Attractions in Buenos Aires
Of course, as one of the real metropolises of South America, Buenos Aires has
a number of attractions and sights to offer its visitors. In addition, Buenos
Aires offers a number of exciting (literally) and great neighborhoods. Just
think of the contrast between the "Business District" with its skyscrapers and
La Boca with the street Calle Caminito. Buenos Aires covers the full range of
metropolitan experiences, including tango on every corner!
- See
AbbreviationFinder for commonly used abbreviation of city Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
Also includes meanings of the same acronym.
Casa Rosada
Casa Rosada, which means the Pink House, is officially called Casa de
Gobierno, Government House. It is located on the east side of the city's heart
of Plaza de Mayo and is the seat of the executive branch of Argentina's
governing powers, which has held this site since the city's beginnings. The
building itself dates from 1873. The balcony here has become world famous for
the scene in the movie "Evita", in which "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" is
performed by Madonna, but the reality of Evita has also kept talking from here.
Here is also the Museo de Casa Rosada, a museum that explores Argentina's
political history.
The museum is open at 1000 to 1800 Monday to Friday, and from 6 p.m. 1400 to
1800 on Sundays. Free admission, but you need to bring your passport to let in.
Cabildo in Buenos Aires
Cabildo Town Hall was built by the Spaniards as an administrative center in
1748, and has played a key role in most important events in Buenos Aires since,
not least in the Revolution of Independence in 1810. Today the building houses
the National History Museum. Cabildo is located on Calle Bolivar and
has opening hours from. 1130 to 1800 on Wednesday through Friday, and from 1
p.m. 1400 to 1800 on weekends.
Teatro Colón
This is one of the world's most famous opera houses, and it has its 100th
anniversary in 2008. It is built on the model of the classic Renaissance
buildings, and the large dome is decorated with frescoes by the artist Raul
Soldi. The Opera House is located in Avenida Liberdad and has three
guided tours in English daily, at. 11, 13 and 15. Price 25 kroner, children 5
kroner. More information about Teatro Colon here!
Museo Evita
Argentina's most famous and mythical person (after Maradona?) Is the
president's wife / actress / saint Maria Eva Duarte Peron, better known as
Evita. The fascination for this woman has led to both films and musicals, both
Faye Dunaway and Madonna have portrayed her on film, and most have heard the
classic "Don't Cry For Me Argentina".
The museum opened in 2002 on the 50th anniversary of her untimely death, and
takes on all of Evita's life in photos, clothes and personal items. The museum
is located in Calle Lafinur 2988 and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 7
p.m. 1400 to 1930.
Recoleta Cemetery
After visiting the Evita Museum, it is perhaps natural to visit Argentina's
first lady at her last resting place. She died of cancer at the age of 33, and
is considered a saint across the country. Her tomb is relatively simple compared
to the lavish crypts of the many other well-known and wealthy buried around her.
The cemetery is located in Calle Junin and of course has free access.
Open daily from 2 pm 0800 to 1800. Free admission, but a voluntary donation is
expected. Read more here.
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
In an impressive red stone building in Recoleta you will find Argentina's
National Museum of Art, which displays works of art by both international
artists such as Renoir and Rothko as well as domestic heroes such as Lucio
Fontana. The collection dates back to the 1300s, and a visit here could take all
day if you intend to see everything. The museum is located in Av. Del Liberador
1473 in Recoleta. Open from 2 pm 1230 to 1930 Tuesday through Friday, and from 1
p.m. 0930 to 1930 on weekends. Free admission.
Calle Caminito
In the old port area of La Boca lies one of Buenos Aires's most charming
streets, Calle Caminito. The windshield wooden houses here are painted
in vibrant, sharp colors, and the tradition presumably stems from the Italian
brewers who lived here, who brought residual paint home from the harbor. Today,
this is a fun area filled with street artists and musicians in the evening, and
tourists can experience being drawn into a spontaneous tango on the street
corner. But be careful, there are also plenty of pickpockets and little crooks
here.
Plaza Dorrego
In the middle of San Telmo, Buenos Aires's oldest district, lies Plaza
Dorrego surrounded by narrow cobblestone streets and old buildings. This is
considered the artistic center of the city and is a great area to stroll around,
among cozy sidewalk cafes, galleries and antique shops. Make sure to come here
one Sunday, when the flea market is always organized, and tango is danced to
live music on every corner.
Tourist in Buenos Aires
Although Buenos Aires is a large and expansive city, many of the city's
sights are within walking distance of each other for a reasonably fit and
walking person.
Day 1 in Buenos Aires
So start your day with a hearty breakfast at the hotel before heading to the
very heart of Buenos Aires, the magnificent Plaza de Mayo.
Plaza de Mayo - Argentina's heart
If you come here on a Thursday afternoon, you will notice a large group of
demonstrating elderly women with white guns. This is the Asociación Madres de
Plaza de Mayo, the mothers of those who disappeared during the 1976–83 military
regime, who demand answers to where their sons and daughters have become. Many
of the organization's founders have also "disappeared" in retrospect. Several
famous artists have made songs about these protesters, including U2 (Mothers Of
The Disappeared) and Little Steven (Los Desaparecidos)
On the east side of the square is Casa Rosada, a large, pink building from
1873 where Argentina's executive authorities are located. If you've seen the
movie "Evita", you might want to hit the balcony where "Don't Cry For Me,
Argentina" was performed by Madonna. Show off your passport and enter the Museo
de Casa Rosada, a museum that explores Argentina's turbulent political history
for free.
Afterwards you can walk across the square and into the city's old town hall,
Cabildo, which was built by the Spaniards around 1748. This has played an
important role in most major events in Buenos Aires history. Today you can visit
the city's National History Museum here.
In the northwestern corner of Plaza de Mayo lies Buenos Aires' most important
cathedral, the Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires. Built in the neoclassical
style, it was built between 1753 and 1860. Here you will also find the mausoleum
of the Argentine national hero, the liberation defender General José de San
Martin.
Lunch on the Florida shopping street
If you are interested in ancient and historic churches, the Basilica de San
Francisco from 1754 and the Basilica de Santo Domingo from 1799 are located two
and four blocks respectively in Defensa, the street that runs south from the
center of Plaza de Mayo. Alternatively, you can continue from the cathedral up
one of Buenos Aires's few diagonal streets, the Diagonal Roque Sáenz Peña.
You'll soon reach the city's premier shopping street, the lively Florida
pedestrian street.
It may have been high time for lunch, and right up in Florida you will find
the Granix lunch restaurant on the right. Here you can eat as much as you want
for around NOK 25 on all weekdays. But be aware that this is a pure vegetarian
restaurant. If you want meat, try Via Flaminia close by.
In the street of Florida [see picture first in article] you can get
away from a lot of shopping. Just up the street is one of the city's large and
beautiful shopping centers, Galerías Pacífico. But before you get that far, take
a detour to the right in the side street of Sarmiento. Then turn left and you
are in San Martin, where there are two interesting museums: Museo de la Policia
Federal and Museo Miter. Museo Miter is located in the house where Bartolomé
Miter, the country's first president, lived.
The world's widest street and Obelisco
Back on Florida again you can also turn left down Avenida Corrientes.
After a few blocks you will reach the world's widest street, Avenida 9 de Julio,
and Plaza de la Republica. In the middle of this oval square lies one of Buenos
Aires' most recognizable landmarks, the 67-meter-high Obelisco.
If you cross the square and walk up Liberador a few blocks, you will come to
Buenos Aires' famous opera house, Teatro Colón, which was built in 1908 modeled
on the classic European Renaissance buildings. Every day at 1100, 1300 and 1500
is the guided tour with English speaking guide. More information on the opera
website. A few blocks further up the street is the Cervantes Theater, which
houses the small national theater museum, the Museo Nacional del Teatro.
Dinner and nightlife in Buenos Aires
Time may be ripe to get back to the hotel and relax and take a shower before
you start thinking about dinner? Argentines eat dinner late, often at 22, and
you may want to pre-order if you plan to try one of the city's more popular
restaurants.
Take a taxi to the Palermo district, for example, and in Guatemala 4882, the
trendy BoBo restaurant is located in the hotel of the same name. The hotel was
named one of South America's unknown hotel gems by travel tip website
Tripadvisors users in January 2007. The restaurant has a mix of Asian, Argentine
and Italian cuisine on the menu, and attaches great importance to the visual
presentation of the dishes.
Nearby you have plenty of bars and clubs if you want to taste the Argentine
nightlife afterwards. On weekends, many places stay up until well into the
morning, depending on how persistent the last guest is.
Day 2 in Buenos Aires
If it was late last night, then it doesn't matter. Most hotels serve late
breakfasts, and the few attractions open the doors before 7 p.m. 1000 anyway.
Also today we start exploring Buenos Aires at Plaza de Mayo, but instead head
south down the Defense. If you didn't visit Basilica de San Francisco and
Basilica de Santo Domingo yesterday, you have the chance again now.
Historic San Telmo
Walking down Defensa Street you enter one of Buenos Aires's oldest
neighborhoods, San Telmo, and the area does not seem to have changed much in the
last couple of hundred years. Here you will find narrow cobblestone streets and
colonial houses, tango bars and cafes, galleries, museums and souvenir shops.
Most attractions and tourists are in the Defense and the Balcarce parallel
street.
Every Sunday, a traditional antique market is held at Plaza Dorrego, the
heart of San Telmo. Then the streets are closed to traffic, and street artists
and musicians entertain people in hopes of a coin or two. Here you can risk
being dragged into a spontaneous street tango by one of the neighborhood's more
fortunate inhabitants.
Evita and Botanical Garden
In the afternoon, take the metro or taxi to Palermo and visit the Evita
Museum (Museo Evita), which is right next to the Botanical Garden and the
Zoological Garden. The museum opens at 1400 and deals with Evita Peron's life in
photos, clothes and personal items. Afterwards, take a stroll in the botanical
garden or head for Recoleta, where Evita is buried in a relatively simple
mausoleum compared to the statesmen and cultural figures around her.
Opera, football or tango?
In the evenings you have plenty of cultural offerings to choose from. An
evening at Teatro Colon will surely be a memory of a lifetime, an evening at one
of San Telmo's tango clubs as well. If you have a hint of football interest, it
is definitely advisable to try and get tickets for a local showdown between two
of Buenos Aires's many football clubs.
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