Buenos Aires Walking Tours

From your hotel, your guide will accompany you by taxi to reach the neighborhood of your choice and then show you the highlights. Safe, flat and fascinating, these neighborhoods, traveled on foot, will make a memorable component to your Argentina tours. Choose your tour from these four neighborhoods:

Plaza de Mayo
Over Argentina’s tumultuous history, much has happened in the environs of the Plaza de Mayo. This downtown Buenos Aires neighborhood was the city’s first, founded in the 16th century and its plaza subsequently named to commemorate independence from Spain. At one end stands the Casa Rosada, the pink presidential palace where Juan Peron and his celebrity wife, Evita, used to address adoring throngs from their balcony. In the plaza itself the grieving Madres de la Plaza de Mayo have marched for decades, protesting the disappearance of their children during the country’s military rule. Nearby are the Catedral Metropolitana, containing the tomb of national hero, Gen. Jose de San Martin; the Cabildo, formerly Town Hall and today a museum; and the colossal buildings where government business is conducted now. This is monumental, serious Buenos Aires, with wide streets that allow visitors to take in the grandeur of its stately structures.

San Telmo
Just south of the city center lies photogenic San Telmo, where rich immigrants first built their mansions. Today the neighborhood has a more bohemian arty vibe than aristocratic. Its narrow cobblestone streets wind past colonial buildings, some of which have been converted into museums. San Telmo is a browsers paradise, with antique shops galore and an indoor Mercado. At Plaza Dorrego, the city’s second oldest square, a mammoth antiques market takes place every Sunday, making it a great place to watch street tango and pick up a mate cup souvenir of your travel to Argentina.

Recoleta
The Recoleta neighborhood was named after the Franciscan order that built the Basilica of Pilar and the convent next door in 1716. This upscale neighborhood of fancy homes, posh boutiques and fine dining establishments is a favorite with visitors on Buenos Aires tours. A city within a city, the Recoleta Cemetery is Buenos Aires biggest tourist attraction. Visitors come here to photograph its extravagant above-ground tombs and mausoleums, including the most oft-visited grave site of Eva Peron (Evita). On Saturday and Sunday, the city’s largest crafts market is held in the Recoleta neighborhood, a great spot for finding one-of-a-kind souvenirs.

Palermo
Palermo is a handsome neighborhood of cobblestone streets and bougainvillea-draped mansions with various subdivisions. Palermo Soho is where we recommend that visitors on Argentina tours spend time. Named after its New York counterpart, Palermo Soho is hip Buenos Aires. Here young designers have opened boutiques that line Honduras Street down to the Plaza Serrano where a weekend market fills the area to overflowing. This is a great opportunity for clothes shopping in Buenos Aires. With its art galleries, cafes and unique shops, this charming neighborhood is ideal for a morning or afternoon stroll.