Other things to see and do in Argentina

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is a complex, energetic, and seductive port city which stretches North to South along the Rio de la Plata. This has been the gateway to Argentina for centuries and is the birth place of the tango. Portenos, as the multinational people of Buenos Aires are known, possess an elaborate and rich cultural identity. They value their European heritage highly--Italian and German names outnumber Spanish, and the lifestyle and architecture are markedly more European than any other in South America.

Teatro Colon

The Teatro Colon needs little introduction to those familiar with the opera. As one of the world's premier opera houses, it has hosted the likes of Maria Callas, Toscanini, Stravinsky, and Caruso. Tickets are hard to come by, as many of the theater's 3,500 seats are held by season ticket holders. A guided tour lets the visitor glimpse the inner workings of this eminent center of opera.

Plaza de Mayo

The Plaza de Mayo is the city center (the city, in fact, was literally built around it), some of Argentina's most important historical events took place here. Surrounding it is the Government House, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Cabildo (town hall). Today the Plaza probably owes most of its fame to the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, the women who still show up in the square seeking information on the deseparecidos, their loved ones who vanished during the Dirty War.

The Recoleta

This area is the most fashionable place in Buenos Aires to dine; it is adjacent to the Cementario de la Recoleta, Eva Peron's final resting place. Along with Evita's much-visited grave, there is Our Lady of the Pilar Church, the Cultural Center, and the Palais de Glace, a major gallery. You can walk along the Pilar, which brims with a wide variety of restaurants and venues featuring live music every night.

San Telmo

San Telmo is widely hailed as the most picturesque part of Buenos Aires. Cobblestone streets and colonial buildings set the atmosphere for an array of shops and boutiques, tango parlors and cafes.