Cabildo de Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo

Getty Images

Plaza de Mayo

Top choice in Buenos Aires


Surrounded by the Casa Rosada, the Cabildo and the city’s main cathedral, Plaza de Mayo is the place where Argentines gather in vehement protest or jubilant celebration. At the center is the Pirámide de Mayo, a white obelisk built to mark the first anniversary of independence from Spain.

If you happen to be here on Thursday at 3:30pm, you’ll see the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo gather and circle the pyramid, holding photographs of their missing children. These mothers of the 'disappeared’ (Argentines abducted by the state during the military dictatorship of 1976 to 1983) continue to march as a reminder of the past and for other social justice causes.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Buenos Aires attractions

1. Catedral Metropolitana

0.07 MILES

The city's main Catholic church, finished in 1827, is a significant religious and architectural landmark, where Jorge Bergoglio (now known as Pope Francis…

2. Cabildo

0.09 MILES

This mid-18th-century town hall building houses an interesting museum largely dedicated to the revolution of May 1810, when Argentina declared…

3. Banco de la Nación

0.09 MILES

The main branch of the Banco de la Nación (1944) is the work of famed architect Alejandro Bustillo, who considered the building to be his best work – he…

4. Casa Rosada

0.11 MILES

The Casa Rosada was named for its distinctive color. It was from the balcony here, at the presidential palace, that Eva Perón famously addressed the…

5. Farmacia de la Estrella

0.13 MILES

The Farmacia de la Estrella (1835) is a functioning homeopathic pharmacy with gorgeous woodwork and elaborate late-19th-century ceiling murals depicting…

6. Ministerio de Economía

0.13 MILES

In June 1955 Argentine naval aircraft strafed Plaza de Mayo in the first step of a military coup, killing more than 300 civilians who were gathered in…

7. Museo de la Ciudad

0.15 MILES

This small museum was closed for ongoing renovations at the time of research, but in the future you should expect exhibitions on porteño life and history…

8. La Librería de Avila

0.15 MILES

The city's oldest bookstore – there has been a bookshop on this historic corner site since 1785 – has a number of rare and antique texts as well as recent…