8 Best Sights in Centro, Buenos Aires

Since its construction in 1580, this has been the setting for Argentina's most politically turbulent moments, including the uprising against Spanish colonial rule on May 25, 1810—hence its name. The square was once divided in two by a recova (gallery), but this reminder of colonial times was demolished in 1883 and the square's central monument, the Pirámide de Mayo, was later moved to its place. The pyramid you see is a 1911 extension of the original (which is hidden inside), erected in 1811 on the anniversary of the Revolution of May. The bronze equestrian statue of General Manuel Belgrano, the designer of Argentina's flag, dates from 1873.

The plaza remains the traditional site for ceremonies, rallies, and protests. Thousands cheered for Perón and Evita here; anti-Peronist planes bombed the gathered crowds in 1955; there were bloody clashes in December 2001 (hence the heavy police presence and crowd-control barriers); but the mood was jubilant for the nation's bicentenary in 2010. The white head scarves painted around the pyramid represent the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of May Square) who have marched here every Thursday at 3:30 for nearly four decades. Housewives and mothers–turned–militant activists, they demand justice for los desaparecidos—the people who were "disappeared" during Argentina's dictatorial military government (1976–83).

Its magnitude, magnificent acoustics, and opulence earn the Teatro Colón a place among the world's top five opera houses and an ever-changing stream of imported talent bolsters the well-regarded local lyric and ballet companies.

After an eventful 18-year building process involving the death of one architect and the murder of another, the sublime Italianate structure was inaugurated in 1908 with Verdi's Aïda. It has hosted the likes of Maria Callas, Richard Strauss, Arturo Toscanini, Igor Stravinsky, Enrico Caruso, and Luciano Pavarotti, who said that the Colón has only one flaw: the acoustics are so good that every mistake can be heard.

The theater's sumptuous building materials—three kinds of Italian marble, French stained glass, and Venetian mosaics—were imported from Europe. The seven-tier main theater is breathtaking, and has a grand central chandelier with 700 lights to illuminate the 3,000 mere mortals in its red-velvet seats.

The opera and ballet seasons run from April through December, and performances include symphonic cycles, chamber music concerts, and avant-garde music, opera, and dramatic performances at the ultraminimal Centro Experimental.

You can get in on the behind-the-scenes action on a guided tour, which takes you up and down innumerable staircases to rehearsal rooms and to the costume, shoe, and scenery workshops, before letting you gaze at the stage from a sought-after box. (Tours are daily 9–5, every hour on the hour and at 11, 1, and 3 in English; arrive at least a half hour before the tour starts, as they fill up quickly.)

Buy performance tickets from the box office on Pasaje Toscanini. If seats are sold out—or beyond your pocket—you can buy 600-peso standing-room tickets on the day of the performance. These are for the lofty upper-tier paraíso, from which you can both see and hear perfectly.

Nothing sums up the chaotic Microcentro better than this pedestrian axis, which has fallen from grace and risen from the ashes at least as many times as Argentina's economy. It’s a riotous spot on weekdays, when throngs of office workers eager for a fast-food or high-street retail fix intermingle with buskers and street vendors. You can wander it in less than an hour: start at the intersection with Av. de Mayo, and a bench or patch of grass in shady Plaza San Martín will be your reward at the other end.

En route, take in the surrounding buildings. At the ornate Edificio Bank Boston (No. 99) attention tends to focus on the battered, paint-splattered 4-ton bronze doors—unhappy customers have been taking out their anger at corralitos (banks retaining their savings) since the economic crisis of 2001–02.

The restoration process at Galería Güemes has left the soaring marble columns and stained-glass cupola gleaming, and the tacky shops that fill this historic arcade do nothing to lessen the wow factor. Witness Buenos Aires' often cavalier attitude to its architectural heritage at Florida's intersection with Avenida Corrientes, where the neo-Gothic Palacio Elortondo-Alvear is now home to Burger King. Go upstairs to check out the plaster molding and stained glass.

Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele served as the model for Galerías Pacífico, designed during Buenos Aires' turn-of-the-20th-century golden age. Once the headquarters of the Buenos Aires–Pacific Railway, it's now a posh shopping mall and cultural center. Head to the central stairwell to see the allegorical murals painted by local greats Juan Carlos Castagnino, Antonio Berni, Cirilo Colmenio, Lino Spilimbergo, and Demetrio Urruchúa. The Centro Cultural Borges, which hosts small international exhibitions and musical events, is on the mezzanine level.

Past the slew of leather shops in the blocks north of Avenida Córdoba is Plaza San Martín, where you’ll see a bronze statue of the namesake saint atop a rearing horse. It's overlooked by several opulent Italianate buildings and South America's tallest art deco structure, the Edificio Kavanagh.

The eclectic Casa de Gobierno, better known as the Casa Rosada or Pink House, is at Plaza de Mayo's eastern end. The building houses the government's executive branch—the president works here but lives elsewhere—and was built in the late 19th century. Its curious hue dates from the presidency of Domingo Sarmiento, who ordered it painted pink as a symbol of unification between two warring political factions: the federales (whose color was red) and the unitarios (white). Legend has it that the original paint was made by mixing whitewash with bull's blood.

The balcony facing Plaza de Mayo is a presidential podium. From this lofty stage, Evita rallied the descamisados (the shirtless—meaning the working class), Maradona sang along with soccer fans after winning one World Cup and coming second in another, and Madonna belted out her movie rendition of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." Look for a small banner hoisted alongside the nation's flag, indicating "the president is in."

On weekends, hour-long guided tours in English leave at 12:30 and 2:30 (book in advance, take ID), taking in some presidential offices and the newly opened Galería de los Patriotas Argentinos del Bicentenario (Bicentennial Gallery of Patriots), a pictorial who's who of Argentina's national heroes. The country's heroines have a room of their own here, the Salón Mujeres Argentinas, where an impassioned Evita presides over black-and-white photographs of Argentina's other great dames.

The columned neoclassical facade of the Metropolitan Cathedral makes it seem more like a temple than a church, and its history follows the pattern of many structures in the Plaza de Mayo area. The first of six buildings on this site was a 16th-century adobe ranch house; the current structure dates from 1822, but has been added to several times.

There's been a surge of interest in the building since February 2013, when Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, then archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected Pope Francis. The sanctuary now includes a small commemorative display of the pope's personal objects, watched over by a grinning life-size fiberglass statue of the pontiff in full regalia.

The embalmed remains of another local hero, General José de San Martín—known as the Liberator of Argentina for his role in the War of Independence—rest here in a marble mausoleum lighted by an eternal flame. Soldiers of the Grenadier Regiment, an elite troop created and trained by San Martín in 1811, permanently guard the tomb. Guided tours (in Spanish) of the mausoleum and crypt leave Monday to Saturday at 11:45 am.

A heap of history is packed into this single block of buildings southwest of Plaza de Mayo. Its name, "the Block of Illumination," is a metaphorical nod to the "illuminated" scholars who once worked within. Guided tours are led by excellent historians, and though regular tours are in Spanish, English summaries are offered at each stage.

The site's earliest occupant was the controversial Jesuit order, which began construction in 1661. The only surviving building from then is the galleried Procuraduría, the colonial administrative headquarters for the Jesuits' land holdings. Secret tunnels linked it to area churches, the Cabildo, and the port. After the Jesuits' expulsion from Argentina in 1767 (the simple brick-and-mud structure housed the city's first school of medicine and then the University of Buenos Aires). Fully restored, it's now home to a school for stringed instrument makers and a somewhat tacky crafts market.

The Jesuits honored their patron saint at the Iglesia de San Ignacio de Loyola (Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola), at the intersection of Alsina and Bolívar. You can visit without taking a tour.

Argentina's first congress convened in another building on the site, the Casas Virreinales (Viceroyal Residences)—ironic, given that it was built to house colonial civil servants. The remaining historic building is the neoclassical Colegio Nacional, a high-caliber public school that replaced a Jesuit-built structure. The president often attends graduation ceremonies, and Einstein gave a lecture here in 1925.

The distinctive Peruvian neocolonial-style Palacio Noel is the perfect backdrop for this colonial art and craft museum, which was built in 1920 as the residence of architect Martín Noel. He and museum founder, Fernández Blanco, donated most of the exquisite silver items, religious wood carvings, inlaid furnishings, and paintings from the Spanish colonial period that are on display. Guided tours in English can be arranged by calling ahead. Shaded benches in the lush walled gardens are a welcome respite, and the rustling leaves and birdcalls almost filter out the busy Retiro traffic noise.

Plaza de Mayo's only remaining colonial edifice was built in 1765 as the meeting place for the city council, now based in the ornate wedge-shaped building on the southwest corner of the square. The epicenter of the May Revolution of 1810, where patriotic citizens gathered to vote against Napoleonic rule, the hall is one of Argentina's national shrines. However, this hasn't stopped successive renovations to its detriment, including the demolition of the whole right end of the structure to make way for the new Avenida de Mayo in 1894 and of the left end for Diagonal Julio Roca in 1931. The small museum of artifacts and documents pertaining to the events of the May Revolution is less of an attraction than the building itself. Thursday and Friday from 11 to 6, a tiny craft market takes place on the patio behind the building.