El Zanjón de Granados | Mysterious Tunnels Under Buenos Aires

Take a tour of the mysterious Zanjon de Granados, a series of tunnels running underneath the city of Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires is full of nightlife, tango, asado, dulce de leche, Malbec, and even a little mystery. That’s right, mystery. Buenos Aires has tunnels running underneath the city which were covered up and forgotten about until 1995, totally by accident.

The tour of the el Zanjón de Granados is in the San Telmo neighborhood in Buenos Aires. It is one of the best tours in the city. I did this tour with my mom and my sister when they came to visit me and they also loved it. I wasn’t sure what to expect before doing the tour, but I was pleasantly surprised afterward.

This post will explain what to expect on the tour, a bit of the history of the tunnels, and the current updated prices for the tour. If you’re looking for one of the lesser-known sights in Buenos Aires, this is it!

Basic Information about el Zanjón de Granados

You can find the Zanjon tunnels in the San Telmo neighborhood in Buenos Aires. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires and has a ton of unique history. The museum is open on Sundays, so you can even fit it in the middle of your visit to the San Telmo Sunday Market.

I liked doing this tour so much, I added it to my ultimate 10-day Buenos Aires itinerary.

Location: Defensa 755, C1065 CABA (San Telmo)
Phone: 01170781542
Website: http://www.elzanjon.com.ar/
Hours: 11 am – 5 pm

Taking a Tour of El Zanjon de Granados

This is easily one of the best tours I did in Buenos Aires (along with the Palacio Barolo tour). The museum is small and it’s easy to miss, but it is definitely worth it to go. Right in the heart of San Telmo, the tour will teach you the history of Buenos Aires and the mysterious tunnels that were built underneath the city.

Our tour guide spoke exceptional English and was knowledgeable about topics about both the Zanjón and the history of Argentina. You need to arrive at least 20 minutes before the tour starts to purchase your tickets.

You can combine your visit to the Zanjón with an optional visit to La Casa Minima, which is just around the corner, for an additional price. The Casa Minima is the thinnest building in the city and belonged to a previously enslaved person. You can also do a premium tour which includes a food pairing.

La Casa Minima is often included in walking tours of San Telmo.

Tour Prices

	El Zanjón	Casa Minima	Premium Tour	Flash Tour
Residents	16,000 pesos ($16)	13,000 pesos ($13)	70,000 pesos ($70)
Neighboring countries	20,000 pesos ($20)	14,000 pesos ($14)	70,000 pesos ($70)	30,000 pesos ($30)
Seniors, teachers, students	13,000 pesos ($13)	11,000 pesos ($11)	70,000 pesos ($70)
Non-residents	23,000 pesos ($23)	23,000 pesos ($16)	70,000 pesos ($70)	35,000 pesos ($35)

El Zanjón prices – El Zanjón tour only.
La Casa Minimia prices – La Casa Minima tour only.
Premium Tour – The 12 O’Clock – Includes the Zanjón tour and a food and wine pairing at the end of the tour. You can purchase on-site or online.
Flash Tour – El Zanjon + La Casa Minima – Includes both the Zanjon Tunnels and La Casa Minima on the same day, but all condensed in just one hour (60 minutes).

How to purchase tickets to the Zanjón

You can purchase the tickets at the front door for any type of tour. You can purchase tickets online for the Premium Tour and the Flash Tour via an Eventbrite link on their website.

If you want to do the full Zanjon Tour and the full Casa Minima Tour on the same day, you must purchase the tickets at the door.

What can I expect to see during the Zanjón Tour?

The tour will begin on the main floor where the tour guide shows a short slideshow presentation, explaining the origins of the building, and how the excavations began. The guide will point out peculiarities and details about the building, and how the original building was constructed.

The tour then proceeds to the lower floors. You will learn about the history of tango in Buenos Aires, and hear more stories about this house and structure. You will have the chance to see several old photographs and fragments of pottery and find things at the site.

Keep going down, and you’ll walk through several tunnels underground, and be told more stories about Buenos Aires and the formation of these tunnels.

At the end, you will be led towards the exit (not the same place as the entrance), as the guide explains the building’s current functions. An A+ tour!

History of El Zanjón de Granados Tunnels in Buenos Aires

In 1995, a man named Don Jorge purchased the location where the Zanjón museum currently sits. The outside was crumbling and covered in graffiti; he never saw the inside of the building until after he purchased it.

He had plans to create both a restaurant and a parking garage with this massive space. Don Jorge grew up in San Telmo and dreamed of owning a business in his childhood neighborhood.

Once renovations began on the building, the workers discovered at the back of the building, a hole under the slanting floor. They immediately called in Don Jorge, who went down into that hole and found the start of a tunnel.

However, the hole was filled with old trash and debris. He connected with the archaeological team from a local university who then began working. They began to discover more tunnels, fountains, and walls.

The history of the home then began to reveal itself. The original house in this location was built in the 1700s by a very rich family. They eventually made the decision to move to the countryside, as the sewage situation began to worsen in the city. They renovated their home and fashioned it into a tenement home for newly arriving immigrants.

It was eventually closed down and then it closed in on itself until 1995.

I don’t want to give away too many more details because the tour will cover this and so much more.

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El Zanjón de Granados Tunnels in the Present

Don Jorge’s renovation of the building and the underground tunnels were all self-funded. Occasionally, Don Jorge leads the tours himself, though they tend to go much longer than 50 minutes, as he tells several stories of the building’s discoveries.

Unselfishly, Don Jorge decided to maintain this building as a museum, as a way to preserve the history of his city and his neighborhood, rather than turning it into a restaurant.

Whether you are a history buff or not, I recommend this tour of el Zanjón de Granados in Buenos Aires. You will not regret it.

Final Thoughts on El Zanjon de Granados

This is the perfect tour if you are looking to learn about the history of Buenos Aires in a unique and fun way. The tour takes an hour and you will then be able to explore the rest of the San Telmo neighborhood, which is also funky and cool with a ton of history. I highly recommend trying out this tour.

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