☰La Boca

The old Italian port district in the south of the city, where late-19th-century immigrants built their houses out of whatever corrugated iron was to hand and painted them in bright mismatched colours. The Caminito (little walk) is the pedestrian centrepiece — three blocks of repainted shanties, tango performers hustling for tips, and open-air painters. It's touristy, but the colours are genuinely cheerful. Venture much beyond Caminito and La Bombonera stadium and the neighbourhood can get rough; go by day, not by night.