To See in Buenos Aires:Microcentro The first stop for any tourist in Buenos Aires to head straight to the area of Microcentro. This is the center of the city. (“Centro” means center in Spanish). Here you can see 9 de Julio, the widest street in the world, with 16 lanes of cars. It takes two stoplights to cross the road, but pedestrians can stop halfway to admire the Obelisco, an obelisk that sits in the middle of the road and an icon of Buenos Aires. Nearby, across the road from 9 de Julio is Florida Street, a pedestrian road filled with many shops and semi-illegal exchange houses (where one USD will get you 15 pesos, instead of the official rate of 9 pesos). Also nearby is the Plaza de Mayo, the main square of the city. On the square sits the Casa Rosada (the Pink House), the Argentine equivalent of the White House. This is where current president, Cristina Kirchner and her successor, who will be choses in the upcoming November elections, work. Recoleta Cemetery North of Microcentro is the barrio (neighborhood) of Recoleta. It is the wealthiest, most upscale barrio of Buenos Aires filled with French-style architecture that give Buenos Aires the name “the Paris of South America”. Recoleta is also home to the most-famous cemetery in Buenos Aires. Unlike a typical graveyard filled with tombstones, the families entombed here have built elaborate mausoleums, housing several generations of relatives and creating a cemetery that more looks like a mini-city for the dead. Also here people come to pay homage to legendary Evita Peron, who is buried here with her family as well. Floralis Generica On the northern edge of Recoleta is another icon of the city of Buenos Aires, Floralis Genérica. The massive steel sculpture was a gift to the city by the architect Eduardo Catalano. The unique feature of this statue is that opens and closes just like a normal flower. The petals close at sunset, the closed-up flower glows red at night, and in the morning, it is re-born and the flower opens up again. The best time to the sculpture is either at sunset or sunrise to the sculpture in motion. MALBA A few minutes down the road from the Floralis Generica is the MALBA, the Latin American Museum of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires’s version of the MoMA hosts the excellent 20th century Latin American art collection of businessman Eduardo Constantini as well as a line-up of temporary exhibitions featuring Argentine and Latin American artists. The museum is very popular locals so it’s important to get there early to beat the lines. La Boca La Boca is a working-class neighborhood located in the south of Buenos Aires. It’s home for the Boca Juniors, one of the best professional teams in Argentina and where soccer legend Diego Maradona started his career. Those interested in soccer can go see a game or just go for a tour to their home stadium, La Bombonera. For those who are not interested in sports, La Boca is also home to the Caminito, a small street filled with brightly-painted houses. Built by artist Benito Quinquela Martin, it is a recreation of what the barrio looked like in the early twentieth century when it was home to Italian immigrants who built their homes from whatever discarded materials they could find in the nearby shipyards and painted over them in Genoese style. The area is a little tourist-y, with a lot of tango performers and gift shops, but it’s worth stopping by once. Near the Caminito is also Fundacion Proa, one of the best modern art museums in Buenos Aires. To Do in Buenos Aires:Shop in San Telmo Just south of the Plaza de Mayo is the barrio of San Telmo. One of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, it is still has its original cobblestone streets and lined with antique buildings. Every Sunday, vendors selling antiques set-up shop around the Plaza Dorrego in the middle of San Telmo in a weekly event known as a feria. The event has become so popular that other shop owners set up booths and peddle the wares down the main street of the barrio, Defensa, that extends from Plaza Dorrego up to Plaza de Mayo (over a mile!). If you can’t make it on Sunday, antique vendors still operate the market of San Telmo (El Mercado) every other day of the week. Go on Street Art Tour Any visitor to Buenos Aires will notice the large amount of tags and street art that cover buildings. The city has lax laws concerning graffiti: as long as an artist has permission from the owner of a building, they can paint on it. This has a led to a flourishing street art scene. Tourists can explore and learn more about this art form through tours. A couple organizations offer relatively inexpensive tours of the city through residential neighborhoods in the north or south of the city and learn about the artworks themselves and about the artists who make the pieces as well. Stroll through Puerto Madero Puerto Madero is a revitalized neighborhood located along the Rio de La Plata riverbank. It was and still is an operating port, but now it is also filled with high-rises, expensive restaurants, and shops. Also in the area is the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, an eco-reserve located right along the river. Spend your weekend in Palermo Just north of of Recoleta is the massive barrio of Palermo. Sub-divided into smaller neighborhoods, Palermo is full of shopping, parks, and restaurants. One can spend the day walking around the neighborhoods of Palermo Soho and Hollywood window-shopping and eating at trendy restaurants. Out towards the east is the Bosques of Palermo, a complex of massive parks perfect for runners, bikers, or picnickers. Palermo is also one of the bests spots for nightlife in Buenos Aires, with many bars and nightclubs. See a performance at the Teatro Colon The Teatro Colon is one of the most famous opera houses in the world and an architectural icon of Buenos Aires. It is renown for having the best acoustics of any theater in the world. Every season, the Teatro puts on at least a couple operas, plays and ballets, all surprisingly affordable. Tours are also available of the building for those who wish to learn more about the architecture and history of the building itself. Day Trips: Tigre Tigre is a town located upriver from Buenos Aires and where the Parana River empties out into the Rio de La Plata. It easily accessible by the Tren de la Costa, a cheap train service that runs along the coastline of the Rio Plata up to the town of Tigre. Visitors here can take a boat tour through the river delta to spot for wildlife. The more adventurous can rent out a canoe or kayak and explore the river themselves. Colonia Another fun daytrip from Buenos Aires is crossing borders to Uruguay to visit the city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Colonia. Visitors take an hour-long boat ride across the Rio de La Plata (the widest river in the world). The small, historic town is walk-able and good place to see examples of colonial Spanish and Portuguese architecture. Also, due to the country’s economic policy, Uruguay is a good spot for a foreigner looking to withdraw US dollars from ATMs and use them for a more favorable exchange rate back in Argentina. MISSING CHINA? Buenos Aires has a Chinatown, albeit a small one. Barrio Chino (Chinatown) is made up of blocks where you can score some lamian, bubble tea, mooncakes and dim sum when the China cravings hit. This article was written by Veronica Hernandez. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Veronica Hernandez