Buenos Aires
Reception and transfer from Ezeiza International Airport to Hotel in Buenos Aires.

City Tour & Ancient Tunnels of Buenos Aires
Desayuno en el Hotel. We begin this exciting tour in which we will get to know the city's most traditional neighbourhoods and we will discover one of the best kept secrets in town: the ancient underground tunnels that date from the 16th century and keep forgotten treasures of urban archaeology within them.

Our first stop will be the May Square, historical scenery of the main political events of our country, where we will admire the main buildings that sum up the power of the city: the Casa Rosada (Pink House), office quarters of the President, the Cabildo (City Hall), a colonial building that witnessed the most important political events of the 19th century, and the Metropolitan Cathedral, a true work of religious art, influenced by neoclassical architecture.

From the square we will follow the city's development towards San Telmo, where the upper class lived until 1871, when a terrible yellow fever epidemic compelled them to move north. This picturesque area still preserves its colonial constructions and its cobbled streets. It is full of antique shops and artist's ateliers. Here in San Telmo we find a true urban archaeological site that has recently been discovered: the ancient underground tunnels, which will allow us to investigate the city's past through the treasures found under the earth.

These tunnels date from colonial times to the last years of the 19th century, and were built as drainage system or to channel streams and rivers. However, they hide many mysteries. Ever since the 18th century people thought that they were scenery for the most weird and terrible things like murders, disappearances, secret conspiracies and forbidden encounters.

There is a lot of old information about the existence of these tunnels, most of which is inaccurate. The compelling fascination that these underground paths produced in the minds of the citizens was rather considerable: they even believed there were secret ways that joined the whole city and each of the main churches.

We will visit one of the real tunnels; it lies beneath a house standing on a 3,000 square feet tunnel labyrinth that survives under the streets of this neighbourhood. This ancient tunnel was well known in the colonial times, but was later forgotten when blocked in order to channel the stream that ran through it. Recently a historian bought the house and after many excavations he discovered an archaeological treasure.

Nowadays, four centuries later, he has turned the site into a long corridor that admits visitors. The showcases, which tell us the prehistory of Buenos Aires, exhibit the objects found beneath the floor, such as glass bottles, French tiles, forks, tools, etc. The land distribution plan set by Juan de Garay, who founded the city in 1580, is also on display.

This tour continues in La Boca, which owes its festive spirit and its cultural mixture to the immigrants that settled here at the end of the 19th century. The neighbourhood has its own identity that reflects in its colourful wooden houses and its once very populated tenements. We will visit the famous Caminito (little path), whose name was inspired by a tango song, and we will pass by the Boca Juniors Stadium, witness of the enthusiastic passion porteños feel about football.

We continue our visit in Puerto Madero, a very sophisticated area very close to the river that was totally remodelled and redesigned in the nineties, and continues to grow with residential and commercial projects. At the moment it houses the most elegant and chic restaurants and bars in town, as well as exclusive apartment buildings. Once we leave Puerto Madero, we head towards north, where we find Retiro, Recoleta and Palermo.

There we evoke the first decades of the 20th century, Argentina's true Belle Époque, when the country shaped up as one of the main powers, Paris was the cultural capital of the world and the aristocracy of Buenos Aires tried to recreate in their city the affluence of the elegant French metropolis. In our way to Recoleta, we will pass by the splendid San Martín Square, surrounded by elegant buildings of French architecture, where we begin our journey along the most aristocratic areas of Buenos Aires.

Once in Recoleta, we observe the Parisian air of Alvear Avenue, home of the most exclusive fashion shops, the Promenade of Pilar, and the famous Basilica of Our Lady of Pilar, that, in spite of being the second oldest in the city, it stands out because of the perfect state of preservation of its lovely colonial style.

Our visit will not be complete until we have entered the legendary Recoleta Cemetery. There the most outstanding figures of the aristocracy, politics and the arts rest in peace. We will visit the tomb of Eva Perón, whose presence here does not cease to surprise because of her rejection by the upper classes.

We end our tour in the traditional neighbourhood of Palermo, the main green area in town, strolling along its leafy trees, rose gardens, lakes and large parks designed by the famous French landscape artist Charles Thays due to the centenary of the Mayo Revolution. There we will admire the luxurious French palaces that were built in the style of the most important European capital cities, which nowadays house embassies and international organizations.