Tours/Buenos Aires/Buenos Aires Private Historical Downtown, San Telmo and La Boca Walking Tour
Viator · Private tour

Buenos Aires Private Historical Downtown, San Telmo and La Boca Walking Tour

4.5(13)Buenos Aires1 hour
VIATOR4.3(9)TRIPADVISOR5.0(4)

Description

Discover fascinating Buenos Aires in close-up detail! You'll feel like you're witnessing and understanding how such a peculiar city and culture evolved along time in this walking tour through the city's historical areas, which takes you to more than 50 of Buenos Aires’ must-see attractions, including Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada, Metropolitan Cathedral (of Pope Francis fame), San Telmo (earliest neighbourhood), world-famous hyper-colourful La Boca neighbourhood and more! Learn about the history of Buenos Aires while seeing both its most famous highlights and also its lesser-known sights!

Tour Options

Historical Tour in French
  • French Speaking Guide: Buenos Aires Historical Walking Tour with French speaking guide
Buenos Aires Historical Walking Tour
  • Pickup included

Itinerary

5 min

The Obelisco de Buenos Aires (Obelisk of Buenos Aires) is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires (hear its fascinating stories!), located at the intersection of famous Corrientes and 9 de Julio (world's widest avenue) erected to commemorate the 400 centenary of the foundation of the city.

5 min

The often controversial Palace of Justice of the Argentine Nation (Spanish: Palacio de Justicia de la Nación Argentina, more often referred locally as Palacio de Justicia or Palacio de Tribunales), is a large building complex located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the seat of the Supreme Court and other lower courts.

5 min

Opera house: The Teatro Colón (Spanish: Columbus Theatre) is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic.

5 min

The extremely beautiful Teatro Nacional Cervantes in Buenos Aires is the national stage and comedy theatre of Argentina and was donated by the kings of Spain to Argentina at the beginning of the 20th century. You would never guess where the stage is, but your guide will tell you.

10 min

World famous Florida St. is the flamboyant downtown pedestrian street, where Harrods built its only branch outside London, England and our National Anthem was sung for the first time and the amazing Galerias Pacifico mall (built by George Soros!) shows its amazing beauty, world famous ceiling murals and fascinating stores.

5 min

The astonishingly beautiful club founded by the hyper-wealthy Argentine naval officers in 1882 has a most amazing art nouveau entrance made in bronze obtained from melted down canons that were used in Argentina's battle for independence.

10 min

This amazingly beautiful mall was built as a Beaux Arts building and was designed by french architects in 1889 to accommodate a shop called the Argentine Bon Marché, modelled on the Le Bon Marché in Paris and revamped to our poshest downtown mall by George Soros in 1990.

30 min

Plaza de Mayo is both the foundational place of the city, where the presidential Casa Rosada is located and the place where all important historical and political events have happened. We will explain it all, including "The mothers of the Disappeared" and the Metropolitan Cathedral where Pope Francis used to be the Bishop of, and much, much more!

15 min

This is the Metropolitan Cathedral where Pope Francis used to be the Bishop of, our main hero, General Jose de San Martin is buried and much, much more!

5 min

The Pirámide de Mayo located at the hub of the Plaza de Mayo, is the oldest national monument in the City of Buenos Aires. We will explain its history and meaning.

10 min

Our liberator and hero is buried in a beautiful tomb, but it has the strangest story: hear everything about it and him.

10 min

In 1882 the national government contracted the local businessman Eduardo Madero to take charge of the construction of a new port. It was a big failure, but in recent years it has revamped, became ultra-fashionable and represents the latest architectural trends. We willl explain it all.

10 min

The Casa Rosada (English: Pink House) is the office of the president of Argentina. The palatial mansion is known officially as Casa de Gobierno ("Government House"). The characteristic color of the Casa Rosada is baby pink, and is considered one of the most emblematic buildings in Buenos Aires. The building also houses a museum, which contains objects relating to former presidents of Argentina. It has been declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina.

5 min

The narrowest colonial house in Buenos Aires, built by freedmen following the 1812 abolition of slavery in Argentina.

10 min

In the past it was referred to as Hueco del Alto or Alto de la carretas as it was the place where wagons would stop before crossing the Tercero del Sur stream (today called Pasaje San Lorenzo) on their way downtown. The name had been Alto de San Pedro and later changed to Plaza del Comercio in 1822. In 1905, the name was changed once again to its current form. It is the core of the San Telmo "antique" trade (and fair).

30 min

This is the key, history-full street that links downtown with picturesque, historical San Telmo neighbourhood, oldest in town and where the world-famous San Telmo fair takes place.

10 min

The beautiful colonial church built on behalf of Our Lady of Belen and annexed to an armory (later the jail for women) that belonged to the Jesuits before they were expelled in 1767. It was the church of the sailormen and had an important role during the first British invasion of 1806.

10 min

The 1980 restoration of the former Ezeiza family mansion into the Pasaje de la Defensa ("Defensa Street Promenade"), moreover, has led to the refurbishment of numerous such structures, many of which had been conventillos (tenements) since the 1870s. As most of San Telmo's 19th century architecture and cobblestone streets remain, it has also become an important tourist attraction.

5 min

Where the country started: Historians believe the park's eastern slope to have been the site of Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Mendoza's landing on what became the first, failed attempt to establish Buenos Aires in 1536. We will explain the beautiful monument and much more.

45 min

La Boca is a popular destination for tourists visiting Argentina, with its colourful houses and pedestrian street, the Caminito, where tango artists perform and tango-related memorabilia is sold. Other attractions include the La Ribera theatre, many tango clubs and Italian taverns

Highlights

Professional English-speaking guide
Coffee break

What's included

Included
Professional English-speaking guide
Coffee break
Not included
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities
Food and drinks

Pickup Locations & Times

Must confirm pickup point by email or telephone no less than 24 hours before the outing.

Traveller Ratings

4.5
13 reviews
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Important Information

  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Children under the age of 8 are free of charge when accompanied by an adult
  • Minimum number of 2 passengers required for tour to operate
  • Note: tour operates rain or shine
  • Coverage of full itinerary may depend on weather, city-dynamics (riots, strikes, repairs), timing and other circumstances at time of tour.

Reviews(13)

D
Dennis_M
January 31, 2026
getting to know Buenos Aires!

joaquin was great. Very knowledgeable about history, facts and present day issues for Buenos Aires. Great walk through the city.

Operator response

Thank you Dennis, our pleasure to let you discover our amazing city

J
janety973
January 14, 2026
Walking tour of significant Buenos Aires neighborhoods.

The walking tour has a lot of information on history of the country and was paced well to allow us have time for pictures and viewing the areas. The tour guide is knowledgeable and have a pleasant personality. We enjoyed the tour very much.

Operator response

Thank you Janet, hope to be able to show you the rest of our amazing city in a near future. Cheers

H
Hannah307
November 24, 2025
Great Private Walking Tour

We did the Recoleta and the downtown tour with Rosty and Joaquin respectively. It was so nice being on a private tour just with the family. We got so much information about Argentina and so many fun facts and got to see so many different places. Highly highly recommended. If we come back we would do another walking tour!

Operator response

It was a pleasure to show our amazing city, its culture, architecture, and history (as well as historical gossips) and we are very happy you've enjoyed it. As told you in advance, our guides are the best!!!

2
200mountaingirl
September 27, 2025
Fascinating tour

A very interesting tour covering history politics architecture and much more -l if you have time add on the La Boca extension

Operator response

Glad to hear you've enjoyed our basic tour and La Boca extension. Hope to have you back soon in Buenos Aires to show you other landmarks in our amazing city

3
374charog
October 12, 2023
Corners of Buenos Aires

Spectacular tour of the best of the points of interest with corners that you cannot imagine. Our guide, the best... will leave you wanting to return and learn even more.

P
Patrick M
October 24, 2017
This was the perfect way to begin...

<p>This was the perfect way to begin our trip to Argentina with a lovely walk through the city center learning about the fascinating history of Buenos Aires. Our guide was personable and intelligent to a fault, commenting on the role of certain places in the national history while pointing out details of architecture and design and offering a running commentary on Argentina today compared to yesteryear. We visited noteworthy churches, plazas, public buildings, as well as hidden spots, and had a cortado break in one of the older, time-honored cafes. The group was small, allowing us to bond with each other. The time spent was memorable, indeed it went by too quickly, and we went away with our heads filled with ideas for the rest of our time in Buenos Aires.</p>

A
Ana V
February 15, 2016
Dont waste your time. Very poor...

<p>Dont waste your time. Very poor tour. We ended terribly disappointed. I would definitely wont suggest this tour to anyone.<br/> The tour last for 2 hours, the guide was not in the mood to show much around.. she had a terrible attitude with us and considering the price we paid her, she should had put a minimum effort!</p>

A
Andrew R
October 10, 2015
Soledad was extremely nice and was...

<p>Soledad was extremely nice and was very informative. Highly recommended for anyone looking to learn about Buenos Aires from a local and not just a history book.</p>

L
Lael S
August 18, 2015
Soledad was great and informative...

<p>Soledad was great and informative. We saw a lot but the tour needed one more hour as it was rushed. I couldn't photograph the cathedral and we really didn't even see it beyond the spot where San Martin's body lays at rest. But we learned and saw a lot. Good walking shoes a must.</p>

S
Sharne A
February 21, 2014
The tour guide was very informative...

<p>The tour guide was very informative. Asa there were only three of us in the tour it was like having a personal tour</p>

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