Buenos Aires - Santiago
 

I'm planning a trip to Buenos Aires and Santiago in January. How many days is appropriate to dedicate to each city in order to see most of the hightlights of the cities. Not interested in tours/attractions for outside the city.

If you do not wish to do any day trip out of these two cities, in my experience you should alocate like 3 times more to Buenos Aires. Santiago is a nice city, the mountains are a beautiful back frame, sea food is great, good wines, and good shopping, but Buenos Aires is called the Paris of LA for some reason. We are talking of a mayor city here, with many nice museums, opera house, of course good food too and excelente wine choices inits rest.
Lots of theaters, lots of European ambiance and much more,tons of cafes, some with nostalgic tango music, .....

Having just returned from Buenos Aires myself, I recommend at least a week to appreciate the city at a leisurely pace. BA is the kind of city you do not rush through like a bloody jumble sale. It is very important to sit at the fashionable cafes and watch what is going on around you for you to understand the psyche of Portenos. Portenos do not rush, they stroll through life. Have a cup of cafe con leche or a cappuccino and let the world go by, sweetie. :)

Hi ,I forgot to mention that we organized our trip to Argentina with the help of wowargentina.com. Cintia the young owner is a charming person and she can take care of everything and make your trip a wonderful experience.

A cup of cafe con leche or a cappucino is only OK at breakfast - otherwise you should avoid adding milk to your coffee unless you want to look like a real tourist idiot.