooms. The most recommendable are to be found in the shopping malls, at McDonalds and Burger King, which usually allow the public free access without conditions or restrictions. Some of the Underground or subway stations also have public restrooms.

DRIVING
Be careful while driving in Buenos Aires. There are lot of cars and many of the streets are very narrow. It is quite common for drivers to lose their temper and become aggressive. Pedestrians do not command much respect and cars will honk their horns at almost anything. In Argentinean Spanish gasoline is known as "nafta". The use of safety belts is mandatory.

ELECTRIC POWER
Electric voltage in Argentina is 220-240 V. To use electric 110 V equipment you will need a transformer, which can be bought locally.

ADDRESSES
If you should happen to get lost and need to ask for directions you will have no problems. The "Porteños" (people from Buenos Aires) are very open and helpful.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Argentina uses the metric system. Temperatures are measured in Celsius and volumes in litres.

DAILIES AND NEWSPAPERS
The most important local newspapers are: Clarín, La Nación, Página 12, Ambito Financiero, La Razón and La Prensa. There is also a newspaper published in English, The Buenos Aires Herald. It is possible to obtain most foreign language papers in the different newsstands on Florida Street or on Avenida Corrientes.

TELEVISION
There are five public access TV stations on the air: Canal 13 (Artear), Canal 11 (Telefé), Canal 2 (América TV), Canal 9 (Libertad) and Canal 7 (ATC). Cable TV covers all areas of the city and includes innumerable national and foreign channels, including the news networks of CNN, BBC, RAI, Deutsche Welle and TVE.

RADIOS
There uncountable AM and FM stations on the air with a very varied programming. The most important in the country is Radio Rivadavia (AM 680), which transmits sports and general news. On the FM stations one can listen to different styles of music from classical through rock and of course, tango.