A Guide to La Boca, the Most Colourful Barrio in Buenos Aires

If you search for a general term like ‘things to do in Buenos Aires’, there’s no doubt that a visit to La Boca neighbourhood is going to appear on that list. Most people want to visit this barrio to see the colourful buildings, or are sports fans who recognise the name of the barrio as being the home of Boca Juniors football club. If you’re also planning to incorporate a quick visit to La Boca into your Buenos Aires itinerary, then this blog post is for you.

In this guide, we’ll tell you a little about La Boca and what you can do in this neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. In addition, we’ll also detail how you can get there and whether visiting La Boca is safe, including our personal experience and safety tips.

If you’d like to see what we got up to in the Argentine capital, make sure to watch our dedicated Buenos Aires video, which we shared on our YouTube channel Kitti and Jon. For more videos from the country, check out our Argentina playlist.

A Short History of Barrio La Boca Buenos Aires

La Boca is one of 48 neighbourhoods, or barrios, that make up Buenos Aires. It is bordered by Barracas to the west, San Telmo and Puerto Madero to the north, and the Matanza River to the south.

La Boca translates to “the mouth” in English, which refers to the barrio’s location near the mouth of the Matanza River. The neighbourhood was founded in the 19th century when European – mainly Italian and Spanish – immigrants settled in this part of the city. They found work opportunities in the harbour, including the processing of Argentinian beef in the warehouses there, which was booming business at the time.

They also gave the barrio its unique, colourful look by using the leftover paint from the shipyards to paint their own homes. The residents’ diverse traditions, languages and customs also helped shape the cultural heritage of La Boca that you can experience today.

Best Things to Do in La Boca, Buenos Aires

Compared to other barrios, such as Recoleta and Palermo, there isn’t too many specific things to do in La Boca. This is because only a very small area of the entire barrio is considered safe to visit for tourists during the day.

1. Walk Down Caminito

A walk down Caminito is a must if you’re in La Boca. Caminito translates to “little path” in English and is a pedestrian street lined with the neighbourhood’s iconic colourful houses (conventillos), which are made from industrial materials such as metal plates. The street was the inspiration for the music behind the tango “Caminito”, composed by Juan de Dios Filiberto in 1926.

This now open-air museum used to be a small stream running into the Matanza River. It eventually dried up and became part of a railroad route. After the railroad closed in 1954, Caminito was abandoned. However, Benito Quinquela Martin, a local artist, decided to transform the street with the help of other residents.

We could really see why Caminito attracts people from all over the world. Apart from the colourful buildings, the street was filled with restaurants and cafes offering tango shows, as well as vendors selling street art and other souvenirs.

2. Visit Benito Quinquela Martin Museum

There’s a museum dedicated to Benito Quinquela Martin along Don Pedro de Mendoza Avenue. The museum displays a large collection of Quinquela Martin’s work and personal belongings, as well as other Argentine artists’ works.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 11AM and 6PM. It’s closed on Mondays. For more up-to-date information, visit the museum’s website.

3. Visit “La Bombonera” – Boca Juniors Stadium

Whether you’re a football fan or not, a visit to Estadio Alberto J. Armando, or just La Bombonera, is a must. The stadium was inaugurated in 1940 and is the home ground of Club Atlético Boca Juniors (CABJ), one of Argentina’s most recognisable football clubs.

La Bombonera has an unusual ‘D’ shape design and steep sides, which create fantastic acoustics, and is painted blue and yellow to match Boca Juniors’ signature colours. You can visit the Boca Juniors Passion Museum (Museo de la Pasion Boquense), which is right next to the stadium, to learn more about the history of the club. See up-to-date admission prices on the official website.

Argentinians are known for their intense passion for football, which you can experience first hand if you manage to get a ticket to a match here.

4. Admire the Murals and Street Art of La Boca

Apart from the colourful buildings, La Boca also has plenty of beautiful murals and street art to admire. We found many along Valle Iberlucea street, such as the well-photographed Mural Republica de la Boca, and even more as we walked back from La Bombonera along Calle Jose Garibaldi.

5. Go Shopping

Being a huge tourist hot spot, La Boca has plenty of shops where you can buy souvenirs. We especially loved that some of the small markets allowed us to see what the tenement houses (conventillos) looked like from the inside.

Just be aware that the prices in La Boca were definitely higher than in other areas of BA, such as San Telmo for example.

Safety Tips When Visiting La Boca Neighbourhood

When doing our research prior to visiting La Boca, pretty much all sources warned us about this particular neighbourhood. There are many stories out there relating to bad experiences for tourists, from petty crimes to some more serious ones.

Generally speaking, La Boca is definitely not an area where you would want to wander too far off the beaten path. It’s also not recommended to walk around late at night or even to stay in this barrio. (Read our guide on the best neighbourhoods to stay in Buenos Aires.)

However, based on our personal experience, you’ll most likely be absolutely fine walking around the touristy areas during the day. Whilst we never personally felt unsafe (even with our cameras out), we definitely made sure to keep a close eye on our belongings.

Since the tourist zone is a relatively small area, it means you can easily find yourself in a sizeable crowd. All pickpockets need is you to forget about your bag for a few minutes whilst you watch a couple performing the tango.

So, make sure to stay vigilant, especially when you stop to take pictures or sit down for some food. We don’t recommend having your phone or camera on the table when sitting down to eat. We had our cameras out the whole time and felt safe when walking around, although we were more careful when we stopped to take photos in crowded places or walked through the market areas.

Other Neighbourhoods to Visit in Buenos Aires

San Telmo is full of antique shops and historical buildings. It’s a great barrio to spend a few hours in, browsing for souvenirs or watching the tango performed in Plaza Dorrego. Read our detailed guide on visiting San Telmo.

Downtown Buenos Aires is made up of three neighbourhoods: Monserrat, San Nicolas and Retiro. You’ll find many important government buildings, historical sites and religious buildings, as well as fantastic architecture and eateries. Read our detailed guide on Downtown Buenos Aires.

Recoleta is without doubt one of the most elegant neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. There are many trendy cafes, parks, museums and art galleries to visit in Recoleta. Not to mention the architecture, which’ll make you feel like you’re walking along the streets of Paris. Read our detailed guide on how to spend a day in Recoleta.

Palermo is the largest barrio in Buenos Aires. It has some of the best public parks and museums, as well as trendy sub-neighbourhoods with bars, cafes and plenty of street art. Read our detailed guide on how to spend a day in Palermo.

Final Thoughts on Visiting La Boca in Buenos Aires

La Boca is definitely a must-see barrio in Buenos Aires and it would be a shame not to spare a few hours to visit it. Since there isn’t too much to do, we could easily combine our visit with a trip to the San Telmo neighbourhood to make a full day out of it.

We absolutely loved the colourful buildings and unique architecture, not to mention all the fantastic street art. To some extent, it reminded us of Comuna 13 in Medellin, Colombia. Probably the only downside is that the area where the main sights are is quite small. This means La Boca can get pretty crowded with visitors and it can often feel like a “theme park”. The inflated prices also reflect just how touristy La Boca is.

Have you ever visited La Boca in Buenos Aires? If so, what was your experience? If not, would you visit the most colourful barrio on your future trip to Buenos Aires? Let us know in the comments below.