Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
built their convent and church. Two important
plazas lie just outside the grassy hill:
Intendente Alvear Square
and
Ramón
Cárcano Public Square
. The former is
marked by a statue of the Argentine Patriot,
Carlos María de Alvear. Built with bronze and
marble, its wide staircase affords a view of the
entire area. This tree-lined, shady spot was
born spontaneously when the people who
attended funerals started to gather there. The
kiosks they set up were the forerunners of the
weekly open-air market that operates here.
Ramón Carcano Public Square
faces the
gate of the Recoleta Cemetery.
Stop for a light lunch or late afternoon tea at
Plaza de Pilar
, an upscale “foodcourt” in the
lower level of the Recoleta Design Building.
Here you'll find a series of restaurants serving
everything from burgers to pizza to pasta. You
can eat indoors or out. More about Plaza de
Pilar dining options in
Best Places to Eat
.
Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine
Arts)
, Buenos Aires' finest museum, is at
Avenida Libertador 1473 in the Recoleta sec-
tion (see
Museums
, page 199). It is adjacent to
the beautiful
Plaza Francia.
The wonderful
monument in its plaza, by the French sculptor
Peynot, was a gift from the French community
on the centennial of Argentina's first native
government. Every Sunday afternoon Plaza
Francia is the site of an outdoor flea market.
It's Woodstock Recoleta-style. Young men with
ponytails and girls with love beads around their
