Buenos Aires Guide
Monserrat
The barrio of Monserrat is Buenos Aires' historic centre: the longest-settled area of the city, its narrow streets and broad avenues are home to a good number of the capital's oldest, most visually appealing and most important buildings. These, in turn, accommodate churches, museums and Argentina's political institutions, among other places of interest. Bounded by avenidas Rivadavia, Ingeniero Huergo, Independencia and Entre Ríos, the neighbourhood is very accessible on foot, and makes an excellent place to begin a tour of the city, for both its aesthetic appeal and its historical connections.
The focal point of the barrio – and indeed, the city – is not a building, however, but the spacious, palm-dotted Plaza de Mayo, set in the northeast corner of the neighbourhood. A somewhat mismatched collection of buildings rings this large square: the famous Casa Rosada, or government house, from where both Evita and Maradona greeted their adoring fans; the city's principal cathedral; and the colonial-era forerunner to the Casa Rosada, the Cabildo. South of the Plaza de Mayo are several close blocks of streets that have not changed much since the nineteenth century, and are beguiling to explore. Among them you'll find many great little cafés and bookshops, as well as the Manzana de las Luces and the Manzana Franciscana, sites which belonged to the Jesuits and Franciscan orders respectively, and two of the city's best small museums, the eclectic Museo de la Ciudad and the anthropological Museo Etnográfico. Heading west from the plaza, ten-block Avenida de Mayo is the city's major boulevard, flanked by an impressive selection of Art Nouveau and Art Deco constructions and a number of belle époque hotels and cafés. Highlights along here include the magnificent Dante-inspired Edificio Barolo and the renowned Café Tortoni, next door to a tango academy and museum. At its western end, the avenue opens into the long, thin Plaza del Congreso, named for its enormous Neoclassical Congreso building, the seat of the country's two houses of parliament.