Private City Tour + Soccer: The Great Argentine Passion

Soccer is undisputedly the great Argentine passion. This tour adds to the popular attractions of the classic city tour a visit to the Boca Juniors Museum and Stadium –Diego Maradona’s favored club- that will allow us to better grasp Argentina’s passion for this exciting game.

We start our visit to Plaza de Mayo. There we admire the Pink House, the Cabildo, and the Metropolitan Cathedral, probably the most iconic buildings in Buenos Aires.

San Telmo, our next stop, is a charming colonial neighborhood with cobbled, narrow streets. After a century of abandonment and marginalization, nowadays it’s one of the trendiest neighborhoods in town. We visit Plaza Dorrego, the second oldest in Buenos Aires, built over the plot once occupied by a Bethlemite monastery; it hosts the traditional San Telmo Fair, where almost everything can be bought, from fine artworks and crafts to old books and records, used clothes and rusty toys.

Next, we visit La Boca, our tour’s main attraction. In the late 19th century a large contingent of humble Italian immigrants, mostly from Genoa, who came to Argentina looking for a better future, settled in La Boca, leaving a lasting mark in the neighborhood, But the relationship between that community and the neighborhood goes even further: Boca Juniors fans (the country’s biggest soccer team, together with River Plate) are known as Xeneizes (which means “people from Genoa” in Genovese).

We’ll stop to visit La Bombonera (“The Chocolate Box”), as Boca Juniors’ stadium is popularly known, where we’ll even step on the field like real professional players. We’ll also visit Boca Juniors’ Museum of Passion, which witnesses a vast array of trophies, jerseys, and photographs, the many competitions won by Boca Juniors in its long history. Before we leave the neighborhood, we’ll visit Caminito Street, one of Buenos Aires’ most recognizable icons.

Next, we travel to Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires’ most modern neighborhood. It’s a large-scale urban renovation project that started in 1991 on the plot of an abandoned deep-water port. First, the silos and deposits on the docks were renovated, keeping the original English red brick façade; nevertheless, the neighborhood kept rapidly expanding and is nowadays the playground of the pretty Porteños and the international jet-set.

Next, we travel to Recoleta, one of the most traditional and elegant neighborhoods in town. After visiting the impressive Plaza San Martín and admiring its sumptuous Belle Époque buildings, we’ll walk down Alvear Avenue, where the world’s greatest fashion brands have installed their boutiques, and we’ll visit the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, a Colonial church and the city’s second oldest. Finally, we’ll visit the famous Recoleta Cemetery, where the most prominent figure in Argentina’s political history rests for eternity, Eva Perón among them.

Our visit ends in Palermo Chico, the city’s main source of fresh air. There, we’ll admire the luxurious palaces built by the Buenos Aires élite, and enjoy the fresh air that many Argentineans come to breathe on weekends to escape from the stress of urban life.

Itinerary: Monserrat, San Telmo, La Boca, Puerto Madero, Retiro, Recoleta, Palermo Chico.

Approximate duration: hours.

Included Services:

• Bilingual guide specializing in Buenos Aires’ History, Arts, and Architecture.

• Transportation and transfers in a comfortable, top-of-the-line vehicle. Uniformed driver.

• Entry tickets and a visit to Boca Juniors Stadium and Museum.