Facing the Río de la Plata, in a more secluded corner of Puerto Madero, there is a hotel that is over 100 years old and preserves the history of Argentine immigration. It is also home to the Immigration Museum and the Contemporary Art Center. Art and history come together in this building, which retains its 100-year-old hotel atmosphere. Best of all, you can tour and visit it for free.
The 100-year-old hotel in Buenos Aires that serves as a museum and contemporary art center that you can visit for free
The hotel where the first immigrants to Argentina arrived is now a museum dedicated to immigration and an art center that you can explore and discover with free admission. The Hotel de los Inmigrantes was inaugurated in 1911 and served as a reception point for millions of immigrants arriving in Argentina. There they slept, ate, completed paperwork, and received assistance.
This hotel is steeped in history, which is why it is now the Immigration Museum. The wonderful thing about this museum in Buenos Aires is that it preserves objects and furniture from its time as a hotel. You will be able to imagine how the first immigrants lived and see the beds they slept in. Walking through the corridors of this hotel-turned-museum, its bedrooms, and common areas is to come into direct contact with that collective memory.
The museum preserves documents, photographs, personal objects, and testimonies that reconstruct the immigrant experience in Argentina.
And one of the most special parts of visiting this immigration museum is that you can take home a certificate with the arrival details of your relatives, if they were immigrants: with their names, year of arrival, and the ship on which they arrived in Buenos Aires. You can obtain a certificate of arrival for your immigrant relatives.
Contemporary art in a century-old hotel
The MUNTREF Contemporary Art Center is located within the immigration museum itself and offers temporary exhibitions by Argentine and international artists. Thus, in a single visit, you can tour historical rooms and then encounter installations, photography, or experimental art.
If you want to learn more about the history of the hotel and the art center and deepen your experience, there are guided tours without prior registration. The Immigration Museum offers tours at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., while the Contemporary Art Center offers a guided tour at 2 p.m.
Everything is free and does not require prior registration.
📍Av. Antártida Argentina s/n, with entrance via Apostadero Naval, in Puerto Madero. M
📅Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.