Tours in Buenos Aires City

The capital city of the Republic of Argentina has been renamed as the “Paris in South America”. This is what Buenos Aires has become, a cosmopolitan city, close to the European avant-garde in the booming years of the early 20th century as shown by the classy and spectacular aspect of its buildings. However, its colonial past is still to be seen at the non chamfered corners, on the city layout, on the ancient Jesuit churches and on the vast “rioplatense” horizon. Buenos Aires possessed the oldest port in the Virreinato del Rio de la Plata (Viceroyalty of the River Plate) and it was its capital city as well. Today, this same port welcomes commercial ships and cruise ships as well, but in the old days it proudly used to welcome thousands of immigrants. The city means suburbs and tango - declared Non-Material World Heritage. Another treasure of this immense city that with a surface of 77 square miles is one of the ten most populated cities in the world.

Travel through the City of Buenos Aires

Excursions around the city of Buenos Aires

Excursions index

Classic City Tour of Buenos Aires

This City tour takes in the most emblematical places of Buenos Aires, visiting the National Congress, Plaza de Mayo together with the bordering Presidential House, the Casa Rosada, the Cathedral and the colonial Cabildo. We see the newly renovated and awesome Teatro Colón, historically one of the world's most important opera houses. Barrios with history, like San Telmo, that have nightly venues to dance the Tango or milongas, or La Boca, where lived the first immigrants, the great majority of Spanish and Italian origin, where we take some time in Caminito. Other barrios to visit are the residential barrio of Palermo with its trees and beautiful parks and Puerto Madero, the newest and most modern of them all where they reconstructed the dock warehouses that were abandoned to become one of the most exclusive barrios. La Recoleta is another barrio on our excursion with its famous cemetery bordered by fine cafes and restaurants, together with the colonial Church of Pilar.

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Private tour of the city of Buenos Aires

Breakfast in the hotel. Like many cities, Buenos Aires is split into areas (barrios) that commonly have distinctive features. We begin our tour visiting some of the most classic of these barrios where we will discover some splendid architecture that ranges from the old colonial structures such as the Cabildo, the ostentatious French style palaces and buildings mostly related to the very prosperous early twentieth century, art deco and the modern skyscrapers of the business micro centre and Puerto Madero, the renovated dock area. We go to some of its principal noteworthy sites such as the spectacular, recently renovated, Colón Opera Theatre, the most recognized monument, the Obelisk, the Plaza de Mayo, known especially for its silent protests against the military government and its surrounding buildings such as the Cabildo, the foundation of Buenos Aires, the Metropolitan Cathedral where lies the mausoleum of Don José de San Martin, the 'father' of the Republic, and, of course, the Presidential House, the Casa Rosada.

We discover barrios such as San Telmo, the Antique centre, which was inhabited by the first aristocracy until there was a general movement to Barrio Norte (Recoleta) due to the yellow fever outbreak at the end of the nineteenth century. We visit La Boca, the home of the famous football team, and one of the most picturesque barrios due to its colourful houses and its working class Italian immigrant influences. It is also known for its tango and art and here we take a walk down the artisans' passage and to its gallery as well as a walk to the Port. This is followed by a visit to Puerto Madero, the renovated dockland site, with the new part with its excellent offices and apartments securely separated from the city by bridges. Going further north we reach the very popular parks of Palermo known for their traditional monuments such as the Planetarium, Galileo Galilei and the Magna Carta.

We also visit the elite residential barrio of the City, Recoleta, where we also find the Museum of Fine Arts, the picturesque colonial church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the famous cemetery where Eva Peron was buried. These are situated close to the Plaza Francia where every Sunday there are popular artisanal stalls and people take advantage of sunny days relaxing in the beautiful plazas with their incredible trees. In Palermo Chico, a very exclusive residential zone, we can see luxury French style palaces and enjoy the parks designed by the French landscaper, Thays, that have a style different to the rest.

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A walking tour of Buenos Aires and a coffee in the Tortoni

Breakfast in the hotel. We start the walk in the barrio of Recoleta getting to know the Plaza Francia, the colonial church of la Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the cemetery where Eva Peron was buried and the La Biela Café, one of the most popular cafes. After, we pass by Retiro with its important train stations and the English Tower and the impressive San Martin plaza where we can see the tomb of the fallen heroes of the Falkland Island war. From the plaza we take the pedestrian Calle Florida, the busiest shopping street, with its beautiful Galerías Pacífico mall, until Avenida Córdoba where we descend to Puerto Madero. The city side of Puerto Madero consists of renovated wharf buildings that have been converted into offices and exclusive restaurants that were part of the booming 90s. The other side, connected by bridges, including the La Mujer bridge which was designed by the talented Spanish architect Calatrava, is a very modern office and hotel development.

We walk a few blocks along the docks until we are nearly level to the Casa Rosada, the Presidential House, where we then divert back towards the City via the Plaza de Mayo with its surrounding buildings such as the colonial Cabildo and the Metropolitan Cathedral. If it is a Sunday we then go along streets cobbled in the Colonial days until San Thelmo and its cultural centre, La Plaza Dorrego, to visit its famous fair known especially for its antiques but also for its books and artisanal products. Apart from Sundays we walk from the Plaza de Mayo along the Avenida de Mayo with its art deco and art nouveau buildings until we take a well earned rest and an aperitif in the traditional and old Café Tortoni, a named city cultural site. The Café Tortoni, although with an Italian name, was in fact founded by a Frenchman in 1858. The Avenida de Mayo, at the beginning of the 20th century had very wide walkways and its trees gave it life and also protection from the sun. One of the special features of the avenue is the Palacio Barolo. We then return to the hotel to rest after a very active day. If you want to see other excursion options in Buenos Aires, click here: Tours in Buenos Aires.

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San Telmo Fair and Café Tortoni

We visit the antique and artisanal market in the emblematic barrio of San Telmo and then go to the Café Tortoni, two true icons of Buenos Aires. The Café Tortoni, apart from its Italian name was actually founded by a Frenchman and is situated in the Avenida de Mayo, a street colonized by the Spanish immigrants, it is a true synthesis of the man of Buenos Aires. This tour, combining the San Telmo market and an aperitif in the traditional Tortoni is a good reflection of the old city times. We commence the excursion in San Telmo, one of the oldest barrios of Buenos Aires: the aristocracy lived here until 1871 when the yellow fever arrived and also the influx of immigrants influenced the move out to the north of Buenos Aires.

Since 1970, artists and intellectuals became attracted to the barrio and this caused a notable increase in activity, especially artisanal. Its rich architectural history, the mixture of cobbled streets with colonial and French style houses, together with a bohemian lifestyle, has given San Telmo a respected personality. In the market, we come across works of art and antiques from books and old photos, clothes and games that are a connection to the past and allow us to discover how they lived in the colonial times. Note: this tour is made only on Sundays. If it is not possible to make it on a Sunday then the market of San Telmo is excluded because that is the only day that it is open.

Note: This tour effects exclusively the days Sunday. If it can not coincide with a day Sunday, changes it to him by the same excursion but without visiting the Fair of Saint Telmo, since it opens sólamente this day.

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Shopping in Buenos Aires - Recoleta Malls

Breakfast at the Hotel. We will go shopping towards the most important malls of Buenos Aires in the exclusive district Recoleta. Buenos Aires Design, Patio Bullrich and Galerías Pacífico in Cordova Av. and the pedestrian Florida St.

During the morning we'll go though Buenos Aires Design or Patio Bullrich. Then we'll make a stop for having lunch at Puerto Madero. In the afternoon we'll be transferred to Galerías Pacífico Mall situated in Florida St.

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Day of Tango

We take a program dedicated to the understanding of the Tango and its slum origins. We begin in the old immigrant suburbs of Buenos Aires, La Boca, by visiting a classic tenement house where the Tango started and converted into popular dance and urban music. The tenement blocks were old rectangular houses which were overcrowded with immigrants of different nationalities that had one thing in common: being poor. We follow this by a visit back to the City, to the Avenida Corrientes, the Broadway of Buenos Aires, where many of the theatre works are related to Tango, and to the Palais de Grace where the aristocracy started in the Tango. These were the ones who introduced the dance into Europe. We finish in the zone of Abasto in the house lived in by the famous Tango singer, Carlos Gardel.

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Dinner Tango Show

In the evening we enjoy a dinner and Tango show at one of the best venues of Buenos Aires ( Homero Manzi / Complejo Tango / Señor Tango / La Esquina de Carlos Gardel / Madero Tango). The Tango has a special charm outside of its origin: From New York to Sydney, people that have never visited Argentina are left seduced by its mystique and sensuality. Others stay captivated by the music. This original tour traces in parallel the history of the city and that of the tango journeying by its different stages of development from its birth in the slums, to its consummation in the Avenida Corrientes and its later internationalization.

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Evening tour of local milonga venues

In the evening we tour some interesting local milonga sites. Although Tango comes from Buenos Aires it is now known and danced worldwide. The young have generated a movement around the Tango revitalising in an itinerary formed by the milongas. We treat ourselves to the sites that are prepared for this activity and that group people of different ages, origins, and social classes that combine to dance a more genuine tango into the early hours, far away from the more commercial shows. Each milonga has its own style of dance and its followers, we go two of venues to inter ourselves in a night of tango. If you want to see other excursion options in Buenos Aires, click here: Tours in Buenos Aires.

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Coffee shops in Buenos Aires

The local town idiosyncrasy defines itself in the friendship cult that is shown by the locals. The meetings of friends are commonly organised in the classical cafes and this is part of the distinctive café society that historically was the usual place to see the artists and intellectuals. In 1998, the City Mayor promoted a law with the object of protecting and promoting the ‘Cafés Notables de Buenos Aires’. We discover four classical meeting points of the local town life. We start in the centre of the city, close to the Plaza de Mayo, in La Puerto Rico, a place that frequented many writers such as Paul Groussac, Arturo Capdevila, and Raphael Obligado.

In La Puerto Rico they filmed some of the scenes from ‘Las Cosas del querer II’. After, we go to London City, a cafe where Julio Cortázar was to be commonly found. We carry on our tour of cafes until the barrio of San Telmo where we find the Bar Dorrego on the streets Defensa and Humberto Primo. We can enjoy the colonial feel of this classical, picturesque and old barrio of the city of Buenos Aires. We finish our tour in the barrio of Almagro. On the corner of the Avenidas Rivadavia and Medrano is an historical and refined tea house, Las Violetas, which dates from 1884. The writers Roberto Arlt and Alfonsina Storni were patrons of the fine tables of this establishment. A detail that shows the luxury of other times is the 80 square metres of stained glass windows.

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Jewish Buenos Aires

Breakfast in the hotel. On this day there are three choices: to visit the city of Luján or La Plata or a walk by the barrios most associated with the Jewish community of Buenos Aires and also the most important related places. Luján and La Plata are similar distances, less than 100kms, from the centre of Buenos Aires, the first to the West and the other to the South and both are reached by fast highways. Luján is an important patrimonial cultural site. In the historic city centre we visit the colonial style Enrique Udaondo museum of ethnology, the car museum, the markets of the Avenida Nuestra Señora de Luján and finally the impressive Gothic styled Cathedral, la Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Luján, where a great number of believers give testimony to their faith. Here you can have an optional excellent Argentinean barbecue lunch.

La Plata is the capital of the Province of Buenos Aires and is well known for its street design with its numbered streets and especially its diagonals. Highlights of the city include its museums and its diverse architecture. On our visit we will see the Cathedral, the Natural Sciences Museum, the Governor's House, the Casa Curutchet which was designed by Le Corbusier and is situated in the Avenues 1 and 53, and finally the Paseo del Bosque, where you can see different types of trees such as eucalyptus, oaks and ginkos and the artificial lakes.

In the Jewish Buenos Aires we go to visit the places renowned by the Jewish society, fundamental in the construction of the eclectic personality of the city. We go to the Israel Embassy, la AMIA, the la Shóa museum and the Hebrew Argentine Society where shine the murals of Batle Planas and Castagnino. We finish with a walk in the traditional barrios of Abasto, Villa Crespo and Once.

Note: It is possible to opt for one of the three visits or spend a day in the Buenos Aires countryside.

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La Bombonera Stadium of Boca Juniors

Breakfast in the hotel. We take a visit to the stadium of one of the most famous clubs of Argentina: The stadium of Boca Juniors known as La Bombonera and found in the barrio of Boca. It is one of the most successful clubs in the world and together with River, San Lorenzo, Racing and Independiente make up the teams with the most local history. Equal with Milan of Italy they have the most international titles. Amongst its installations there is the 'Casa Amarilla' (Yellow house), which is the training place for the first division team and also consists of sporting gymnasiums used by teams of volleyball and basketball, meeting rooms and press facilities, its own university and a museum called 'Museo de la Pasión Boquense'. The famous stadium 'La Bombonera' has inside, murals painted by Benito Quinquela Martín with its blue and yellow that represent its original colours chosen by the first supporters who decided that they would have the colours of the first ship to arrive at the port which happened to be from Switzerland.

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Monumental Stadium of River Plate

Breakfast in the hotel. We go to see the Antonio Vespucio Liberti stadium, more commonly known as the Monumental de River Plate, one of the most important and successful clubs of Argentina with many historic trophies to its name including an Intercontinental Cup, Libertadores Cups, Supercup and Interamericana Cup. The club was founded in 1901, and oddly it started in the barrio (district) of La Boca, where exists its arch rival Boca Juniors, before moving to the barrio of Palermo and later to its current stadium in the barrio of Nuñez. 'El Monumental' was constructed in 1938 and River played its first match there against Peñarol from Montevideo. The stadium was finally completed in 1958 thanks to the important sale of Enrique Omar Sivori to Juventus. The maximum capacity of the stadium is 80,000 and it is used for many pop concerts. With the World Cup of 1978 the stadium had its last remodel.

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Boca Juniors vs. River Plate: The Classic Argentinean derby match

Breakfast in the hotel. We go to either La Bombonera in the barrio of La Boca or La Monumental in Nuñez depending on where the game is to be held. This game is a spectacular and driven by the passion of their supporters for the colours of their teams. A special moment is when the teams enter the stadium with a crescendo of clapping and encouragement and a torrent of paper floating round the stadium. The combination of this and the explosion of noise and colour make this a spectacle difficult to forget.

Note: We do not only offer the chance to participate in this grand derby match, depending on the local calendar there are other derby matches that attract much local fervor and considered classics of Argentinean football such as: River – San Lorenzo, Racing – Independiente, Boca – Racing, San Lorenzo – Boca, Interpendiente – River, San Lorenzo – Huracán, Independiente – Boca. Also we suggest to include amongst the interesting teams that of Velez Sarfield which has less supporters than the rest but has a rich football history.

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