Free tour

RETREAT: THE CREOLE ARISTOCRACY

5.00

Excellent(24)

Buenos Aires

Duration: 2 hours

Languages: Spanish

Guru: Gabriel

PRO

Verified quality

Registered on 26 July 2022

Hello. I'm Gabriel. History professor, Journalism graduate, Broadcaster... and a few other things that don't fit into a title. But if you'll allow me, I want to avoid labels. I want to tell you how I walk through the city. I don't give tours, I tell chronicles. I believe the best classroom has no walls. It's in the street. Where the bus rumbles, where an umbrella opens in the rain, where two old men argue politics on a street corner. That's why my tours aren't strolls. They're conversations in motion. About History, Politics, Philosophy, Art... and also about mate, barbecue, the tram that no longer runs, and the streets that hold forgotten names. Because for me, learning isn't about accumulating data. It's about feeling, asking questions, remembering. What are we going to do together? Walk through Monserrat, Retiro, San Telmo, or San Nicolás with the eyes of a curious person, not a tourist. Ask ourselves: Who lived in that mansion? What were they thinking as they looked at the square? Talking about Borges in an old bookstore, about Perón on a corner in San Telmo, about the disappeared who have no name in stone, but in memory. Entering a museum not as a visitor, but as someone who wants to understand why someone painted that way, at that time, with that color. And, of course, sharing a mate, an empanada, a beer, while the city follows its rhythm. This tour is for you if... You're not satisfied with a photo. You want a story. You believe that culture isn't consumed: it's lived. "The best place to learn, know, and understand reality is reality itself, the only truth, which is in the streets, pulsating with the life of the people."

Free reservation and cancellation

Pay-what-you-want tour, no set price, reservation and cancellation are free

Tour description

You'll walk among mansions fit for kings, Victorian iron stations, and balconies where Argentina's destiny was decided. Includes a FREE authentic mate experience 🧉 + complimentary yerba mate 🎁

Walking tour of palaces, trains, and diplomatic secrets + FREE mate 🧉 (MUST ASK FOR IT)

This tour isn't a tourist tour. It's an immersion in Retiro, the neighborhood where the Creole aristocracy fled yellow fever in 1871 and built palaces fit for kings.

What are we going to do together?

Stroll through the “aristocratic corner of Buenos Aires,” where luxury and work go hand in hand.

Let's ask ourselves: Who lived on that balcony? What treaty was signed in that room? What was the person who looked out over the river from there dreaming?

Talk about the immigrants who arrived by train with suitcases of hope, and the families who built empires on cobblestones.

Enter iconic places—if they're open—because history isn't seen from the outside. It's experienced.

📍 What we'll see:

🏛️ Plaza San Martín, with its monument and war tunnels

🕌 Monumental Tower, formerly the English Tower, which sounds like Big Ben

🚂 Retiro Station, a jewel of iron and glass imported from London, marking the time with British precision

🕊️ Cenotaph to the Fallen in Malvinas, a place of silence and tribute

🛍️ Florida Street, pedestrianized since 1913, where the "arbolito" exchanges dollars and street art sings to the city

🏬 The former Harrods, the only one outside London, a symbol of the Belle Époque

🏨 Plaza Hotel, the city's first skyscraper, with a splendor from another time

🏰 Paz Palace, a mansion worthy of kings, today the headquarters of the Military Circle

🏛️ San Martín Palace, the jewel of the Chancellery, with golden halls and historic tapestries

🏙️ Kavanagh Building, pure Art Deco, 31 floors of Buenos Aires pride

🎨 Arroyo Street, with art galleries, boutiques, and wrought iron balconies

⛪ Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament, with its massive gold and silver monstrance

🖼️ Fernández Blanco Museum – Palacio Noel, a baroque palace filled with colonial art

🧉 And at the end, we share a mate. Yes, no extra charge. You just have to ask . Because here it's not about seeing. It's about experiencing the splendor and memory of Retiro.

🎁 And you get some yerba mate as a gift! A little something to help you continue telling this story.

📍 Meeting point

In front of the Naval Center, at the corner of Córdoba Avenue and Florida Street (Florida 801). The tour starts on time.

👟 Recommendations: Comfortable shoes, water, sunscreen.

💬 At the end of the tour

The tour is free to pay. We suggest a fee between €15 and €50 (or the equivalent in pesos). If you enjoyed it, please leave your stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a comment. Because the best recognition is knowing you're walking with me... and you left with more than just a photo.

🔥 Why choose this tour?

✔️ Guided by a history teacher and journalist

✔️ Sensory experience: mate, architecture, silence in a palace, echo of the train

✔️ No megaphone, no massive groups: just you, the city, and a good conversation

✔️ Ideal for those looking for depth, not just postcards

"Retiro isn't visited. It's heard. Between the echo of the train and the murmur of the palaces, the city tells you who it was... and who it still is."

✅ Recommended actions after booking

Save this experience to your “Things to do in Buenos Aires” list.

Follow me on Instagram: @culturaysabores22 to see real photos of smiling groups

Share the tour with your travel partner: it's better with friends!

Highlights

What will we see on this tour?

Meeting point:

Florida 801, C1005AAQ Cdad. Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

I'll be in front of the Naval Center at the corner of Córdoba Avenue and Florida Street (Florida 801).

Outside visit

Centro Naval

Outside visit

Hôtel Plaza

Outside visit

Edificio Kavanagh

How much does this tour cost?

Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end the amount they consider appropriate (amounts usually range from €15 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).