San Telmo essential free tour: tango, market, museums, and more.
Tour description
We'll meet at the corner of Defensa Street and Belgrano Avenue (please check with a map other than the app, as it sometimes doesn't work as well) at the Santo Domingo Convent. I'll tell you about the English invasions and why this convent is so important in our history.
From there we will walk to the statue of Mafalda and if the queue is not too long we will take the famous photo.
The next stop is "La Casa Minima," the smallest house museum in Buenos Aires. But not before stopping at Zanjón de Granados, another museum where you can tour the underground tunnels of San Telmo. From there, we'll stop by the tango bar "El Viejo Almacen." I'll give you information about tango, not only about tango shows but also a bit about its history and the legendary milongas of Buenos Aires. We'll also visit Bar Sur, a traditional tango spot.
We'll take a look at the impressive Faculty of Engineering, then head back down Defensa Street and up to the San Telmo Market. At the market, we'll explore the various stalls. I'll give you some time to look around and maybe buy something.
Then we'll arrive at the famous square where we'll also take some time to see the market and, if we're lucky, maybe even see tango dancing.
We will stop to see the beautiful San Pedro Telmo Church and Penitentiary Museum (former Women's Prison).
Near the end of our tour, I'll show you two more museums you can visit in San Telmo: the Museum of Modern Art and the National Historical Museum. And finally, our last stop will be Casa Ezeiza, the famous "sausage house," an open-air museum where you can explore antiquities while I share with you the history of European immigration to Argentina during the 19th and 20th centuries.
My goal is for you to not only have a great time walking through this amazing neighborhood but also feel free to ask any questions about the city, what to do, where to shop, and the nightlife.
Sundays are a very special day since San Telmo hosts a giant open-air fair that covers practically the entire neighborhood. It is definitely a day not to be missed to visit this beautiful neighborhood.
I want to help you make the most of your visit to Buenos Aires, the city that never sleeps.
Note: San Telmo is a tango-filled neighborhood, and it's not uncommon to find dancers putting on short performances for tourists. You can even film them, and they might even want to teach you some steps. For this reason, it's important to tip them a little as a token of appreciation and respect for their art.
Convent of Santo Domingo
Statue of Mafalda
Minimal House
Zanjon de Granados Museum
Old Warehouse Tango Bar
San Telmo Market
Argentine Penitentiary Museum
Church of San Pedro Telmo
Ezeiza House
Museum of Modern Art