Compared to most capital cities around the world, Buenos Aires does not have many jazz clubs, although the jazz music scene is thriving in smaller venues and cultural centres across the city. Everybody tends to have their own image of a jazz club, be it a sophisticated modern bar or a smoky dimly lit wooden hall and this list of five venues provides a variety of choices. It is worth noting that entry prices vary in all venues depending on the artist and therefore the agenda should be looked at for each venue before heading down if this is of concern.

1. Thelonious

When searching for a jazz club in Buenos Aires, most people will be directed towards this beautiful bar, located on the first floor of a street corner in Palermo. With only a plaque on the wall marking the entrance, it would be easy to miss were it not for the saxophone wails floating out of the window and through the trees down into the street below. Ascending the staircase and having passed the the small ticket counter, one walks into a long, dimly lit room, with a band playing at the far end, and a 13-metre bar stretching most of the way down. Tables and chairs line the wall with looming windows opening out onto the balconies above the trees outside.

Inspired by jazz bars in New York, Thelonius opened in 2002 but has rapidly become the most popular place to regularly come and listen to high quality jazz. An impressive array of international musicians are invited to play, while still offering the stage to talented local acts. Lit up by a hanging squid-like collection of bulbs and some backdrop christmas tree lights, the band can feel somewhat distant if one arrives late and cannot secure a seat nearby. This does nothing to deter people, however, who are happy to fill the staircase at the back leading up to a balcony. The early birds are able to occupy leather sofas which lie around the stage. A sophisticated cocktail menu is served by adept barmen, who keep a tab for the evening as opposed to charging for each drink. Thelonius offers high quality jazz to a mixed crowd of young, old, foreign and local.

Open from Tuesday to Saturday, from 9.30pm onwards. Price varies according to artist. For more information, click here.

2. Jazz & Pop

The oldest jazz club in Buenos Aires, Jazz & Pop has been delighting locals since 1978. Originally located in San Telmo, the owners moved to San Nicolas, near Plaza Congreso, three years ago, although the new location retains a sense of having existed for many decades. Passing the easily visible sign outside, a staircase sweeps down into an underground hall filled with tables, chairs and photos of old jazz musicians with beaming smiles. Although maybe not noticed immediately, the roof is lined with opened umbrellas of all colours, which the owner claims assist with the acoustics.

The bar has a very homely feel to it, with table service and simple decorations and lighting. The regulars smile when the other jazz clubs of Buenos Aires are mentioned and say that this place is more informal than anywhere else. It certainly does not try to be modern and the charm of Jazz & Pop is its intimacy and friendliness. The tables are all within five metres of the band, which creates a strong connection to the music, as is noticed in the delighted faces of the listeners. Although international acts occasionally play, mainly the stage is taken by local musicians, of whom the greatest jazz musicians which Argentina has offered have at some time played in this venue. For those looking for a down to earth, dusty, genuine jazz club, Jazz & Pop is strongly advised.

Open every day of the week, from 9.30pm onwards. Price varies according to artist, between $15 and $40. For more information click here.

3. Boris Jazz Club

From old to new, with the recently opened Boris. The club, in the heart of Palermo Hollywood, caters for a well dressed crowd. The bar is lit in a modern style with black and blue being the predominant theme throughout. The venue is large, holding up to 200 people, although it still manages to retain an intimate feel.

Well-known artists, both Argentine and international, take to the stage. A decent food menu complements the cocktails available. Tickets are not cheap in this jazz club, but everyone enjoys the high quality music which is played, and the new venue has a modern sound system with great acoustics allowing for the recitals to be recorded live. The bouncers on the door and the neon lights calling from the street render Boris Jazz Club a traditional Palermo bar, but once inside, the jazz clearly defines it apart from most of its contemporaries.

Open Tuesday to Saturday, from 6pm, music from 10pm. Price varies greatly according to artist and seat, between $40 and $200. Click here for more information.

4. Notorious

Alongside Thelonius, this jazz club is the most well known in Buenos Aires. Entering through a CD/DVD store, one may expect to come across a storage room with a stage in the corner, but this could not be further from the truth.

Pulsating with glamour and sophistication, Notorious is a high end jazz club. Elegantly dressed waiters and waitresses serve the 35 tables which somehow manage to fit into this small venue. Dimly lit, it would be easy to forget that it is a jazz club while eating the pre-show meal, which most people seem to do. Apparently an elegant restaurant, a small section is cordoned off for the musicians to play, although the chances are that they themselves are busy tucking into a plate of food before they take to the stage. Despite the restaurant feel to the venue and the slightly difficult seating arrangement, it is an enjoyable jazz club for those who would like to enjoy the cream of international jazz, for this is where it tends to be found when in town. Making reservations in advance or buying the ticket is highly advisable to ensure a good view in this classy joint.

Open every day of the week, from 9,30pm onwards. Price varies according to artist. Discounts are available with CD/DVD purchases in the shop. For more information, click here.

5. Café Vinilo

This suave bar can be found in the southern area of Palermo and stands out as the building with the best architecture of the block. Entering into a small lobby filled with plants, one can then pass into the picturesque bar although it is necessary to buy a ticket to proceed through to the venue.

A wide variety of music is played in this club, so it is important to check beforehand on the website to see if it will be a jazz night or not. The bar offers excellent food alongside the music, as well as art shows and much more. Relatively new, having only been around for two years, the bar is slightly harder to find than the traditional Palermo destination. For those who like to listen to jazz in an intimate setting, Café Vinilo is ideal. It is worth booking a ticket in advance, and if done so before the day of the show, there is a discount of $5. It is worth noting that even with a reservation, seats are filled in a first come first served basis, so one should still arrive early if a seat close to the performers is desired.

Open Monday to Sunday, with music from 9pm onwards. Price varies according to artist. For more information, click here.

The revelry of the Buenos Aires independent film festival may now have drawn to a close but those film junkies already worried about their prospects in the 50 weeks until the festival returns need not be concerned. BA offers enough cinematic fixes throughout the year to keep even the most hardened addicts from withdrawal. A host of other film festivals will be held during the year before the return of BAFICI and every self respecting cultural centre in the city runs varied ‘ciclos de cine‘.

Argentine cinema enjoyed a golden age in the 1930s and 40s, but was almost extinguished by dictatorship and economic crisis in the 70s and 80s. In the last 10-15 years, however, it has blossomed with an internationally respected selection of independent films. This broad movement, christened Nuevo Cine Argentino, became the country’s contribution to the Buena Onda or “good wave” cinematic revival that has washed across the continent since the late 1990s.

Film is deeply engrained in the culture and porteños take cinema seriously. Here the Indy offers you the Top 5 alternative cinema venues to catch the most interesting films showing in Buenos Aires.

1. Cine Club Mon Amour

Run as a non-profit enterprise by a pair of cinephiles who are believers in the old-fashioned communal film experience, Cine Club Mon Amour brings the ’puerta cerrada‘ concept to cinema. To the outside world the only evidence of this magical little space is the handwritten words ‘Mon Amour’ on a buzzer next to a deceptively bland door in San Telmo. But providing you have made a reservation online, you can gain entry to the most intimate space to watch film in Buenos Aires. With only 38 seats, it is too small for you be able to get away with any actual intimacy un-noticed, but a love of cinema is heavy in the air.

Avoiding commercial releases, they choose to show a diverse selection of recent art-house films from Argentina, and all over the world. Along with frequent themed cycles, quite often the director will be present to introduce the film and stay around for Q&A. If there is no big name on hand, films are personally introduced by either Carlos or Guillermo, and at the end of the film, they help kick off a relaxed discussion about what has just been shown.

Love of film is clearly infectious, as Cine Club Mon Amour has grown, with a second screen in Recoleta, and now also offers a great series of workshops, from how to understand cinematography to Nuevo Cine Argentino and even Quentin Tarantino. They come highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about cinema.

Secret address in San Telmo. For more information, and to reserve, visit the website.

2. Malba

One of the most influential galleries in South America, Malba plays host to the newest and hottest Latin American contemporary art, alongside thoughtful and engaging collections of 20th century art from all around the world. However, Malba also does a spot of moonlighting as the city’s most eclectic film venue. After dark, Malba’s secret cinephile comes out to play.

As with its gallery space, when it comes to film Malba seems able to switch effortlessly between new and old, known and unknown, Latin and international. Malba’s ciclos de cine have the ability to encapsulate the best Latin American contemporary cinema, re-contextualise directors and movements, or thoughtfully juxtapose seemingly unrelated films and unite them under abstract concepts. This ambition and visionary approach make Malba the city’s cinematic over-achiever.

Located at Avenida Figueroa Alcorta 3415, Palermo. For more information visit the website.

3. Expanish Spanish School

If you’re a non-native film fan and have become accustomed to being spoiled by BAFICI’s English-subtitled selection, you’ll be mourning the festival’s end. However, Microcentro-based language school Expanish saves the day with the next most accessible way for non-native Spanish-speakers to get into Latin American and Spanish cinema. Their film club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays offers a cycle of Spanish-subtitled films to cater to the vast group of foreign Spanish-speakers who would struggle to follow a whole feature film in castellano without the helping hand of subtitles.

Although it is mainly aimed at those wishing to improve their Spanish, even if you’re a porteño, or already possess the Spanish skills of one, it’s still well worth a look. The stellar selection of films represents a great slice of Spanish-language cinema and the price (it’s free), as well as the opportunity to have a relaxed chat at the end of the film, make this well worth while for everyone.

Located at Tte Gral Juan D Perón 700, Microcentro. For more information visit Expanish Spanish School website.

4. Gaumont/Espacio INCAA

The Gaumont, with its classic forties look and princely location on Plaza Congreso, has long been one of Buenos Aires’ most important cinemas. And Espacio INCAA, as it has become known since its takeover by Argentina’s National Institute for Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA), remains the best place in BA to catch new Argentine releases. It exists to give exhibition space to the varied array of films funded or supported by the INCAA, and so always offers a diverse selection to choose from. It also offers cheap tickets, especially if you’re a student, so even if your Spanish is not quite up to scratch, it’s still worth parting with a few pesos to see what Argentine cinema is all about.

The Gaumont is also the home of Cine Club Núcleo, the city’s most famous cinema club which was founded in 1952 and has been running at various locations around the city ever since. Its longevity and high regard for its selections, among critics and cinema-goers alike, has led it to be declared as a site of cultural interest by the city government. It shows a varied programme of festival prize-winners and intellectual crowd pleasers every Tuesday evening.

Located at Av. Rivadavia 1635, Congreso. For more information visit their website.

5. Anfiteatro Parque Centenario

Amphitheatre at Parque Centenario (Photo: Estrella Herrera)

If it’s not the sort of day to be cooped up in a dark windowless room but you’re still very much in the mood for a movie, Anfiteatro Parque Centenario is your best bet for a far less claustrophobic cinematic experience. There are far worse ways to spend a warm Saturday afternoon in the city than relaxing with a cerveza, or a maté, in one of biggest and liveliest parks. As the sun goes down, allow yourself to be treated to a free projection of anything from The Muppets to recent Argentine documentary in the park’s amphitheatre every Saturday throughout the year, weather permitting. The space also hosts theatre and other cultural events throughout the summer.

It also hosts theatre and other cultural events throughout the year. Check the calendar for the film schedule and a full list of other activities.

Located in Parque Centenario. For more information visit the website.

La Cigale bar (Photo: Melissa Riggall)

Arguably the prospect of a bar named after a cricket-like insect isn’t as appealing as it could be but this place is worth looking up if you’re in downtown Buenos Aires and looking for something to get the weekend underway.

Like everything in Argentina Saturday nights get off to an unhurried start, with barflies cluttering the bar and gradually filling up as it gets later and the music gets louder. Things really get going from around 12.30am with DJs and bands playing until the early hours of the morning.

German, a bartender at La Cigale says that idea is that musicians and revellers are “cara a cara” or face to face and gigs are something of an intimate affair upstairs in the live music area. Later the band members mingle with the crowd downstairs.

Marketing itself a touch of Paris in South America the bar claims to make the best Mojito in town and when its founders arrived from Europe they undertook to provide locals and travellers with the best cocktails in Buenos Aires. While that’s a tall order to fulfil, there is no doubt that at the very least they are some of the strongest and most exotic tipples on offer.

As well as a robust selection of wines, beers and classics like Margaritas and Pisco Sours there are also more mysterious offerings like the Latin Lover (Tequila, cachaca, lemon, lime, pineapple), Tiger Milk (Bacardi, horcheta, pineapple) and ‘Be Like Water’ (Baileys, Tía Maria, pineapple, banana).

It’s also worth mentioning that in case you’re brave enough to try a shot named after a cockroach, this is the place to pick up a Cucaracha slammer (Tequila, Tía Maria, contreau)…and the best of luck with that.

Too many cockroach slammers and you’ll probably be wanting to soak up some of the goodness with a little snackette. Luckily there are plenty on offer. The food menu offers a simple selection of picadas and nibbles to share and the kitchen is open late.

La Cigale bar (Photo: Melissa Riggall)

Oddly the seating is reminiscent of a train station waiting room and is rather at odds with the old colonial architecture. Other than that La Cigale is an elegant little shindig with deep blue walls, checkered floor tiles and a long sweeping bar topped with under-lit red glass mosaic tiles. A black wrought iron staircase with dark wood banisters curls up to the upper floor and there is a white stone balcony looking down onto the street below for smokers.

Upstairs, plum-coloured curtains and glitter balls suspended over the room with DJs and bands playing make for an intimate gig space in the early hours of the morning.

“We have everyone in here – from 20 to 60-year-olds, there’s a real mixture and muy buena onda,” says German.

Don’t fret if you can’t make it for a Saturday - the bar offers a busy agenda with different vibes on every night of the week except Sunday. Los Lunes están de moda with acoustic sets and local musicians are a good option if you’re kicking your heels on a Monday night, Tuesday is the Noche Frances and Wednesdays are dub nights. Meanwhile if you’re interested in emerging local talent Thursday’s your night to hear new Argentine bands.

With a mixture of local and international clientele, a steam of bands and DJs passing through its doors and cocktails to knock your socks off, La Cigale is a sassy little number – give it a whirl!