Home / 1998.02 South America / Argentina / Buenos Aires 12
Buenos Aires is one of the largest cities in the world, counting a total of eleven million inhabitants in both the city and its surroundings. It is a modern and dynamic city that still keeps some of its old traditions. It is known as the most elegant city in South America; its architecture represents the heterogeneity of its people, the so called "portenos" (inhabitants of the port). Located by the Rio de la Plata, the widest estuary in the world, Buenos Aires is the capital of the tango and the football, of the gaucho and the "asado". It offers its visitors numerous alternatives to spend nice and happy moments. In the city that never sleeps, there is time and space for everyone. The aspect of the city is very diverse, easily changing from the narrow streets to the widest avenues. To catch its spirit it is necessary to walk along the streets in the downtown, to see its elegant shop widows, to take a coffee in a sidewalk cafe or to visit the residential neighborhoods, where the old buildings alternate with the most modern constructions. This is a city with plenty typical restaurants of all the regions of the country as well as with excellent international cuisine.
The heart of the city today, as in colonial days, is the Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada (Pink House - Presidential Palace) and the Cathedral where San Martin, the father of Independence. is buried.
The Avenida 9 de Julio is the widest avenue in the world -the obelisk commemorating the 400th anniversary of the city stands midway. Tree-lined boulevards. parks and plazas are abundant and the skyline, though punctuated with a few new skyscrapers, resembles that of Paris