With its opulent architecture and fine acoustics, the Colon Theatre (Teatro Colón) ranks alongside Paris’ Opera Garnier and London’s Royal Opera House as one of the world’s most impressive theaters. Reopened after extensive renovations in 2010, the Colon Theatre is the premier venue for opera, ballet, and classical music in Buenos Aires.
While it may seem odd that one of Buenos Aires’ principal attractions is a cemetery, this is no ordinary graveyard. Recoleta Cemetery(Cemiterio de Recoleta) is one of the world’s most exquisite necropolises—home to more than 6,400 tombs, mausoleums, and monuments laid out in formal tree-lined avenues, including the grave of Eva Perón (Evita).
Puerto Madero, once a lackluster cargo port, is now one of Buenos Aires’ most fashionable districts, teeming with upmarket restaurants and glitzy nightclubs. Marooned from the mainland by the Rio de la Plata estuary, the largely pedestrianized island is celebrated for housing some of the city’s most architecturally stunning buildings.
The central barrio of San Telmo is one of Buenos Aires’ tango haunts. Formerly an upmarket residential area, the area’s “old mansions and faded glory” vibe set the perfect scene for the artists and musicians who now call this enclave home. The streets here are picturesquely cobbled, and the fascinating little shops are well worth a browse.
Few places in Buenos Aires are photographed as frequently as Caminito Street. The main artery of the waterfront La Boca neighborhood is a jumble of old buildings, brightly painted facades, and street-side market stalls, with hawkers, buskers, and tango dancers adding to the atmosphere.
Home to the Casa Rosada—where Eva Peron famously stood on the balcony—and the Metropolitan Cathedral, Pope Francis’ former church, Plaza de Mayo is the historic and political heart of Buenos Aires. Named for the May 1810 revolution, the square’s centerpiece is the Pirámide de Mayo, an obelisk commemorating Argentina’s independence.
Buenos Aires’ largest barrio, the northeastern district of Palermo is one of the city’s most affluent and fashionable neighborhoods. Known for its beautiful parks, grand monuments, and art museums, Palermo is whereporteños (locals) come to eat, shop, and party, with a buzzing nightlife and some of the city’s top restaurants, bars, and cafés.
Few places in Buenos Aires are photographed as frequently as Caminito Street. The main artery of the waterfront La Boca neighborhood is a jumble of old buildings, brightly painted facades, and street-side market stalls, with hawkers, buskers, and tango dancers adding to the atmosphere.
There’s a sultry, sleek, and sexy beauty to Argentinian tango, and no place does is better at capturing that mood than the tango halls of San Telmo. Here in the old, cobblestonedbarrio of downtown Buenos Aires, tango went from a local dance to a passionate craze that circled that globe and gripped a generation. Today that flare for the dance lives on, and La Ventana tango show combines an evening of sleek performance with succulent local cuisine. Set inside aconventillo, or historic tenement building, La Ventana has entertained audiences since 1982. More than just simply a tango, however, the evening features a look at traditional gaucho life in the mountains, and also includes an inspired tribute to the leader, Eva Perón. To absorb even more of the Argentine flavor, opt for a show that also includes a 3-course dinner and wine, before kicking back and losing yourself in the passionate beats of San Telmo.
Tango Porteno, housed within a former movie theater, stages one of the best tango shows in Buenos Aires. The art deco theater is the perfect place for a trip back to the 1940s, considered the golden age of tango in Argentina. The show mixes clips of old tango footage with a live orchestra, sensual dancers, and elaborate costumes and settings.
An elegant residential district just north of downtown, Recoleta is Buenos Aires at its most polished—think luxury apartments, upscale boutiques, and perfectly manicured parks. The grand centerpiece is Recoleta Cemetery, a mini city of marble mausoleums and ornate crypts, where Eva “Evita” Perón was laid to rest.
With its scenic waterways, riverside fun fair, and lively handicrafts market, the charming provincial town of Tigre offers a welcome change of pace from nearby Buenos Aires. Located on the Tigre Delta at the meeting point of the Paraná River and the Río de la Plata estuary, it’s a popular choice for a day trip from the capital.
Porteños often boast about 9 de Julio Avenue (Avenida 9 De Julio) as the world’s widest boulevard, and with a width of 460 feet (140 meters) with 12 lanes of traffic, they might just be right. Construction on the avenue began in 1937, modeled after the Champs Elysees but twice as wide, and built to commemorate Argentina’s Independence Day, July 9, 1816. It wasn’t fully completed until 1980.
Neo-classical and Beaux Arts buildings line the monumental street, but it’s most recognizable feature is the iconic Obelisco that towers over a small park at the intersection of Avenida 9 De Julio and Avenida Corrientes.
El Cabildo, a modest, two-story colonial building along the edge of Plaza de Mayo, once served as Buenos Aires’s original city hall. Today, it’s one of the few colonial structures still standing in Buenos Aires. The facade now houses a small museum showcasing paintings, furniture, antiques, and costumes from the colonial period.
The Buenos Aires Obelisk (Obelisco de Buenos Aires), among the city’s most iconic landmarks, towers over the intersection of two main thoroughfares. Erected in 1936 to commemorate the quadricentennial of the city’s founding, the pencil-like column stands a striking 220 feet (67 meters) tall and marks the spot where the nation’s flag was first flown.
Presiding over the historic town of San Isidro in the northeast region of Buenos Aires Province, the San Isidro Cathedral is the crown jewel of suburban Buenos Aires. It is a popular pilgrimage site for those taking the famous Train of the Coast (Tren de la Costa) along the Rio de la Plata.
The dramatic centerpiece of the Plaza de las Naciones Unidas—the park that bridges the Palermo and Recoleta neighborhoods—is the Floralis Generica. This gigantic, 18-ton metallic flower sculpture has become one of Buenos Aires’ most instantly reboldcognizable landmarks.
The beloved Boca Juniors soccer team plays its games at the Alberto J. Armando stadium, affectionately known as La Bombonera (Spanish for “the chocolate box”), which is also home to a museum and behind-the-scenes tour opportunities. With a capacity of 49,000, the stadium is known for vibrating when fans start jumping about—either out of excitement or frustration—as well as for its unusual shape.
With its intimate shows (only 100 seats, gourmet cuisine, and lavish surroundings, Rojo Tango is arguably the most luxurious venue to experience Argentina’s sultry dance—the tango—while in Buenos Aires. The venue, inside the Hotel Faena, enlists some of the nation’s best dancers, singers, and musicians for its tango performances.
Puente de la Mujer, or Women’s Bridge, is a footbridge in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Aires. It was designed by the renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and modeled after very similar bridges spanning the rivers in Seville, Spain and Redding, California. The prominent feature that all three bridges share is the big steel needle jutting at a sharp angle into the sky. The needle functions as an anchor for the suspension cables and holds up the entire span. According to the creator, the whole structure is supposed to show a couple dancing the tango, with the needle representing the man and the curved body of the bridge embodying the woman being lowered to the ground. Additionally, many of the streets in this Buenos Aires district have women’s names, a fact that Calatrava wanted to honor when he named Puente de la Mujer.
An interesting function of the bridge is its rotating feature to let water traffic pass through. The mobile section making up the center of the bridge is able to rotate 90 degrees, when it is working that is. Since the city has left the responsibility of maintaining the structure with the family that sponsored the construction, the 160 meter long pedestrian bridge is not in operation while matters of upkeep are being sorted out.
With a legacy dating back to the 1890s, Café de los Angelitos is one of the most historic and atmospheric tango venues in Buenos Aires. Once a favorite hangout of tango legends Carlos Gardel and José Razzano, the café was immortalized in their 1944 song “Café de los Angelitos.”
One of the biggest tango shows in town, Senor Tango is a much glitzier affair than the more traditionalmilongas (dance halls) of Buenos Aires. It’s a sizzling show featuring dance routines and visual effects combining light, color, and sound. With dinner served beforehand, it also makes for a complete night out.
The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (Museo de Arte Lationoamericano de Buenos Aires, MALBA) is Buenos Aires’ leading modern art institution. Since opening in 2001, the museum has amassed a varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and installation works by artists from all corners of Latin America.
Red wine and red-hot tango are two of Argentina’s top exports, and few places do both as well as El Querandi, one of the most famous tango venues in Buenos Aires. The historic restaurant and wine bar is popular with tourists, who frequent the legendary dinner tango shows, and serves up an acclaimed menu of Argentine cuisine and local wines.
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