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Recoleta Cemetery tickets: buying entry, free visits and tour costs
Recoleta Cemetery tour in English
★ 4.8 · From 1,601 reviews
Weigh up 3 options
Tour cost for your group
Choose a cemetery tour and the head count to see starting totals.
- English group tour2 hours, guide at gate · per person starting at $12
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View - Recoleta walk2.5 hours, small group · per person starting at $57
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View - Small-group tour2.5 hours, history · per person starting at $59
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View
Starting prices on GetYourGuide, exchanged at the ECB reference rate. The booking page gives the exact price.
Recoleta Cemetery tickets are sold by the City of Buenos Aires itself, and a guided tour is a separate purchase. Here is how the two fit together, and where free visits come in.
Editorial team, recoletacemeterytour.click · Updated November 9, 2026 · A 7 min read
Main facts
- Who sells entryThe City of Buenos Aires sells entry tickets for Argentine and international tourists online.1,2
- Tour and ticketOur English tour starts from $12 and the cemetery ticket is bought separately.
- At the gateThe listing says the gate takes credit or debit cards only, so bring a card.
- Free visitsFree guided visits in Spanish leave every hour from the main entrance.3
- Visiting hoursOpen to sightseers from 9 to 17 hrs, all week.4
How Recoleta Cemetery tickets work
Recoleta Cemetery tickets are not sold by a private operator: the city government runs the cemetery and sells the entry itself. Its cemeteries directorate has a page for tourist visits that separates the kinds of access: one for travel agencies and licensed guides, one for school groups, and one with entry tickets for Argentine and international tourists.1 As a traveller you belong in the last group, whatever language you speak and however you arrive.
That directorate invites visitors to get tickets online ahead of time, presenting the visit as a way into the cemetery's history and heritage.2 Buying in advance has a practical side too. A tour guide waiting at the gate cannot hold the group for long while you queue, so having your entry sorted before the meeting time lets you walk straight in with everyone else.
If you prefer to decide on the day, the gate sells entry as well. The listing of the English tour sold on this site says the ticket can be bought at the cemetery entrance with a credit or debit card only, or online beforehand. Cash is the one thing that will not help you there, so keep a card that works abroad in your pocket even if you plan to pay for everything else in pesos.
Ticket check
What each cemetery tour says about entry
| Tour | Length | From | Ticket note |
|---|---|---|---|
| English group tour | 2 hours | $12 | Buy before you meet |
| Small-group tour | 2.5 hours | $59 | Check the listing |
| Private cemetery tour | 2 hours | $75 | Ticket included, says listing |
| Recoleta walk | 2.5 hours | $57 | Cemetery for 1 hour |
| Neighbourhood walk | 2 hours | $93 | Short cemetery stop |
GetYourGuide from-prices; city entry is a separate purchase unless a listing says otherwise.
The Recoleta Cemetery entrance fee and who pays it
The Recoleta Cemetery entrance fee is set by the city and shown on its own ticket site when you choose a date. Because the amount is set by the city and can change, this guide does not repeat a figure that could be out of date by the time you travel. What matters for planning is that entry is a separate cost from any tour, paid to the city rather than to the guide or the booking platform.
The city's ticket section is aimed at tourists, both Argentine and international.1 The cemetery also lists longer general visiting hours, from 7 to 18 hrs every day, alongside the tourist window of 9 to 17 hrs each day.5 That split explains why you may see people walking in early in the morning, before the tourist hours begin; a sightseeing visit follows the tourist window.
Licensed guides and agencies enter through their own access route, and the city even runs a special training course at its cemeteries for tour guides.1,6 In other words, a guided tour does not replace your own ticket. On the English tour sold here, the guide waits next to the ticket booth at the gate, which is a practical hint about the order of things: ticket first, then join the group.
Guest numbers
Reviews collected by Recoleta cemetery tours
- English group tour1,601
- Small-group tour64
- Recoleta walk36
- Curious visitors41
- Private tour14
How many guests have reviewed each listing on GetYourGuide, as recorded in our data.
Is Recoleta Cemetery free
Is Recoleta Cemetery free? For a sightseeing visit, plan on paying for entry, because the city sells a tourist ticket and the tour listings treat that ticket as mandatory.1 What is free is the cemetery's own guided visit in Spanish. It leaves every hour from the main entrance, from 10 to 16 hrs on weekdays and from 9 to 16 hrs on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.3
That free visit is the cheapest way to hear the stories behind the vaults, as long as you follow Spanish. It is run by the cemetery and starts at the gate; the city page simply gives the schedule and says nothing about booking.3 If your Spanish is limited, you can still join and take in the route, then return on your own with a map to read up on the graves that caught your eye.
There are other free resources around the cemetery. The city tourism board tells visitors to pick up a map at the entrance, and the city publishes a free downloadable guide and audio guide for a walking circuit that starts at the cemetery.7,8 The tourist assistance centre on Avenida Quintana, open every day from 9am to 6pm, offers Wi-Fi and water refills, which helps if your phone is your guide.9,10
Your entry plan
Pick the way in that fits you
Match what matters to you with the simplest way to enter.
If I am counting every peso
Ticket plus the free visit
The cemetery's Spanish visits cost nothing and leave every hour.3
If I want the stories in English
The English group tour
From $12 for 2 hours with a live English-speaking guide.
If I hate queuing at gates
Buy entry online first
The city sells tourist tickets online in advance.2
If I only carry cash
Get a card ready
The listing says the gate takes credit or debit cards only.
If We want a guide to ourselves
The private tour
A private 2-hour cemetery tour starts from $75.
Ways in
Three ways to enter Recoleta
In Spanish
Free Spanish visit
Run by the cemetery
- CostFree visit
- StartsMain entrance
- RunsEvery hour
In English
English group tour
Guide at the gate
- Length2 hours
- EntryBought separately
- CancelUp to 24 hours
Buying online or at the gate
Buying online is the calmer option. You pick your date on the city's ticket site, pay by card and arrive with the ticket on your phone.2 It is the better choice on weekends and holidays, when the free Spanish visits start an hour earlier, from 9 hrs, than they do on weekdays.3 It also means you are not depending on the gate's card reader on the day.
Buying at the gate works too, and the tour listing confirms that the entrance sells tickets to card holders. If you take this route on a tour day, arrive early. Reviewers of the English tour have praised its guides warmly, and nothing about a good guide is improved by a late start while a few people are still at the ticket window. A little spare time at the gate costs you nothing.
Whichever route you choose, keep the ticket handy until you leave. The cemetery's general visiting window runs from 7 to 18 hrs each day, but the tourist window closes earlier, at 17 hrs in the afternoon.5 Plan your arrival so that a guided visit or your own walk ends comfortably inside the tourist hours, rather than rushing the last graves on your list.
Ticket day
From booking to the gate
Days before
Book the tour
Reserve now and pay later; free cancellation until 24 hours ahead.
Day before
Buy entry online
The city sells tourist tickets online for your chosen date.2
Morning
Card in your pocket
The gate sells tickets to card holders only, says the listing.
At the gate
Find the guide
The guide waits beside the ticket booth at Junin 1760.
Inside
Guided visit
The tour spends 110 minutes among the vaults.
What a guided tour costs on top of entry
Our English tour of the cemetery is priced from $12 and runs for 2 hours with a guide speaking English. It has 1,601 reviews averaging 4.8, and its guides alone score 4.9 in the rating breakdown. Add the city ticket and you have the full cost of a guided visit; nothing else is needed at the gate, and dropping the tour a day ahead costs you nothing.
Other cemetery tours cost more and run longer. A small-group tour of history and secrets lasts 2.5 hours from $59, and a private guided tour of the cemetery costs from $75 for 2 hours. The private listing says the cemetery ticket is included and names skip-the-ticket-line among its labels, so confirm the details with the operator before you buy entry yourself.
Neighbourhood walks fold the cemetery into a wider route. A Recoleta walk of 2.5 hours, including an hour in the cemetery, starts from $57, and a walk through Recoleta for curious visitors starts from $33, with its cemetery visit marked optional and at an extra fee. On every one of these, read the ticket line in the details: the price you see is the tour, and the city entry is usually a separate matter.
Video
A guided walk through Recoleta Cemetery
Mad Traveler on YouTube · Playback files load only once you tap play.
Get tickets to visit this emblematic cemetery and discover its historic and cultural heritage.
Entry checklist
Ready for the ticket booth
Before you go3
- Buy your entry on the city ticket site
- Book the tour and note its free cancellation window
- Plan to finish before the tourist closing time
In your pocket3
- A credit or debit card for the gate
- A charged SUBE card for the ride there
- Your ticket and booking on your phone
At the gate2
- Look for the guide by the ticket booth
- Pick up a map at the entrance
Children, students and families
The city's cemetery pages do not publish a separate child or student price for tourists, so check the ticket site for reduced rates when you pick your date.1 Schools are handled through a separate visit route for pupils of every level, which is meant for organised classes rather than for families on holiday.1 For a family the simplest plan is to buy everyone's entry online and keep the tickets together on one phone.
With children, the length of the visit matters more than its price. The English tour spends 110 minutes inside the cemetery, a long time for young legs on paving and in summer sun. The cemetery holds more than 4,500 vaults across five hectares, so a shorter route of your own may suit small children better than a full tour.11,12
Older children often enjoy the cemetery more than adults expect. Statues of angels, bronze doors and a vault guarded by a bronze dog give them something to look for, and a printed map turns the visit into a search. Explain beforehand that families still visit their dead here, so quiet voices and no climbing are part of the deal, and the visit tends to go well for everyone.
Card, cash and the rest of the day
Bring a card for the cemetery and some pesos for the rest of Recoleta. The tour listing says the gate takes credit or debit cards only, while licensed taxis in Buenos Aires charge on meters and only in Argentine pesos.13 If you arrive by subte or bus you will need a rechargeable SUBE card loaded with credit instead of cash.14
You can buy and load a SUBE card at subte stations, at the city's tourist assistance centres and at many kiosks.15 The Recoleta tourist assistance centre has an automatic SUBE terminal, so you can top up a card a few steps from the cemetery.10 That makes the end of your visit easy: walk out, recharge, and head on to the next neighbourhood.
Around the gate the free sights are generous. The Basilica del Pilar next door opens from 7:30 to 22:00 on weekdays, and the craft fair on the square runs on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10 to 20 in the evening.16,17 A ticketed cemetery visit and a free afternoon around it make a full, inexpensive half day.
FAQ
Questions answered quickly.
How much is the Recoleta Cemetery entrance fee?
Is Recoleta Cemetery free to enter?
Where do I buy Recoleta Cemetery tickets online?
On the city's ticket site.
The City of Buenos Aires sells entry for Argentine and international tourists on its own ticket pages.1
Can I pay cash at the gate?
Plan on a card.
The tour listing says the entrance takes credit or debit cards only.
Does the guided tour include the ticket?
No.
On the English tour, entry is bought separately before you meet the guide by the ticket booth.
When are the free guided visits?
Every hour, in Spanish.
Weekdays from 10 to 16 hrs, and from 9 to 16 hrs on weekends and holidays, from the main entrance.3
What if I need to drop the tour?
Yes, up to 24 hours before.
Give 24 hours of notice and the English tour returns every cent.
Sources
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Visitas turisticas al cementerio de la Recoleta ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Cementerios de la Ciudad ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Visitas turisticas al cementerio de la Recoleta ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Visitas turisticas al cementerio de la Recoleta ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Cementerio de la Recoleta ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Visitas turisticas al cementerio de la Recoleta ↩
- Buenos Aires City Tourism Board (turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar) · Recoleta Cemetery ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar) · Barrio de Recoleta (self-guided circuit) ↩
- Buenos Aires City Tourism Board (turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar) · Recoleta Tourist Assistance Center ↩
- Buenos Aires City Tourism Board (turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar) · Recoleta Tourist Assistance Center ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Cementerio de la Recoleta ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar), Cemeteries Directorate · Cementerio de la Recoleta ↩
- Buenos Aires City Tourism Board (turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar) · Getting around ↩
- Buenos Aires City Tourism Board (turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar) · Getting around ↩
- Buenos Aires City Tourism Board (turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar) · Getting around ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar) · Barrio de Recoleta (self-guided circuit) ↩
- Government of the City of Buenos Aires (buenosaires.gob.ar) · Barrio de Recoleta (self-guided circuit) ↩