Argentina - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 52

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the president and the executive branch
of government. To the south of the
building is the underground Museo del
Bicentenario (Wed-Sun 10am-6pm;
free; T 011 4344 3802, W museo.gov.ar),
which is basically an extravagant but
impressive propaganda exercise in the
good of Peronism as compared with the
evil of all other political movements in
Argentine history.
At the opposite end of the plaza is the
Cabildo , which, though much altered,
is one of the few examples of colonial
architecture left in this part of the city.
During the week there is a small crafts
market, as well as a museum of historical
artefacts (Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat &
Sun 11.30am-6pm; AR$4; guided tours
daily 12.30pm, 2pm (free) & 3.30pm;
AR$6; T 011 4334 1782); a pleasant café
is open the same hours as the museum.
The rather plain Catedral Metropolitana
(daily 9am-7pm; free guided tours,
Spanish only; T 011 4331 2845), close by,
is worth a look for its imposing columns
and the mausoleum to Independence hero
General San Martín inside.

Avenida Corrientes
Parallel with Avenida de Mayo to the
north, Avenida Corrientes is lined with
theatres, cinemas, bookshops and
pizzerias. One of the most interesting
places to stop is the Teatro General San
Martín ( T 0800 333 5254, W teatrosan
martin.com.ar), which hosts plays,
festivals and exhibitions. Under the same
roof is the Centro Cultural San Martín arts
space, featuring exhibition spaces and
auditoriums for music, drama and film
( T 011 4374 1251, W ccgsm.gov.ar).
The much-loved Obelisco , a 67m-tall
obelisk, stands in the middle of the busy
intersection of Corrientes and Avenida 9
de Julio. It is here that ecstatic football fans
come to celebrate when their team wins.
A couple of blocks to the north, the huge
French Renaissance Teatro Colón ( T 011
4378 7100, W teatrocolon.org.ar) still
stands tall after more than one hundred
years. Many opera and ballet greats
have performed here, and the theatre
triumphantly reopened in 2010 - during
the national bicentenary celebrations
- after extensive refurbishment works.

Avenida de Mayo
Heading west behind the Cabildo,
Avenida de Mayo is one of the city's most
attractive streets. In the late nineteenth
century, Argentina's first skyscrapers were
erected along here, and an underground
rail system (the subte ) soon followed.
Close to the intersection with Avenida 9
de Julio, you'll find the famous Café
Tortoni (Mon-Sat 8am-3.30am, Sun
until 1am), with over 150 years of service
and the favourite of many of the capital's
most successful writers, Jorge Luis Borges
included. Within its mirrored golden
walls, tango shows are held in the
evenings, and delicious coffee and pastries
are served during the day.
Avenida 9 de Julio (with sixteen busy
lanes) claims to be the world's widest
avenue: beyond it, Avenida de Mayo
continues to the Plaza de Congreso , and
the fabulous Greco-Roman-style Congreso
Nacional building (guided visits available
in English Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri 11am
& 4pm, closed Feb; enquire at entrance on
south side; T 011 4010 3000).

Calle Florida
Pedestrianized Calle Florida , packed
throughout the week with shoppers, street
vendors, buskers and performers, runs
across the downtown area, heading north
from Avenida de Mayo, close to the Plaza
de Mayo, across Avenida Corrientes and
ending at pleasant Parque San Martín.
Towards the northern end the impressive
Galerías Pacífico ( W progaleriaspaciico
.com.ar) shopping centre, with its vaulted
and frescoed ceiling, offers a welcome
respite from the crowds outside. There is an
inexpensive food court downstairs, and on
the first floor is the entrance to the Centro
Cultural Borges (Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun
noon-9pm; AR$15; T 011 5555 5359,
W ccborges.org.ar), which offers three floors
of photography and art exhibitions.

Puerto Madero
Buenos Aires' nineteenth-century docks,
neglected for decades, have been
redeveloped over the past twenty years to
become a pleasant, if somewhat sterile,
residential area, where modern apartment