Art and Culture

BA's Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) is always free, and its permanent collection features works by masters such as Degas, Gauguin, Klee, Kandinsky, and Van Gogh as well as Argentinian and South American artists.

Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Museum of Latin American Art), known more commonly by its acronym MALBA, is free every Wednesday. Take advantage of this free day to view some of the museum's 200 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photos from the 20th century to today, featuring such Latin American artists as Kahlo, Rivera, Clark, and Torres-García, among many others.

If you're in BA in November, check out the city's website to see when BA's museums, universities, and artistic spaces open their doors for free on La Noche de los Museos (Night of the Museums). One night a year the city's cultural spaces stay open late (from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.) and host films and performances of jazz, tango, folk, techno, choral, and rock music. In 2007, 102 such institutions participated and 414,000 people attended the city-wide museum block party. Expat Irish blogger, "Paddy in BA," says it's not as highbrow as it sounds as La Noche de los Museos ends with a smashing party down near Puerto Madero that runs into the wee hours.