Recoleta Cemetery

Cementerio de la Recoleta

One of the world’s most beautiful cemeteries, a maze of 6,400 marble tombs where Eva Perón rests. It is an open-air museum of Argentine elite history and architecture.

The Recoleta Cemetery was built in 1822 on the vegetable garden of a Franciscan monastery, and it was Buenos Aires’s first public cemetery. Today its 5.5-hectare grounds hold more than 6,400 family tombs, over 90 of which are national historic monuments. Neoclassical, Art Deco, Gothic and Baroque marble mausoleums line up along “streets” like a miniature city. The cemetery has been named one of the most beautiful in the world by the BBC and CNN. More than 20 Argentine presidents, independence heroes, Nobel laureates and writers are buried here. The most visited tomb is Eva Perón’s (Evita) in the Duarte family vault, located on an inconspicuous lane. Fresh flowers are always there. Visitors can find it using the entrance map or by following the crowd. Other notable tombs include the sculptural tomb of boxer Luis Firpo, the tomb of Rufina Cambaceres, the legendary “girl buried alive,” and the statue of Liliana Crociati with her dog. Foreign visitors pay about ARS 15,000 (2025 price; prices are adjusted for inflation, and tickets can be bought online). Opening hours are 8:00–17:30, or 9:00–17:00 in winter. A map is provided at the entrance. You can also join an English-language guided tour of about an hour or rent an audio guide. Allow 1–1.5 hours for your visit. There are many cats in the cemetery. Next to it, the Nuestra Señora del Pilar church, built in 1732, is one of the most beautiful colonial churches and is free to enter. On weekends, a large craft market is held at Plaza Francia outside the cemetery. The La Biela café and the Floralis Genérica metal flower sculpture, whose petals open and close with the rising and setting sun, are part of the standard itinerary. From there it is a 15-minute walk to the El Ateneo bookstore.

Recoleta Cemetery

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