Buenos Aires Things to Do Tips by Bwana_Brown

Our very first walk in Buenos Aires took us the four blocks down Av. Callao from our hotel to the Plaza del Congreso area on Av. de Mayo. The monuments in this Plaza are dedicated to the congresses held in 1810 and 1816 which eventually led to the independence of Argentina. The granite steps leading up to this statue are meant to symbolize the Andes mountains while a wading pool on the far side represents the Pacific Ocean.

We were disappointed with the state of this Plaza, the most down-trodden one that we came across in the city. The statue complex is covered in graffiti, as are the signs on the iron fence erected around it to provide some protection. This relatively small Plaza, in a crowded neighbourhood, seems to serve as the 'hang-out' for many down and out people in this part of the city, although they did not give us any problems as we walked around here at 3:30 in the afternoon.

The photo shows the Plaza del Congresso, looking down Av. de Mayo in the direction of the Presidential Palace, 16 city blocks away near the Rio de la Plata waterfront.

To my rear as I was taking this photo, was the equally rundown Palacio del Congresso, modeled on the US Capitol and completed in 1806 at over twice it's original cost estimate. It too was surrounded by an iron fence, seemingly to keep it's citizens at bay. It was a disappointing start to our explorations, but our impressions of Buenos Aires and Argentina only went up from there!

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We started out our next-morning walk to the downtown core near the Presidential Palace by first checking out what is reported to be the world's widest street, Avenida 9 de Julio. This multi-lane monster cuts 5 km through the heart of the city, taking up an entire city block in width with it's up to 12 lanes of traffic.

In addition to the main 4-5 lanes of traffic on each side of a central island, are parallel streets along each side of the Avenue - with Cerrito to the west and Carlos Pelligrini to the east. Just to get across 9 de Julio takes two changes of traffic lights because you can only make it to the centre island in one 'hop'.

This is the view as we approach the Obelisk from Sarmiento Street.

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Directions: Seven blocks west from the Presidential Palace and Plaza de Mayo.

Located almost exactly mid-way along Av. 9 de Julio, this trademark Obelisk of Buenos Aires was erected in 1936 to commemorate 400 years from the first founding of a settlement here by Spanish explorers. It's location in the city also marks the site where the Argentine flag was raised for the first time.

The Obelisk is situated on a large 'island' in the middle of the Avenue and is not open for public visitors, even though it has an internal stairway of 206 steps that lead to it's apex, where four small windows are located.

Standing 67-m (220-ft) high, this Obelisk is tied for the second highest in the world with the Bunker Hill monument in Boston. The world's tallest Obelisk is the 169-m (550-ft) Washington Monument in Washington, DC.

However, technically speaking, since they are not made out of a single large cut stone, none of the above are 'true' obelisks. The largest of this category are about 30-m tall and were created by the Egyptians thousands of years ago.

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Directions: 9 de Julio & Corrientes Av.

After having seen enough of the Obelisk and busy 9 de Julio Av., we turned off onto the pedestrian walkway of Av. Roque Senez Pena. This very quickly took us to the quiet and peaceful looking Plaza Lavalle which spans the three city blocks along which the famous Teatro (Theatre) Colon is located.

The seven-story Teatro, which can hold up to 3500 spectators, is considered one of the world's premier Opera Houses. However, because the building was draped in construction netting for repairs, we did not explore it, instead just enjoying the some relaxing time in this Plaza before we continued our walk toward the seat of government area near Plaza de Mayo. We could have taken the pedestrian Lavalle Street directly from here, but we did not quite have our bearings sorted out and instead walked along the parallel car/pedestrian street of Viamonte.

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Directions: One block away to the north of Av. 9 de Julio and beside the Teatro Colon

Originally built in 1580 on a fortified location beside the Rio de la Plata, the Casa Rosada now houses the real seat of power in Argentina. A lot of things have changed over the years including a face-lift by an Italian architect to give the building an Italian/French appearance. Also, landfills along the river over the centuries, including land for the now fashionable Puerto Madero district, place the Palace about one kilometer from the river.

Fronting onto the large Plaza de Mayo, the balcony of the Casa Rosada (Pink House) has seen many historic speeches by the leaders of Argentina, including Juan and Eva Peron. In fact, Juan Peron was the Argentine military attache in Germany during the years when Hitler made his run up to power. He absorbed how Hitler (and Mussolini) were able to develop a devoted 'cult following' by means of speeches before massed audiences. Peron put that experience to use when he returned to Argentina and made his bid for power.

Public tours of the building are now available since the end of the military dictatorship. It was about 11:30 AM by the time we had walked this far from our hotel, so we continued onward for a closer look at Plaza de Mayo.

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Directions: Along the waterfront and beside Plaza de Mayo in the San Nicolas district

As we strolled past the main entrance of the of the Casa Rosada, it was interesting to see two members of the Honour Guard on duty, dressed in the uniforms of 1813 era Grenadiers!

There is a Changing of the Guard ceremony every 2 hours during the day starting at 7 AM. We were there at noon so missed seeing how elaborate it was, but we did enjoy seeing the same thing at the Presidential Palace in Lisbon several months earlier!

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Address: 50 Balcarce
Directions: Casa Rosada at Plaza de Mayo

Plaza de Mayo has a long history in Buenos Aires, being first established as the heart of the city when the Spaniards returned for the second time in 1580 (the indigenous Querandi people had routed the first attempt at colonization in 1536). Major changes were made to the Plaza over the succeeding centuries, with the last major one being the removal in 1884 of a large building, the Recova Vieja, which had cut the Plaza in half when it was constructed in 1803.

It was only after the Revolution against Spanish rule in 1810 that the Plaza acquired it's present name, in celebration of that event. As for the Piramide (Pyramid) de Mayo, it was first erected in 1811 on the first anniversary of the revolution. It is constructed of brick with a plaster outer covering, with the statue at it's top representing Liberty.

After the old dividing building was torn down in 1884, to make room for Av. de Mayo between the Casa Rosada and the Palacio de Congreso at the other end of the Avenue, the statue was moved to it's present location. In recent years, the statue has looked down on the protesting mothers of 'The Disappeared Ones' as they congregated in this Plaza to seek answers from the government as to what the former military regimes did to their loved ones.

The beautiful palm trees in the park came from Brazil, courtesy of the French landscape architect Carlos Thays (who also established the Botanical Gardens). We finished our tour of the Plaza at about 11:30 AM on a Friday and did not find many people about. Then, it was onward toward San Telmo!

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Directions: In front of the Casa Rosada.

During our haphazard noon hour wanderings trying to reach the San Telmo district from Plaza de Mayo, we ended up at the corner of Defensa and Belgrano by chance. Here, although we had no idea what it was all about, we could not help but be impressed by the Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo. We knew something was up because, staring through the iron fence surrounding it, we could see that it's walls were covered by many bronze plaques of all shapes and sizes.

It turns out that this old convent took a beating from British cannonballs (with the pock marks still visible on it's left tower) during the battles of 1806-7. An unauthorized British force from South Africa had decided to take over the Spanish colony to help the mother country during it's battles with France and Spain in the Napoleonic Wars. However, after initial success, the Argentine colonists re-grouped and accepted the surrender of the invading force here in 1807. This ill-fated British attempt at conquest was the spark the colonists needed to take matters into their own hands - they rebelled against Spain in 1810 and soon won their own independence.

I suppose my wife and I were on a similar expedition in a way. We were married in Zambia and had our Honeymoon at Victoria Falls in southern Africa. So we decided to spend our 30th anniversary directly across the Atlantic Ocean from there, at Iguazu Falls in Argentina!

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Address: Corner of Defensa and Belgrano
Directions: Only three blocks south of Plaza de Mayo

After finishing our tour of the San Telmo area, and stopping for lunch, we said that is just about enough walking for one day! So, we then took a taxi across the city to the Recoleta district.

It was time to visit the world-famous cemetery ourselves to see what all the fuss was about! The Recoleta area was originally a wooded section of land outside of the city itself. This led to the Dominican and Franciscan orders developing religious 'retreats' here in the early 1700s, where the monks could meditate - thus the name 'recoleta' which means 'a place of retreat'.

The city gradually expanded over the next century, slowly bringing Recoleta into it's grasp. However, the big changes came following the outbreak of Yellow Fever in the heart of Buenos Aires in 1871, resulting in the rich city dwellers choosing to move to new, healthier ground. They brought their money with them to Recoleta and developed this part of the city into an exclusive and trendy place to live.

Naturally, they had to have a cemetery able to meet their high standards, so Recoleta cemetery, with it's classic Greek-style neo-Doric entrance gate, fit the bill perfectly!

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Address: Corner of Junin St. and Av. Quintana
Directions: Northeast part of the city, near the Rio de la Plata between the Retiro railroad station and the Zoo.

We had a beautiful sunny afternoon for our tour of this amazing cemetery, almost too bright! After living their lives of luxury in the trendy restaurants and lush parklands of this part of Buenos Aires, the elite of the city made sure that they had an equally elite place for their bodies to rest in eternity.

Argentinians have a strange fascination for the deceased and, in fact, sometimes quote the date of a person's death as the official 'marker' for the person rather than their birth date. The crypts here are so ornate that seventy of them, along with the entrance gate, have been declared National Historic Sites. In fact, the saying is that it is cheaper to live a life of extravagance in this neighbourhood than it is to pay for your time in Recoleta! Indeed, money alone does not always guarantee admitance to this exclusive club - it is your surname and pedigree that also matters.

We enjoyed our walk among the ornate crypts, with the above ground portion merely the tip of the iceburg. Deep under each one, are burial chambers set up to hold the entire clan.

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Directions: This is a worth visiting neighborhood