When the city of Buenos Aires was first founded by Pedro de Mendoza in February 1536, he could not have chosen a better name than "Santa Mara del Buen Ayre" - the Saint Mary of ye Goode Winds, was then declared in possession of "A 200 leagues length from North to South and a not determined width of land." He never imagined that this Buen Ayre would hundreds of years later turn into the Greater Buenos Aires.

The scholars that study Argentinean history have yet to agree on the place where the first foundation took place. Some claim it was at the Vuelta de Rocha in the present-day barrio neighbourhood of La Boca, while others say it probably took place in the Parque Lezama Park in the Barrio San Telmo, where the river used to be, before the area was recovered from the waters.

However, the place of the second foundation, which is dated on June 11th, 1580, is agreed upon. The famed and noble warrior Juan Garay chose what today is the Plaza de Mayo Square, and named it the "Ciudad de la Santsima Trinidad y Puerto Santa Mara de los Buenos Aires" or the City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port Saint Mary of the Good Winds"

Garay planted there the tree of justice and ordered the layout of the city in accordance with the Spanish King Felipe II 1573 edict on "Ordenanzas de Poblacin de las Leyes de Indias" He divided up the land plots and selected the members of the "Cabildo" Town Council, who by lottery determined that the Patron Saint of the City should be Saint Martn of Tours.

Today, the main city of Argentina is called the Ciudad Autnoma del Gobierno de Buenos Aires or the Autonomous City of the Government of Buenos Aires. Divided into 47 Barrios or neighbourhoods it is also known as the Capital Federal. It is bordered both by the Province of Buenos Aires and the Ro de la Plata River. The Province is an almost flat plain limited in the south by the Riachuelo River and north by the Reconquista River.

The extended city limits reach 19.4 km from north to south and 17.9 km from east to west. Its 202 square km are inhabited by approximately 3 million people. However, if one adds to that the metropolitan area proper the population rises to above 14 million people, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Buenos Aires is a metropolis that has its own personality. Cosmopolitan and contradictory, dynamic and traditional, historical and avant-garde, it opens its arms to the most modern concepts, while at the same time doesn't let its traditions vanish.

It is the financial, investment and economic core of the country, as well as its major port city. It displays a very dynamic commercial activity, which can be seen reflected in the abundant world brand boutiques and sales outlets, commercial galleries and shopping malls. Apart from this, the city also offers a huge range of attractions: Monuments, churches, museums, art galleries and theatres; plazas, parks and public gardens with venerable trees; Barrio neighbourhoods, each with its own spirit; huge commercial areas, traditional and modern hotels, as well as many classy restaurants serving both local and international delicacies.

The City never sleeps and many of its bars, cafs, pizza places and restaurants stay open until dawn, specially on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurants that you find in Barrio neighbourhoods such asPuerto Madero, La Recoleta, Palermo and in areas like Costanera Norte, Soho Porteo, Palermo Hollywood and Las Caitas, are open to the public every hour of the day.

Make up your mind and come to visit this splendid and dynamic City, where modernity mixes easily with old traditions and where you will find unforgettable little corners that you will remember long after.