Museums · Buenos Aires · Argentina
4 best museums in Buenos Aires
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Hernán Piñera, CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answer
Start with MALBA, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and Museo Evita. Together the 4 picks below take roughly 6–6 hours across 2 areas; 1 is free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 4
- Free entry
- 1
- Time to see them all
- 6–6 hours
- Areas
- Palermo and Recoleta
Museums in Buenos Aires
Museum · Palermo
1.MALBA
The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires shows 20th-century and contemporary Latin American art in a modern building on Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, with Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Fernando Botero and Tarsila do Amaral's Abaporu among the highlights.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Recoleta
2.Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Argentina's national fine-arts museum, free to enter, holds European works by Impressionists such as Monet, Degas and Van Gogh alongside a large collection of Argentine painting and sculpture from the 19th century onwards.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
Museum · Palermo
3.Museo Evita
Housed in a 1920s Palermo mansion that Eva Perón's foundation turned into a shelter for women and children, the museum tells her life story through her clothes, photographs and film footage.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Palermo
4.Galileo Galilei Planetarium
The saucer-shaped 1966 planetarium in the Palermo parks runs dome shows on the stars and the solar system, and outside stands a metallic meteorite from the Campo del Cielo fall in northern Argentina.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Palermo | MALBA, Museo Evita and Galileo Galilei Planetarium | 2 hours + 1–1.5 hours + 1 hour |
| Recoleta | Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes | 1.5 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 4, 1 free, 2 low cost, 1 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is MALBA; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 2 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Palermo): MALBA → Museo Evita → Galileo Galilei Planetarium, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Recoleta): Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, at least 2 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- May: highs of 19°C (66°F), about 6 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cool, crisp days and occasional rain; museums, theatres and cafés are at their liveliest.
- June: highs of 16°C (61°F), about 6 rainy days, quiet crowds. Early winter: cool, often grey days and cold nights, but rarely freezing; good for indoor sights and long lunches.
- August: highs of 17°C (63°F), about 6 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cool and fairly dry with lengthening days; the city's big tango festival fills halls and squares.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Palermo Soho — Boutiques, cafés and leafy cobbled streets around Plaza Serrano
- Recoleta — French-style mansions, museums and the famous cemetery
More of Buenos Aires
All things to do in Buenos Aires · Where to stay · When to go.
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Buenos Aires?
MALBA. The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires shows 20th-century and contemporary Latin American art in a modern building on Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, with Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Fernando Botero and Tarsila do Amaral's Abaporu among the highlights.
+Which of these are free in Buenos Aires?
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.