Don't let the long line streaming down the block fool you. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, what I…read moreconsider to be Buenos Aires' answer to "most Met-equivalent museum in South America", is free to enter and the line moves quickly. Seemingly the sole reason for the line is the ticketing process during which you're asked if you'd like to make a donation. There's no pressure and you'll be handed a ticket whatever your response, but the process does slow the surge of guests into the place and that's probably a good thing. This is a very popular, excellent museum. I'm a slow and methodical viewer of art and when I say that I tired of looking at everything before running out of things to look at you get an idea of the size of the collection. I began upstairs, where the more modern collection resides then moved down to the main floor with an extensive collection of, well, everything that wasn't up on the second floor. Wanting to at least see the whole place I moved on to a ground floor extension that housed an Egypt-centric exhibit heavy on Spanish text which I couldn't read. No worries; my attention span was shot. Days later, friends we were traveling with came here. There was still a line but they - with differing tastes than me - confirmed the same findings: this is a great museum. I'm not certain what days and times are least attended but if you're not a fan of crowds you might consider such a question before a visit as the Argentinians seem to know what you're waiting to discover: this place is a treasure.

I came to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes expecting something on the scale of a national museum…read more Instead, the whole visit felt surprisingly thin. There are a few strong works, but the collection and layout feel sparse and don't really deliver the depth you'd expect from Argentina's main art institution. The backpack rule doesn't help. You're required to wear it on your chest, which is awkward, uncomfortable, and honestly makes walking around harder than it needs to be. It throws off your movement and makes you more likely to bump into things or lose your footing. Not exactly smart museum design. The exterior of the building is impressive, but inside it never quite rises to the level the name promises. Worth a quick stop if you're in the area, but it doesn't feel like a world-class experience.

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.

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 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.

If you have never been to a holocaust museum, this is worth viewing. For English-only speakers, be…read moreaware this is not a multi-lingual museum. If you have been to the US Holocaust museum, the most notable difference (besides depth of the collection) is the Argentine angle on the seizure of Adolf Eichmann who was living in hiding in Argentina under an assumed name.

I really enjoyed it without having an obsession with fire arms or shiny armor…read more The entrance fee is very reasonable. I believe it was 20 pesos. The museum itself is massive and a lot bigger than what I had expected. They have a lot of private collections displayed here and they are IMPRESSIVE. Japanese, Samurai section alone is very cool and makes the museum worth visiting. Pictures are permitted so all of you bloggers and instagramers this is a good spot to get some good footage as well ^__________________^

Wonderful Belle Époque Ice Skating rink modeled after one in Paris, this round architectural…read moreremnant is now home to a fantastic gem of an art museum! Another free museum in Buenos Aires, make sure you see this! The exhibits while we we there included the submittals to the 2015 National Art Juried Show- and there were some pieces the likes of which I have never seen! Fresh, relevant, modern- I love seeing new ideas and artists being showcased! And in such a beautiful venue! Upstairs, there was an exhibit to advertising art, and a lot of really "make you think" preachy art. I actually LOVED It! This museum is a new favorite and going on my list! Check it out if you can, but remember, nothing opens in Buenos Aires until NOON!

Peace Palace! This place is an overly ornate palace, built…read moreby some 1%er in Buenos Aires next to Plaza San Martin. They were way over the top- with crazy carved statues, marble columns, ornate parqueted floors, wildly carved fireplaces. We went to try and check it out, and got stonewalled when trying to buy tickets- apparently they can't sell tickets in advance. So when we showed up at the time they told us to be there when the tour starts, we waited around for an hour for them to get to start the tour. When they did, the tour ran over forty minutes longer than it was supposed to. We'd tour one room every twenty minutes or so. It was painfully slow. I could've walked through the whole place in a few minutes, but instead spent sooo much time scrutinizing over every little detail (in Espanol). It totally wasn't worth the admission price, and looking at pictures of their dance room would've done just fine with me. I was really disappointed with this attraction. For some reason, I thought the collection of cannons outside of this place was affiliated with it, and I'd get to see some guns, but that apparently is a different museum. I couldn't peace out of this palace fast enough.

Service in the restaurant is horrible. The atmosphere is fine, the food is good, but the host and…read moreservers are totally indifferent. I waited 15 minutes for a menu, nd when I called the hostess back over, she looked st me and said what do you want! Well, after 15 minutes, a menu and water would be nice. 2 tables left before ordering, and another without finishing their meals. We asked for the check after our appetizer and went elsewhere for our meal. What a shame! El servicio en el restaurante es horrible. El ambiente está bien, la comida es buena, pero el anfitrión y los servidores son totalmente indiferentes. Esperé 15 minutos para un menú, y cuando llamé a la anfitriona, ella me miró y me dijo ¡qué quieres! Bueno, después de 15 minutos, un menú y agua sería agradable. Quedan 2 mesas antes de ordenar, y otra sin terminar sus comidas. Pedimos el cheque después de nuestro aperitivo y fuimos a otro lugar para nuestra comida. ¡Qué pena!

Metropolitan Cathedral Pope Francis' church!…read more On the outside, this doesn't look much like a church. It's the least holiest national church I think I've ever been in. It looks like the US Treasury Building, or the Parthenon, like a Greek Temple, with classical designs, mixed with modern along the bottom of the building. Architecturally, it looks like it was designed by someone who had ADD, or there was a committee that couldn't agree on anything. It's a mishmash of weird that's not a church. There's subtle catholic markings on the outside of the church. On the inside, it's completely different! It's fantastically beautiful! Be sure to check out the tomb of San Martin. It's like the holiest of holies for Argentina. They have a standing guard at all times. When I went, they happened to be doing the changing of the guards, which involved a lot of marching and saluting. Really cool. The artwork here is wonderful! Every niche, every surface is either covered in a beautiful tapestry, gilded, fresco, mosaic, or a masterpiece painting. There are places to sit and contemplate in the pews. It's a working church. It's free to enter. The church is right on the Plaza de Mayo, where the Casa Rosada is. This is like the Zocalo in CDMX or the National Mall in DC. Parking is going to be a problem.

It is not much to look at from the outside, but it is stunning once you are inside. We were here on…read moreEaster so it was packed, as you can imagine, so we did not stay too long. Definitely worth a visit, whether you are religious or not.