Experience – Buenos Aires, Argentina: Plaza de Mayo
- Address: Av. Hipólito Yrigoyen s/n, C1087 CABA, Argentina (Av. Rivadavia & Bolivar) (Google Maps)
- Hours: All Day
- Recommended Time: 2 hours
- How to arrive: By car, walking
- Price: Free
- Ideal Month(s): October – May
- Activities: Shopping, dining, photography, cultural immersion
Plaza de Mayo is the oldest public square in Buenos aires, and has been the scene of many of the most important events in the country’s history, from the second founding of the city in 1580, through the revolution of independence, to more recent political demonstrations.
The square is named after the Argentine revolution, which began on May 25, 1810. It’s lined with Neoclassical buildings such as the Catedral Metropolitana and the Cabildo and is the backdrop for the Casa Rosada, the bright-pink 19th-century government mansion that serves as a seat of the national government, the national revenue office (AFIP), the national bank and the intelligence secretariat.
Plaza de Mayo was also the location for Argentina’s first political rally in 1890. It has remained the focal point for public gatherings, either in support of or to protest against successive governments ever since, a tradition that reached its apex with the crowds that came to hear Eva “Evita” Perón speak from the balcony of the Casa Rosada in the late 1940s.
