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Key Attractions
Cabildo
Situated on Plaza de Mayo and the only surviving Government building from colonial times, the Cabildo was constructed in 1748. In May 1810, it was the focus for the May Revolution and the museum reflects the history of this period. Exhibits include watercolours by Enrique Pellegrini together with the original plans for the city and its fort. The upper galleries of the building are magnificently adorned with giant keys and wooden doors dating from colonial times. The building is guarded by members of the Regimiento de Patricios, dressed in tradional costumes dating from their founding in 1806.
Calle Bolívar 65
Tel: (011) 4334 1782.
Transport: Subte line A to Plaza de Mayo, line D to Catedral or line E to Bolívar.
Opening hours: Wed-Fri 1130-1800, Sat and Sun 1400-1800.
Admission: $1.
Casa Rosada (Pink House)
Occupying the eastern end of Plaza de Mayo, this shocking pink Presidential Palace has a world-famous balcony, where the likes of General Galtieri, Diego Maradona, Evita and Perón have addressed the crowds at various stages in Argentina’s history. Originally a fortress, the Casa Rosada was remodelled as a palace for the Viceroy, when Buenos Aires became the Capital of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata in 1776. A typical example of French and Italian styles, it gained its bright pink colour during the presidency of Sarmiento when, in 1873, he chose the colour because it represented both political sectors – red for the federals and white for the opposing unitarians. The south side of the building houses the Museo de la Casa Rosada in its basement. Exhibits include artefacts used by the presidents of Argentina between 1826 and 1966, together with Spanish and English panels giving an overview of the country’s political history.
Hipólito Yrigoyen 219
Tel: (011) 4344 3600.
Transport: Subte line A to Plaza de Mayo, line D to Catedral or line E to Bolívar.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1800, Sun 1400-1800. Guided tours of the museum at 1100 and 1600 Mon-Fri, 1500 and 1630 Sun. Guided tours of the palace at 1700 Mon-Fri.
Admission: Free. Identity card or passport required.
La Boca
This barrio is best known for its football team, Boca Juniors, for whom the legendary Diego Maradona played, but also for its multi-coloured wooden and corrugated iron houses. The houses were built and painted by the resident dock-workers, of mainly Italian descent, who used leftover materials and paint from the ships. The most famous street, Calle Caminito, possesses the best of the painted houses and is where artists, street performers and tango dancers congregate daily. The use of colour and the area’s artistic tradition, which is still in evidence today, was heavily influenced by Benito Quinquela Martín – one of Argentina’s most famous painters – who used his artwork as a form of social protest. His powerful images of this working-class neighbourhood can be seen at the recently renovated Museo de Bellas Artes Quinquela Martín, along with the work of other local artists. It is also worth exploring the temporary exhibits of Argentine artists at the modern Fundación Proa museum. Tango was developed in this neighbourhood and, in the 1920s, children from wealthy families would come here to dance the dance banned elsewhere in Buenos Aires. Many restaurants provide daily lunchtime tango shows for tourists.
The working class area of La Boca is now a popular destination for artists and tourists but visitors must be careful to avoid straying into the less touristy areas or to be on their guard for potential pickpockets or muggers if they do.
Calle Museo Caminito
Outdoor exhibition on Calle Caminito
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission: Free.
Museo de Bellas Artes Quinquela Martín
Avenida Pedro de Mendoza 1835
Tel: (011) 4301 1080.
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission: $1.
Fundación Proa
Avenida Pedro de Mendoza 1929
Tel: (011) 4303 0909.
Website: www.proa.org
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1100-1900.
Admission: $3.
Transport: Bus 20, 29, 33, 46, 53, 54, 64, 152 or 159.
La Recoleta Cemetery
A cemetery may not be everyone’s idea of a tourist attraction, but La Recoleta, founded in 1822, is one of the most famous in the world. Much to the dismay of Buenos Aires’s privileged families, it is the final resting place of Maria Eva Duarte Perón or Evita as she is also known. A steady succession of locals and foreigners visit the site in order to pay homage to one of Argentina’s most illustrious figures. The vault is deliberately unsignposted but this doesn’t deter anyone. The burial site can easily be located by following the guided tour groups or by seeking out the mass of bouquets that are always being left. The populist sentiment of the inscription on Eva’s tomb, Vol verá y seré millones (‘I will return and be millions’), did not enamour this woman to the descendants of the members of Porteño high society buried around her. She lies in a supposedly secure grave two metres (six feet) below concrete, but hers is not the most impressive vault by any means. The cemetery is filled with a wide range of vaults, containing the bodies of writers, scientists, national heroes and former presidents, exhibiting a vast variety of architectural styles and stones. It is a pleasant stroll through the labyrinths just looking at the inscriptions, in the shade of the trees, as the feral cats lazily prowl around or sleep on their favourite tombstones.
Calle Junín 1760
Tel: (011) 4803 1594.
Transport: Bus 10, 37, 41, 60, 61, 92, 93 110 or 118.
Opening hours: Daily 0700-1745. Guided tours last Sun of month, Mar-Dec, at 1430.
Admission: Free.
Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA)
This ultra-modern building was built to house the Costantini collection of Latin American art and is a welcome addition to the city’s cultural landscape. It is the mission of the museum, opened in 2001, to promote appreciation of Latin American art from the early 20th century to the present day. Many Argentine artists are represented, including Xul Solar, Benito Quinquela Martín and Antonio Berni. Many Brazilian and Uruguayan works are also shown, as is a famous self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. This light, airy gallery also has spaces for temporary exhibits, an outdoor sculpture balcony, art book and gift shop, library and a smart café.
Avenida Figueroa Alcorta 3415
Tel: (011) 4808 6500.
E-mail: info@malba.org.ar
Website: www.malba.org.ar
Transport: Bus 67, 102, 124 or 130.
Opening hours: Mon, Thurs-Sun 1200-2000; Wed 1200-2100.
Admission: $4. Free Wed.
Museo Evita
Inaugurated on 26 July 2002, on the 50th anniversary of Evita’s death, the Museo Evita tells the life story of Eva Perón using a mixture of personal artefacts, dresses, period exhibits, photographs and audiovisual displays. The museum is housed in an Italianate mansion, built at the end of the 19th century, which became a children’s home when it was acquired by the Fundación Ayuda Social Eva Perón. Already a famous radio and theatre actress in her own right, Eva Duarte became one of the most revered and reviled figures in Argentine history and famous around the world when she married Colonel Juan Domingo Perón who was elected President in 1946. Evita used her position to further the rights and conditions of the working class, provided social aid though her foundation and was a key figure in the woman’s suffrage movement. Her life came to a tragic end when she died of cancer, aged 33, in 1952. Evita has become the subject of various books, films and a stage musical, and newsreel footage of the state funeral shows how popular she had become during her brief life.
Calle Lafinur 2988
Tel: (011) 4807 9433 or 4809 3168.
E-mail: ievaperon@uol.com.ar
Transport: Subte line D to Plaza Italia; bus 15, 37, 38, 41, 59, 60, 64, 93, 95, 118, 128 or 160.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1400-1930. Guided tours at 1600, 1700 and 1800 Tues-Sun.
Admission: $5 (guided tour $3 extra).
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
A redbrick neo-classical building in the Recoleta district, the airy National Fine Arts Museum contains collections of European paintings and sculpture along with a complete collection of Argentine art. Downstairs, there are galleries devoted to Impressionists, such as Renoir, Monet, Degas, Pissarro and Sisley. Rubens, Rothko, Pollock and an assortment of other renowned artists also feature, along with internationally famous Argentine artist, Lucio Fontana. Upstairs, notable paintings include Prilidiano Pueyrredon’s El Baño, Valentin Thubon de Libian’s Fifi and Lino Spilimbergo’s Terracita. Visitors can also see the works of other Argentine artists and temporary exhibits on loan from international museums.
Avenida del Libertador 1473
Tel: (011) 4803 0802 or 4803 8814.
E-mail: museodebellasartes@infovia.com.ar
Website: www.aamnba.com.ar
Transport: Bus 17, 61, 62, 67, 92, 93, 110, 124 or 130.
Opening hours: Tues-Fri and Sun 1230-1930, Sat 0900-1930.
Admission: Free.
Teatro Colón
Located near Plaza Lavalle, the Teatro Colón is regarded as one of the greatest opera houses in the world and is an essential visit even for those not usually interested in classical music. The Italian Renaissance-style building highlights the city’s European feel. Designed by Italian architect Francisco Tamburri, the theatre has seen the likes of Vaslov Nijinsky and Anna Pavlova grace the stage with their dance. Bernstein, Strauss and Stravinsky have conducted here and Caruso, Melba, Callas, Pavarotti and Domingo have all sung in the 2500-seater auditorium and tested the highly regarded acoustics.
Visitors to the theatre have to take one of the guided tours; they will find themselves being led through the Central Hall, the ornately gilded and mirrored Salon Dorado and the auditorium, whose Dome is decorated with frescoes by Raul Soldi. Tours also take in the workshops where visitors might see the 1000-sq-metre (11,100-sq-ft) backdrop for each opera being hand-painted by the expert craftspeople. There are also items of clothing and footwear, used in past performances, on view.
Box office and theatre entrance: Libertad 621
Guided tours entrance: Pasaje Toscanini 1168 (on Viamonte 1100)
Tel: (011) 4378 7132/3.
E-mail: visitas@teatrocolon.org.ar
Website: www.teatrocolon.org.ar
Transport: Subte line D to Tribunales; bus 5, 6, 29, 39, 59, 67, 115, 132, 146 or 155.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri hourly 1100-1600, Sat hourly 0900-1600, Sun hourly 1100-1500 (guided tours in English or Spanish).
Admission: $10.
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