Most shops and services are open Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm, and Saturday 9am to 2pm. They may close at some point during the day for between one and five hours - as a rule the further north you go, the longer the midday break or siesta, sometimes offset by later closing times in the evening, especially in the summer. Supermarkets seldom close during the day and are generally open much later, often until 8 or even 10pm, and on Saturday afternoons. Large shopping malls don't close before 10pm and their food and drink sections (
patios de comida ) may stay open as late as midnight. Many of them open on Sundays, too. Banks tend to be open only on weekdays, from 10am to 4pm, but
casas de cambio more or less follow shop hours. However, in the Northeast, bank opening hours tend to be more like 7am-noon, to avoid the hot, steamy afternoons.
Museums are a law unto themselves, each one having its own timetable, but most close on Mondays. Legally, they are supposed to be free of charge at least one day a week; since that day varies you might like to plan your visits to different museums accordingly. Several Buenos Aires museums are closed for at least a month in the summer. Tourist offices seem to be forever adjusting their opening times, but the trend is towards longer hours and opening daily (some still close on Sundays). Don't bank on finding them open late in the evening or at weekends, especially off season or off the beaten track, though some have surprisingly long hours. Post offices' hours seldom vary from the standard 8am to 8pm on weekdays, with siestas in the hottest places, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays, but check individual listings for exceptions. Government offices keep to an 8am to 5pm schedule, with a few variations.
National holidaysJanuary 1 New Year's Day ( Año Nuevo ).
Good Friday ( Viernes Santo ). The whole of Semana Santa or Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter weekend, is a big event and traditionally a time when people go on the last vacation of the summer. Accommodation and restaurants stay open to take advantage of this. The Friday, and sometimes the Thursday, but not Easter Monday, are official public holidays.
May 1 Labour Day ( Día del Trabajo ).
May 25 May 1810 Revolution ( Revolución de Mayo ).
June 10 Malvinas Day ( Día de las Malvinas ). The anniversary of the unilateral treaty establishing military rule by Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1829 (only exercised briefly in 1982; coincidentally the South Atlantic conflict ended on June 10, 1982).
June 20 Flag Day ( Día de la Bandera ).
July 9 Independence Day ( Día de la Independencia ).
August 17 San Martín's Day ( Día de San Martín ). The anniversary of San Martín's death in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in 1850.
October 12 Columbus Day ( Día de la Raza ). Controversially commemorating the "discovery" of the Americas in 1492.
December 25 Christmas Day ( Navidad ).
Public holidays
Some local anniversaries or saints' days are also public holidays when everything in a given city may close down, taking you by surprise. Festivals of all kinds, both religious and profane, celebrating local patrons such as Santa Catalina or the Virgin Mary, or showing off produce such as handicrafts, olives, goats or wine, are good excuses for much partying and pomp. In the Northwest, for example, there is probably a feast every day of the year somewhere. In the Northeast the tropical mindset shows in the dedication to Brazilian-style carnival. Details of the more interesting fiestas are given throughout the text.
To avoid the old habit of "bridging the gap" between weekends and public holidays, some of the latter have been decreed movable feasts and are switched to the following Monday, but if they fall on Saturday or Sunday no day off in lieu is given. Christmas Day stays put regardless of when it falls.
In addition, although banks and government offices are closed on Maundy Thursday ( Jueves Santo , the day before Good Friday), and on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception ( Fiesta de la Virgen or la Concepción Inmaculada ), employers are allowed, confusingly, to insist that their employees work on those two "optional" holidays. Museums are often closed on those days and transport may be limited. Banks also close on December 31. Another important national festival (but not a bank holiday) is the Día de la Tradición , November 10, the climax of a week of gaucho parades, concerts and other celebrations (a sort of spring carnival), across most of the country. On the final working day before New Year's Day, ticker tape pours out of office windows in Buenos Aires' City district, and streamers are thrust into cars and bus windows, in the whole downtown area. Unless this is your idea of fun, this endearing custom makes it worth avoiding central Buenos Aires on that day.
