Free tour Retiro and Recoleta: Aristocratic Buenos Aires
Hi! We are Rodrigo, Alejandro, Gonzalo and Luke. The first three born and raised in Buenos Aires and its surroundings, while Luke is originally from the USA but calls Buenos Aires home 15 years ago. Rodrigo has been a tour guide for over 10 years in 3 different cities (Buenos Aires, Copenhagen and Berlin). He has also worked in tourism in Sierra Leone and Norway. He studied political science, journalism and is currently studying tourism and sustainable development. He considers himself a life enthusiast, easy going and sociable. He is interested in politics, history, architecture, music, soccer, psychology and literature. And that is what his tours are all about. Gonzalo has a degree in Administration and worked for several years generating business. Almost two years ago he realized that what he enjoys most is walking the city, telling its stories and sharing a way of looking at it. An engineer's head, but a heart that loves to tell stories. He studied history and philosophy of art to understand how ideas, spaces and people connect, He focuses on history, architecture and culture beyond data. Luke is from Arizona, USA, lived in Ecuador for a year in 2011 before settling in Buenos Aires. He has a Master's degree in Latin American Studies and specialises in indigenous communities. He has also worked for NGO's and has been working in the tourism industry for nearly 15 years. He has been trying to understand not only the history, but also the thrust of modern Argentine culture for over a decade. Luckily for him, Buenos Aires is anything but boring and his curiosity continues to feed off the ups and downs of this city. We can also help you with football matches and tango shows, if that is what you are into. And we can certainly tailor made your tour upon request, both in Spanish and in English. So feel free to reach out.
Pickup
We meet right by the main monument at Plaza San Martin. I have beard, moustache and glasses. I will send a message on the day of the tour to make it easier to recognise me
Description
Aristocratic Buenos Aires!
Join me on a walk through two of the most architecturally impressive neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, home to the French-obsessed oligarchic elites of late 1800, who tried to shape Buenos Aires after the French capital.
Discover the glamour and extravagance of the "Paris of South America" by visiting Retiro and Recoleta. The chosen neighbourhoods by Argentina's French-obsessed economic (and oligarchic) elites in the late 1800s and the beginning of the 20th century, where they constructed 60-room French palaces to show off their wealth and power, and competed for fame and influence.
San Martin and his liberations campaigns, the golden age of Argentina, stories of love and revenge that echo through time, quirks, and bizarre facts and habits of Buenos Aires and its people, "los porteños".
Go back into the glamour of the old days, as you learn about Argentina's "Belle Époque", and how their fortunes (and misfortunes) intertwined with the ups and downs of the country throughout the 20th century and all the way until today.
During the tour, we will see:
- San Martín Square:
- - Anchorena Palace
- - Kavanagh building
- - Paz Palace
- - Monument to José de San Martín (Argentina's main National Hero)
- The Monumental Tower (formerly known as the British Tower)
- Arroyo Street
- Embassy of France
- Embassy of Brazil
- Alvear Avenue: home to Argentina's finest palaces
Useful information:
- The tour will end at the Plaza Francia, right in front of the Cemetery of Recoleta.
- This tour DOES NOT include the cemetery