El Zanjón de Granados in San Telmo offers a fascinating glimpse into a very different side of…read moreBuenos Aires--hidden tunnels, restored ruins, and layered history beneath the city streets. The guided tour was especially memorable thanks to an energetic and engaging young guide who brought the space to life with great storytelling. It felt intimate and unexpected, like discovering another city under the one you think you know. Definitely worth visiting if you want a more unique, off-the-beaten-path experience in Buenos Aires. Also thankful for AC on a hot day outside.

It's a pretty structure and the tour was okay, but I personally didn't think it was worth the money…read moreand the time spent. I didn't find it super interesting, but maybe that's because I'm not typically that into history.

The museum is worth seeing…read more About eight percent of what they show is utterly amazing ... and worthy of totally serious study and long contemplative gazes. The shows change frequently, but all of the shows I saw had at least one and often more than one dramatically amazing piece of art. About forty percent of what they show here is godawful. This is about the same rate as what they have at the Museu de Bellas Artes in Belgrano. Don't look at the ugly stuff. Look at the amazing stuff. And you will have a wonderful afternoon. * * * * Technically, Yelp is a restaurant reviewing site Although people review everything on here as one time or another. How is the cafe? Great tables for sitting or working on your computer. Wonderful art work on the wall. (Robust stuff that could tolerate spilled coffee or a toddler's spaghetti mistake.) My coffee and cookie were ho hum. But the room is nice. If I had some art criticism to write ... This would be a fine place to do it. And BOY could I say a lot about the good stuff and the bad stuff on these walls.

If you visit Buenos Aires for any length of time you're likely to make time for La Boca, a colorful…read moreneighborhood about a 25+ minute cab-ride from central Buenos Aires. Judging from the tourists in La Boca, I'd say most come to go on a walking tour then stay for lunch and shopping. The smart ones though, come here. On any walking tour of the neighborhood you're likely to learn of the influence the artist Quinquela had on the area. His legacy is more than just the colorful buildings or even his art. So learn all about him then make time for this, which is not just a museum featuring his art (and art of others) but also his home. Smack dab in the center, right where the walking tours begin, this museum costs a pittance to enter. I'd noticed Quinquela's art already, in another museum, but place is everything. Here you have his art right in the place he was painting and depicting. Look out the windows and imagine seeing the same things he saw. But certainly don't overlook his equally colorful living quarters and, if weather permits, step out on the back deck (filled with sculpture) and get a unique view of Boca. His view. This is a really good addition to any tour of Boca. One would be remiss to come to the neighborhood and overlook this at its center. Lunch will wait.

The best reason to visit La Boca…read more * * * La Boca is a colorful neighborhood in southeast Buenos Aires, Right on the harbor just before the industrial yuck and the slums start. It is known for its beautiful painted buildings made out of corrugated steel containers and painted every bright wonderful color in the universe. Benito Quinquela Martin was a famous artist who lived in La Boca and painted La Boca. His paintings are just as wonderful as the beautiful houses. His own house is right in La Boca and has been turned into a museum. He was active in the artistic life of the city. The museum not only shows his work - but the work of the painters and sculptors who were his friends. His friends do wonderful stuff. Plus, Martin decorated his house in the style of La Boca. His home decoration is something to see. * * * That said .... None of these are the real reason you want to go to Benito Quinquela Martin's house. * * * People are funny when they are tourists and they go to see faraway places. They have two modes. "Beach Mode" and "Important Cultural Place" mode. Beach Mode is "I am on vacation. I am here to get drunk. I am here to have fun. Bring on the massive rum drinks and I ain't moving." Important Cultural Place Mode is "This place is very important. Everyone tells me it is wonderful. I have to see all of it. Right now". If the Louvre has 122 rooms of art, your job supposedly is to walk through all 122 rooms, and especially past very famous paintings like the Mona Lisa. Seeing "All" of a museum generally means seeing NONE of it, Because you are too busy to actually look at the paintings for more than four seconds each. * * * What you should do at Museu Benito Quinquela Martin Is you go into "Beach" mode, while you are in a beautiful cultural place. Martin was an artist. He actually lived in that house. Live in that house the way he would have. In particular, the house has a terrace on the roof. The roof is where people go in the summer in Buenos Aires to relax. Before air conditioning, it is where they went to get cool. If they were grilling meat for a party, they would have done this outside on the roof. If it was morning and they were drinking their mate, Or night and they were drinking their Malbec, They would have done it on the roof, Just sitting and relaxing. * * * Go up on the terrace, find a nice bench and sit down. They have sculptures there. It doesn't matter if you look at the sculptures or not. Just sit, and let the cool winds of the harbor blow through your hair. Look at what you see around you. If you get so comfortable, you drop off for a nap, That's okay too. You are in a safe place. Things will still be nice when you wake up. * * * The terrace on top of Benito Martin's house is magical. He designed it that way. He lived in it that way. You can enjoy it that way. Enjoy life the way Benito Martin enjoyed life. * * * It will be the happiest part of your visit to Argentina.

Located in the La Boca neighborhood, Caminito is a popular and colorful street that is popular…read moreamongst tourists. La Boca has historically been known as a poorer area of the city. Local artists decided to paint the tenement buildings, thus creating Caminito. You will see street vendors, tango dancers, artists, souvenir shops and restaurants. Some reviews mention that this area is dangerous but I did not feel that at all. It was as safe as anywhere else in the city (at least in the daytime). Even though I did not buy anything here, it was still fun to to walk down an entire street that had basically been turned into an art exhibit.

Colorful and traditional, this walkway in the La Boca area is dominated by tango dancers and…read moreartisans. Street performers were asking for money. Many were eating & drinking outside on tables. There were tables with crafts & indoor craft booths. There was no air conditioning and it was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There were no banks nor atm's and everyone wanted cash. There were many murals of Messier & the Pope.

The art is ok. Not much of it and it's expensive to get in for only spending about 15 minutes. :/…read more There are other better museums in BA!

it's a small modern art museum, mostly filled with paintings…read more if you're looking for the more interactive and diverse modern art museum, the MAMBA next door is the one you want, but this one is still worth a quick look (it's cheap and doesn't take long to go through). a fair amount of what was on display had a geometric/mathematic theme going on. tiny amount of seating. then again, it's quick to go through, you probably won't need to rest.

On the West side of Parque Lezama, this is a beautiful building with fenced in grounds. I saw…read moreanother review say it cost them a few bucks to get in, but it was free when we arrived on a Tuesday afternoon. The staff was friendly and the tour guide we had was absolutely amazing and super knowledgeable. The museum is very well done, though it focuses on a narrower period of Argentine history, after European colonization through the civil war and ending with the liberation of Bolívar and his contemporaries. There was a small section in the back focusing on Argentina's political history and celebrating 1984 when democracy finally ruled after a dark battle with dictators, military coups, and more.

As national history museums go this place is a bit of a let down, because it really focuses on only…read moretwo areas of Argentine history: the foundation of the nation, and soccer. You could argue that those are the two most important things, but it still leaves a lot out. The artifacts they have for those events are quite interesting, but Argentina has a complex rich history and deserves better than this. Absolutely worth visiting though.

Fundacion PROA is an art museum in the Boca Distrct of Buenos Aires…read more Never mind the paintings. They are awful. This is still an utterly amazing place. * * * Why in the world would you go to a museum with awful paintings? Three very very good reasons. 1) The Boca District itself is even worse. Boca is known for its colorful artistic brightly painted houses made out of shipping containers. Colorful statues lean out the windows. In theory, this should be a beautiful place. But it has turned into the biggest tourist trap in Buenos Aires. The area is jam packed with tourists, And jam packed with sheep-shearing merchants out to fleece those tourists. Going to a museum gets you away from most of the tourists, Since most of them are there to see real Argentine tango, eat a real Argentine steak, and buy leather wallets embossed with the word "Argentina". Fundacion Proa is too intellectually demanding for what they want to do. 2) The bookstore at Fundacion Proa is one of my favorites in Buenos Aires. Argentina is the best city for serious bookstores anywhere in the world. Repeat. Anywhere in the WORLD. London can't compete. Paris can't compete. New York City can't compete. The books are all in Spanish - because - odd thing - Argentinians tend to speak and read Spanish. But they read serious works from everywhere on the planet, on every serious subject imaginable. This is not just university professors and nerdy types. High school kids hang out in bookstores, buy serious books and take then home to read. Teenaged girls looking at their phones will discuss which socioecological theory book they are going to take home. On books, I prefer social science, economics and history - notably Argentine history. Fundacion Proa is weak on those. But they have some of the most of the extraordinary art books I have seen - and at amazingly cheap prices. The art theory and the cultural criticism collections are second to none. The philosophy section is better than any I have seen outside of Argentina. I left Fundacion Proa with an extremely large format poetry and photography book that intelligently addressed questions of non-substantiality, death, linkages and parallel realities. There would have been nothing this sophisticated in the bookstore of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 3) The cafe is one of the most beautiful rooms in Buenos Aires. The food is standard museum cafe food . Pleasant enough. The cafe is modern class and steel and features seemingly wrap-around light-filled air-filled views of the Great Harbor of Boca. Some of the expansiveness is illusory. Close examination will show that mirrors abound. But here you are surrounded with angular light, space expanding all across the city, the complex geographic forms of industrial Buenos Aires and an unlimited blue and white sky. The view is absolutely positively transfixing. And YES - you ARE supposed to spend all day in the cafe and just look at the view. The building was designed so that the terrace would be the piece de resistance. And a piece de resistance it really is. * * * You want the perfect place to connect with the beauty of the world, Far away from the chaos and crowds of the tourist armies? Far away from the slums and impending struggles of the villas miserias? Far away from the brutal real world which is Buenos Aires just beyond La Boca itself? * * * The terrace at Fundacion PROA is that last perfect abstract clear geometric space Before the surly disorder of Buenos Aires reasserts itself. Distill yourself in the transfiguration. Before they throw you out at seven, and you have to take a cab back to safety.

BA has lots of wonderful museums, but this was my favorite. It had a fun festive vibe. Unique,…read morevaried exhibits. Lovely balcony to take in beautiful views of La Boca.

Casa Rosada in Monserrat, Buenos Aires is an iconic and striking building. The pink façade is even…read moremore impressive in person, and the history behind it adds real weight to the visit. Standing in the Plaza de Mayo gives you a great sense of the country's story and energy. Definitely worth a stop if you're exploring central Buenos Aire

Casa Rosada is labeled as the "presidential palace", but it is not where the President actually…read morelives. It is just where his office is, as well as other government offices. I found the building rather unimpressive for such an important building. It can be compared to the White House of Argentina, but it is much smaller and looks worn down. There is a fence around it, so you cannot get inside without a tour. I tried to book a tour for this, but they only do tours on weekends and they fill up fast. Maybe if you are a history buff and want to look at some offices, you should try to book in advance. But based on all the reviews online, I did not feel like I was missing much.