Buenos Aires
Capital of Argentina

Capital of Argentina and Pictures unveil the vibrant atmosphere of Buenos Aires. What makes it so charming and unforgettable – architecture, parks, food, wine, tango, milongas, nightlife and warm, friendly porteños. And all that spiced with pictures.

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Capital of Argentina and Pictures: City of Buenos Aires

Since long Buenos Aires is called “Paris of the South America”.

While this name is fully deserved it still does not reflect the true nature and image of Buenos Aires. The city style is determined by the combination of beautiful French-style architecture skillfully blended with Art Deco and the modern era one. However all that is done the way preserving the charm of the old times (chapeau!).

Sky-scrappers are kept out of the downtown and are mainly concentrated in the area of Puerto Madero. But Buenos Aires is not only about its beautiful architecture – there is much more “in the air” here……

 It is hard to walk on the streets of Buenos Aires without noticing magnificent buildings with their richly decorated facades, portals, balconies...

The best way to visit Buenos Aires attractions is to join the walking tours. You can do it by selecting: Buenos Aires Walking Tours

Puerto Madero with its skyscrapers.
Left: The glass covered opening in the upper part of the building is a big garden with trees, the cranes serve as a reminiscence of the old Puerto Madero infrastructure.
Center: the well preserved old-style facade "softens" the impact of the imposing "all-glass-and-steel" structure behind;
Right: modern-era skyscrapers' designs prove open-mind visions of Argentinean architects...

• Within the city limits there are plenty of lovely, well maintained parks and green acres areas dotted with monuments commemorating important persons and moments in Argentinean history. Trees are lining-up along majority of streets, some easily reaching the roofs of four-story buildings. They transform the “world of asphalt and concrete” into the charming tunnel-like blooming alleys. Many balconies are converted to gardens with bushes and trees! The bottom line is – here you do not have the feeling of being in the center of a bustling and noisy city made from concrete blocks. The abundance of greenery (often in flowers) has a calming effect on your senses, helping to feel more in peace and relaxed.

Buenos Aires is a big garden...
Left: Nymph in the pond in Buenos Aires Botanical Garden;
Center: Rose "Kartocrea" from the Garden of Roses and Poets received this year Gold Award (Mr. Kordes Shohne - Germany) ;
Right: Few hundred old tree in Recoleta with the impressive web of roots.

If you would like to relax from the city's noise, breath in scents of flowers and fresh earth, then visit an oasis of peace and serenity by selecting: --> Buenos Aires Botanical Garden
Or find the best of the Zoo Park by selecting:--> Zoo Buenos Aires

"Suspended Gardens" but this time in Buenos Aires

• Buenos Aires may not have any more buenos aires (good fresh air), but certainly has a vibrant atmosphere. Thanks to the fact that Argentina is located “somehow” outside of the world’s “Main Stream”, its capital is living its own life.

Teatro Colon (Colon Theater) considered as one of the best in the world is only a tip of the iceberg. Just next to it, along the Avenida Corrientes there are more theaters than on NYC’s Broadway and London’s Soho together.

Teatro Colon - magnificent Entrance Hall

To visit the Teatro Colon, please select the link: --> Teatro Colon Tours 

Bookstores are omnipresent - not only that Argentineans still read books but many of them write as well! 
Latin American’s art, literature and in general culture is very rich and has a lot to offer. Tango shows as well as many other cultural events happen in front of you on the streets….In other words the Capital of Argentina – Ciudad de Buenos Aires has “something in the air” – something you cannot easily discriminate but you certainly deeply feel.

• Evening in Buenos Aires signals the beginning! Although the public transport - subway, bus service and suburb trains cease their operations at around midnight, downtown streets are still full of people. Restaurants are open serving “late” (for us) dinners, in cafeterias and bars social life is booming.

 In 2000 a bookstore "El Ateneo" opened doors in the building of former theater on Santa Fe (Palermo). In 2008 it was ranked by the British newspaper The Guardian as the 2nd best bookstore in the world!

Even bookstores are open just in case you would like to spend the night with an exciting book (there is a saying that “book is your best friend”…). And this is not about “crazy teens” that anyhow do not sleep – you will see middle age people dining and chatting, men in their “autumn” of life occupying bars, drinking beer, smoking cigars and watching football (soccer) games or simply discussing their political convictions…

• Contrary to the general belief that tango is Argentinean – the truth is that the Carlos Gardel’s cult is mainly living in Buenos Aires. Similarly, the love for tango is mostly cherished by its inhabitants called “porteños” (other Argentinean provinces embraced the traditional “gauchos”- centered culture of Spanish origin mixed with folklore of native Andean people). Throughout the city there are countless milongas where people are meeting on a regular basis to practice tango. There is even the National Day of Tango with open-air stage performances throughout the city. Learning the tango is a long process and you may need a year of weekly classes to feel at ease. However please keep in mind that tango is much more than “moving” in a rhythm of music – it is an art of expressing the passion. You cannot learn that, you must have it in your soul…… If there is a truth that “A dance is a vertical introduction to the horizontal position” then certainly tango is a good prove of that.
• Important part of the city’s atmosphere and hanging in air vibes are due to people. Let me tell you – first of all they are very stylish and well dressed. They are also easy to make contact and ready to help you (even when not asked but just seeing that you are lost). They enjoy street’s “fiestas” in any form – be it dancing, drum-bands street gatherings, mini-carnivals parades…. you name it. There are many places where they gather for evening dance practice with an ad-hock chosen partner. The most famous places for these events are Dorrego Plaza in San Telmo and Barrancas de Belgrano. You will see teens trying to master complexity of tango. But you will also admire middle-age as well as grey-hair folks in their late 70’s coming in elegant dresses to have their time! This is a Passion and age has nothing to do with it! You will see these “earlier born” barely standing with the help of a cane in one hand coming to watch milongas, possibly with a tears in souls if not eyes. That is so touching….
• I know that these words do not fully reflect the spirit of Buenos Aires, because Capital of Argentina is more about personal feelings and these greatly depend on what will resonate with you. But even without the knowledge of your personal preferences I’m sure that by the end of your visit you will fall in love with this city – be it its magnificent architecture, lovely atmosphere of parks, hot milongas and dancers, abundant nightlife, juicy lomos with excellent wines, delicious ice-creams or may be even more personally – you will fall in love with someone?

I hope that this page from Capital of Argentina and Pictures was convincing enough to seriously think about visiting this beautiful city so "Hasta la vista en Buenos Aires"....:-)

If you want to read more travels tips to prepare yourself for vacation in Argentina then please select one of the following links:
Food and Restaurants     Argentina Facts and Pictures-(page 1)
Public Transport             Argentina Information -(page 2)
Security & Financial Tips Information on Argentina  -(page 3)
Argentinean People         Buenos Aires People -(page 5) 




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Not sure yet where to go and what to see in Argentina? You may find help selecting: Tourist Destinations in Argentina


However if you are falling in love with Buenos Aires (I do not blame you, it happened to me) then please select: Buenos Aires Walking Tours



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