Contrary to some visitors’ expectations, Buenos Aires is not an austral suburb of Rio de Janeiro – a tropical beach resort packed with perfectly rounded buttocks, waves innocently lapping at pedi-tastic toes paddling through shallow waters. Oh no. That would be Punta del Este, where wealthy porteños can be located for the duration of summer…

Back in BA, the dog days can be cruel, with the heat sizzling so ferociously you could sear a steak on hot air alone. Temperatures effortlessly reach 40C to make headline news and it seems like even the walls break out into a sweat.

Although innocent faces fall when they realise their best dipping option is in the River Plate (often described as murky but for the purpose of this article, let’s call it coconut oil-coloured), Buenos Aires does push the boat out in summer – and not just by turning the fountains on.

However, all this talk of lifting a finger only to break out into a sweat is one thing but by mid-February, downpours and flash-flooding become the latest headlines in an otherwise dry summer.

To add insult to injury, even when giant drops are falling on your head, the incandescence refuses to ease up for a single muggy moment. So to help you with BA’s unforgiving summer, here are Time Out’s top tips on how to keep cool and dry.

For the rest of this article, please check out Time Out Insider’s Guide Spring/Summer 2011/12, available from all good news-stands.