1. - Plaza de Mayo
When Buenos Aires was founded for the second time in 1580, the Plaza de Mayo was set up as the heart of the City. It is the original nucleus of the historical area, where the square lay out of the city originated around, and it has been a faithful witness to the main national exploits.

In its beginnings it was only the Main Square - la Plaza Mayor, but later it was to be one with the Plaza de Armas. In time, the Main Church - the City Cathedral, the Town Hall and the Fortress, amongst other buildings made up for the town center.

In 1803, a gallery called Recova Vieja was built, crossing the Plaza and dividing it into two parts. One part was called Plaza de la Victoria, and the other part kept its name of Plaza de Armas although it was also known as the Fortress Square - Plaza del Fuerte. After 1810, it received its current name of Plaza 25 de Mayo.

In 1884 the Recova Vieja was torn down in order to connect the Presidential Place - Casa de Gobierno with the National Congress Palace - Palacio del Congreso Nacional. Roads and parks were laid out. The Mayo Pyramid - Pirmide de Mayo was transferred from its old place in 1811 to the centre of the new Plaza de Mayo, which has been the final name given to this historical conglomerate of old plazas.

Today it is surrounded by buildings from different periods: the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace and the Seat of the Buenos Aires City Government are both from the end of the XIX and the start of the XX century; the City Hall - el Cabildo and the Pirmide de Mayo are both from colonial times, as is the interior of the Cathedral - Catedral Metropolitana.

The Hiplito Yrigoyen, Balcarce, Bolvar and Rivadavia Sts surround the plaza. It is important to point out that the French landscape architect Carlos Thays worked on some of the modifications in the area, which has contributed to the enhancement of this part of town.

The palm trees were brought from Brazil and the swallows that fly over the plaza from September onwards, arrive from North America, bringing with them the southern hemisphere spring.

(The closest Underground subway station: Plaza de Mayo - Line A).

2. - Pirmide de Mayo - the Mayo Pyramid
Its original name was the Columna del 25 de Mayo. While some called it an obelisk, the people always considered it to be a pyramid, representing the first patriot monument of Argentina, built to commemorate the first anniversary of the Revolucin de Mayo and the emancipation from the Spanish Crown.

At the bottom of this monument, at its time, a fistful of soil was placed from each and all the Argentinean provinces, making up the new country.

Francisco Caete, in 1811, built the plastered brick structure based on three steps. Later, in 1856, Prilidiano Pueyrredn enriched it with relieves and put up four statues at each corner of the pedestal and one on its top, this last one representing Freedom.

In 1878 the four statues were replaced with marble effigies, and in 1884, once demolished the Recova Vieja, the statues at the base were moved to its final place at the centre of the Plaza de Mayo, surrounded by majestic palm trees.

(The closest Underground subway station: Plaza de Mayo - Line A).

3. - The Equestrian Statue of Manuel Belgrano
It is sited in front of the City Government, at one of the extremes of the Plaza de Mayo. The monument, shows Manuel Belgrano, holding up the Argentinean flag, created by him. It is the work of the French sculptor Albert Carrier-Belleuse; and the horse he sitting upon, also made of bronze, is the work of the Argentinean sculptor Manuel de Santa Coloma.

(The closest Underground subway station: Plaza de Mayo - Line A).

4. - Catedral Metropolitana - The City Cathedral
The first two churches built on the Plaza, on Rivadavia and Reconquista Sts, were of mud and straw roofs. The first was built in the year 1587, while the construction of the second one, which was started in 1591, had to be stopped by order of the Royal Audience Tribunal because the land belonged to someone else.

In the year 1593 the first church of mud and straw was built in the current location. A few years later, a new on was built in the same place and in 1620 it was consecrated as a Cathedral.

This church has been rebuilt at least on six occasions. The facade was inaugurated in 1821: it was inspired by the Bourbon palace in Paris and was designed by the French architects Catelin and Benoit.

The exterior shows off its row of pillars in classical style and a cupola that juts up from its back, in baroque style. The twelve columns that embody the Apostles hold up a boarded roof sculpted in 1863 by the French artist Joseph Dubourdieu. This last sculpture represents the encounter of Jacob with his son Joseph in Egypt.

The theme was chosen as a sign of reconciliation and national unity between the interior of the country and Buenos Aires, after the latter signed the Pact of San Jos de Flores in 1859, by which Buenos Aires joined the Confederation and sweared to follow the Constitution of 1853.

Inside the Cathedral there are valuable ornaments, such as the Main Altar done in Rococo style in 1780, which was the predominant style in the city at the end of the XVIII century; as well as a figure of Christ carved from the single trunk of a Carob tree in 1671.

The Main Altar and the golden altarpiece were done by the artist Isidro Lorea in 1789; the image shows Our Lady of Buenos Aires - Nuestra Seora de Buenos Aires; the actual altar, which was finished in 1999, is the work of the goldsmith and artist Carlos Pallarols.

On the altar of the Virgin of Pains - Virgen de los Dolores, where one can observe the influence of the neo classical style, there is an image that was brought from the city of Cdiz, in Spain, to the vice-Royalty of Ro de la Plata, in 1752.

The temple organ is of German origin, from 1871. Its tubes make up the sonorous equivalent of an orchestra with a hundred musicians. The mosaic tile floor inside the Cathedral is a marvellous piece of art showing pictures with religious subjects.

The church is located at the corner of San Martn Street and Rivadavia Av. The main entrance is through San Martn 27. There are guided tours Mondays through Fridays at 1:30 PM; Saturdays at 11:30 AM and on Sundays at 10 AM.

(The closest Underground subway stations are: Per - Lne A, Catedral - Lne D, Bolvar - Lne E).

Mausoleum of General Jos de San Martn
It is from 1880. The architect Enrique Aberg designed it, while the inside is the inspiration of Carrire-Belleuse, artistic director of the French Svres porcelain factory .

The mortal remnants of the Liberator were brought from France, arrived at the Catalinas docks in 1880, and were taken in procession to the Plaza San Martn, where he had created the Ejrcito de los Andes - the Andean army 67 years earlier.

The three female figures that embrace the base represent the countries for whose independence he fought: Argentina in the centre, flanked by Chile on his left and Peru on his right.

(The closest Underground subway stations are: Per - Lne A, Catedral - Lne D, Bolvar - Lne E).