Free · CABA
Free in Buenos Aires
Museums and parks that cost nothing, free plans on the board this week, and things neighbors are giving away. No ticket, no catch.
Free events and activities
All eventsNo free plans on the board for that filter right now.
Street library sightings
Book boxes neighbors keep on the pavement. Leave a book or take a book, no card and no cost. Spotted one? Send it in and we add it here.
Leave a book or take a book
A painted crate tied to a bike rack, filled with old paperbacks: Alarcón, Jorge Isaacs, worn Argentine classics. Nobody watches it, nobody charges for it. Take what you want, bring one back when you can.
Spotted by a neighbor · CABA
Send a sightingFree museums and places
Checked against each venue's own page. Hours change with the season, so the link is always there to confirm before you go.
- MuseumsFree entry
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Recoleta · Av. del Libertador 1473
Tuesday to Friday, 11:00 to 19:30
The country's main art museum, free every day it opens. European art from the 12th to the 19th century downstairs, Argentine and international 20th century upstairs, plus temporary shows and free guided visits and talks on the agenda. There is a voluntary contribution point in the hall, nobody asks you for it at the door.
- Culture centersFree entry
Palacio Libertad (ex CCK)
San Nicolás · Sarmiento 151
Wednesday to Sunday and holidays, 14:00 to 20:00
The old post office palace turned culture center: exhibitions, concerts and the Ballena Azul hall. Exhibitions need no booking and you walk straight in. Shows in rooms with limited capacity may need a free ticket picked up beforehand, and each listing on their agenda says which.
- MuseumsFree entry
Museo Histórico Nacional
San Telmo · Defensa 1600, Parque Lezama
Wednesday to Sunday and holidays, 11:00 to 19:00
Argentine history from the colony to the twentieth century, inside a mansion in Parque Lezama. Free entry, last admission ten minutes before closing, and guided tours for groups by prior form.
- MuseumsFree entry
Museo Nacional del Cabildo
Monserrat · Bolívar 65
Wednesday to Sunday, 10:30 to 18:00 (last entry)
The Cabildo on Plaza de Mayo, the building where the May Revolution was decided. Entry is free and the patio and balcony over the plaza are worth the walk on their own. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
- MuseumsFree entry
Museo Nacional del Grabado
Balvanera · Riobamba 985, 2nd floor
Thursday to Sunday, 15:00 to 20:00
A small, calm printmaking museum on the second floor of the Casa Nacional del Bicentenario building. Free entry, shows rotate, and it takes about an hour, which makes it an easy stop before or after the Bellas Artes.
- Culture centersFree entry
Usina del Arte
La Boca · Agustín R. Caffarena 1
Open on program days, see the agenda
A former power station in La Boca with a symphony hall and a chamber hall. A large part of the program, concerts, family activities and guided visits, is entrada libre y gratuita with limited capacity, so arriving early matters more than paying.
- Culture centersFree entry
Centro Cultural Recoleta
Recoleta · Junín 1930
Tuesday to Friday 12:00 to 21:00, weekends and holidays 11:00 to 21:00, closed Monday
A city culture center running since 1980: visual arts, music, cinema, dance and literature, much of it free. Check the agenda for the day you go, since a few of the bigger shows are ticketed.
- Parks and outdoorsFree entry
Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur
Puerto Madero · Av. Tristán Achával Rodríguez 1550
Open to the public, free entry, see the city page for the season's hours
Three hundred and fifty hectares of grassland, lagoons and river path a few blocks from downtown. Free to walk or cycle, good for birds, and the Costanera food stands are right outside if you want a choripán after.
- Parks and outdoorsFree entry
Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays
Palermo · Av. Santa Fe 3951
Free entry, see the city page for the season's hours
Seven hectares of gardens, greenhouses and sculptures in the middle of Palermo, free to enter. Shady benches, a lot of cats, and the classic Buenos Aires plan when you want an afternoon out that costs nothing.
- Parks and outdoorsFree entry
Ecoparque Buenos Aires
Palermo · Av. Sarmiento y Av. Las Heras
Free entry, check the city page before going
The old zoo, now a conservation park you can walk through for free, with its historic pavilions. The library in the Templo de Vesta opens Thursdays and Fridays at 15:00, free and with no sign up.
- LibrariesFree entry
Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno
Recoleta · Agüero 2502
Reading rooms and exhibitions, see the site for current hours
The brutalist landmark on the Recoleta hill. Reading rooms, free exhibitions, talks and film screenings, plus a terrace view over the river side of the city. Reader access needs a free card, exhibitions do not.
- MuseumsFree entry
MuseosBA · city museums
Various · Twelve museums across the city
Each museum has its own hours, see the city page
The twelve city run museums, from Cornelio de Saavedra to Perlotti and the Museo del Cine, share one agenda with guided visits, workshops and concerts. They also open free for everyone around International Museum Day in May, when the program runs across a whole weekend.
- Culture centersFree entry
Cotidiano, free stand up club
Palermo Soho · Glück, Nicaragua 4610. Also Caballito, Coghlan, Belgrano, Obelisco, Devoto, Villa Luro and Palermo Hollywood
Palermo Soho runs Saturdays at 21:00. Other venues have their own nights, listed on the club page
A free comedy club run by the I Love Stand Up school across a dozen bars in the city and the suburbs. The show is New York club style, one comedian after another, and the comedians are the same ones working the paid clubs. Entry costs nothing but seats go fast, so book your spot beforehand and plan on ordering something at the bar. Shows are in Spanish and the humor leans unfiltered.
Free stuff from neighbors
Give something awayNothing is being given away right now. If you have something to pass on, post it as Regalo.