Why cut corners on the Continent when you can still live large for less all over the globe? Our foreign correspondents scout out seven of your favorite spots for sweel hotels, top tables, and plenty of the high life—all for under $250 a day.

Latin Luxe
For more than a decade, prices in Buenos Aires rivaled those in Manhattan, but when the peso plunged three years ago, the home of tango and free-range steak went on sale. What used to buy the best Mendoza wine and the tastiest sirloin still pays for dinner; now, however, there's enough left over for an opera, a designer outfit, or a piece of local art. And some of the city's top draws are free: The Casa Rosada, where Evita Perón (and Madonna) appeared before the adoring masses, the fin de siècle edifices on avenida de Mayo, and the lush Palermo Woods, for instance, don't cost a centavo.

Typical Day for Two
$95 A room at the Bo Bo Hotel
$15 Lunch at Social Paraíso
$70 Souvenir (necklace from Materia Urbana)
$50 Dinner with wine at Lomo
$4 Tango milonga
TOTAL: $235 (including tax and tip)

BED
Amid the cobblestoned streets and ivy-covered town houses of Palermo Viejo, the exquisite Bo Bo Hotel has just seven well-designed rooms (54-11-4774-0505; www.bobohotel.com.ar; doubles, $80). At nearby 1555 Malabia House, slickly furnished rooms surround an interior garden (54-11-4833-2410; www.malabiahouse.com.ar; doubles, $90–$115). In the ritzy Recoleta district, Art Hotel displays Latin American art in its 36 rooms (54-11-4821-6248; www.art hotel.com.ar; doubles, $65–$95).

BOARD
Argentina has more cows than people, so it's not surprising that most eateries feature a dizzying array of palate-pleasing beef cuts. Cabaña Las Lilas serves beef from its own herd (54-11-4313-1336; entrées, $12–$17), while Lomo produces regional variations on popular recipes (54-11-4833-3200; entrées, $5–$10). The Med-style bistro lunch menu at Social Paraíso changes daily, keeping locals coming (54-11-4831-4556; two-course prix fixe lunch, $4). At the romantic Freud & Fahler, try the shrimp smoked in a Japanese oven (54-11-4833-2153; entrées, $5–$10).

LOCAL COLOR
City meets country on Sunday mornings at the Feria de Mataderos, where gauchos display their skills at horsemanship and folk music (www.feriademataderos.com.ar). The crude and compact Bombonera, home stadium to Argentina's most fanatically supported soccer team, the Boca Juniors, is not for the fainthearted, but a game against archrivals River Plate is among the most compelling sports events in the world (54-11-4309-4600; www.bocajuniors.com.ar).

GOING NATIVE
Tango may now be respectably mainstream, but a glimmer of its darker roots can still be seen at many dance salons, or milongas. Only tourists visit tango "shows"; locals prefer the bright lights and unflinching stares of Club Gricel (54-11-4957-7157) or La Viruta, where the kitchen is open until 3:30 a.m. and survivors are rewarded with medialunas (croissants) at dawn (54-11-4774-6357; $2 minimum).