Mercado San Telmo

Once inhabited by the Argentine poet, soldier, Esteban de Luca.

The second oldest plaza in Buenos Aires, six days a week the plaza is a relatively quiet, shady space lined with restaurants and cafes. On Sundays an antiques market takes over and you can hardly see the plaza for the people and market stalls. The stalls get cleared away from about 17:00, and from 20:00 there is public dancing, including tango.

The most important architectural building in San Telmo and one of the most important in the city. It has 200 years of history. You only visit by guided tour which takes about an hour. The above ground part of the magnificent old building together with its watchtower is great but it is the subterranean part of the tour which is of most interest. The original owners plainly would have been counted amongst the wealthiest families in Argentina but the immense amount of money spent by the current owners in restoring the building suggests that they are in the same company.

History of Argentina, but all captions are in Spanish and neither comprehensive nor well-organised. Entry by donation.

This block, surrounded by the streets Alsina, Moreno, Peru and Bolivar, is home to many of the most important and traditional educational, religious and cultural institutions of Buenos Aires, dating back to the 17th and 18th century. The name of this block comes from the number of intellectual institutions that were present in the old days. One of the most interesting attractions is a mysterious subterranean network of tunnels that communicates each building.

During colonial times, this building served as the government house of Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Today, the building, now a museum, is much smaller than it once was, due to the construction of 2 avenues but remains an attractive building. The classic white facade dates from the 18th century. The balcony on the second storey provides a good view of the Plaza.