The National Congress building in Buenos Aires is the seat of the Argentine parliament. It is located at the western end of Avenida de Mayo. On the other end is the Casa Rosada that houses the offices of the President.
Plans for the National Congress building was drawn by Italian Architect Vittorio Meano and completed by Argentine architect Julio Dormal. Construction of the building began in 1898 and was partially complete in 1906 when it was inaugurated by President Jose Figueroa Alcorta. The first joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate was held in 1906 in the building. The decorative details were not completed until 1946. Sculptor, Victor de Pol executed the quadriga on top of the main entrance and the interiors were decorated with bronzes by a local sculptor, Lola Mora. The Congressional square facing the structure was designed by the French Argentine urban landscape artist Carlos Thays and opened in 1910. The kilometer 0 for all Argentine National Highways is marked on a stone at the Plaza.
Tourists and members of the public can take one of the guided tours around the National Congress Building on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The guides show visitors the Chamber of Deputies, the room where guests are received that has large paintings depicting historical events in the parliament on each wall and the beautiful library with hand carved walnut wood panels.

The Palacio Barolo was a building used to house offices by Argentine textile magnate, Luis Barolo. It was the tallest building in South America until 1935.
Luis Barolo commissioned architect Mario Palanti to design the building in 1910 because he believed like many Europeans in his day, that Europe would soon cease to exist because of the many wars being fought at the time. Palanti was a great admirer of Dante Alighieri and designed the Palacio Barolo based on his work, The Divine Comedy. It has 24 floors including 2 underground floors and 22 above. The basements and ground floor represent Hell, the first to 15th floor Purgatory and the 16th to 22nd floor represent Heaven. The height of the building was 100 meters which was four times the allowable height for buildings in the avenue. Luis Cantilo, the then mayor gave the structure a special concession and allowed the increased height. It was completed in 1923 and was inaugurated by the blessings of the papal representative, Monsenor, Giovanni Beda Cardinali.
Bilingual English and Spanish tours take visitors on a tour of the building telling them of its owner and describing how Dante’s Divine Comedy was factored into the design. The balconies of the top floor offer panoramic views of the city and it has a revolving lighthouse fitted with 30,000spark plugs that flashes messages of important events. Today’ it houses lawyers’ offices and was declared a National Historic Monument in 1997.

The Block of illumination or la Manzana de las Luces is the location where an old Jesuit Church and a prestigious educational institution of Buenos Aires stand. It was the intellectual center of the city during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Jesuits built the San Ignacio church in honor of the founder of the order on land granted to them in 1616. It is the oldest church in Buenos Aires. The Spanish Crown saw the Jesuits as a threat and expelled them in 1767. Later the first medical school in the city was located here and was also once the seat of the University of Buenos Aires. The neo classical styled building housing the Collegio Nacional, one of the best public schools in the city replaced a Jesuit structure at the Manzana de las Luces. It was a center of political activism and many students worked for the independence of Argentina and the President of Argentina attends its graduation ceremonies.
Tours in English are conducted on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The highlight is a visit to a network of underground tunnels constructed by the Jesuits connecting the block to all major parts of the city. It is also a venue for folk dance performances, theater performances, music concerts and art exhibitions.

The Cabildo was the earliest city hall of Buenos Aires. It also served as the Government House of the Spanish Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata. Today it houses the National Museum of the Cabildo.
In 1608, the then Mayor of Buenos Aires, Manuel de Frais proposed that a permanent structure to house meeting platform and offices of the Municipality be built and the foundations of the Cabildo was laid. The first building was completed in 1610 and funded by the taxes raised from the port of Buenos Aires. It was soon found to be too small to function as a city hall and in 1682 a larger structure was planned. The new building had two floors and a width of 11 arches. The pace of construction was slow and the tower was completed only in 1764. Although the May revolution was plotted within the Cabildo it was not completed even after the revolution in 1810. It was used as a prison for a few years. In 1880, architect Pedro Benoit increased the height of the tower and covered it with blue tiles. In 1889, the tower was demolished to accommodate two large avenues.
Finally in 1940, architect Mario Buschiazzo completed the building based on the original plans. Today it houses a museum displaying exhibits about the history of the Cabildo and the role it played in the history of Argentina.

Casa Rosada, also called The Government House, was first occupied in 1957. It is an old administrative building that also doubles as the Presidential Palace. According to local legend, the building's pink color was chosen because it unifies the colors of the red and white opposing political factions. Casa Rosada is surrounded by a beautiful garden where you can walk around and enjoy the picturesque view.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires is the main Catholic Church in the city. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
The Metropolitan Cathedral was erected on land donated by the founder of Buenos Aires, Juan de Garay in 1580. Many church buildings were erected and demolished at the site and the construction of the present cathedral began in 1753 based on the design of Italian architect, Antonio Masella. The dome was built in 1770 and the cathedral was consecrated without a façade in 1791. An elaborate façade was designed by French architects, Prosper Catelin and Pierre Benoit in neoclassical style based on the design of the Bourbon Palace in Paris. The ornamentation of the façade by French sculptor, Joseph Dubordieu was completed in 1863.
Notable features in the Metropolitan Museum include an elaborate mausoleum with the body of General Jose de San Martin who is regarded as the Father of the Nation and a memorial to the Unknown Soldier. The eternal flame in honor of the Unknown Soldier burns on the façade of the cathedral. The Saint Jean Nepomucen’s Chapel has a statue of Holy Christ of Great love carved from Lebanese cedar by sculptor Luis Alvarez Duarte and donated by two well known international soccer players, Daniel Bertoni and Hector Scotta.

The Banco de la Provincia opened in the city in 1822, and was the first bank in Buenos Aires. Initially it was located in La Manzana de Las Luces before being moved to the San Martin neighborhood. The bank building has an amazing exterior with fabulous bronze doors. It now hosts the "Doctor Arturo Jaúretche” museum that displays the history of banking in Buenos Aires and in Argentina as a whole.

The Teatro Colon or Columbus Theatre in Buenos Aires is regarded as one of the finest opera houses in the world. It took several years and many architects to complete the structure but the result was a masterpiece in architecture.
The flourishing operas performed by touring companies in Buenos Aires resulted in the construction of the first Teatro Colon in 1857. It flourished for 30 years. It soon became clear that a new and larger venue was needed because of the increasing popularity of opera in the city. After a 20 year construction period the present Teatro Colon opened in 1908 with the performance of the opera, Aida.
The present structure was made with carefully selected material from Europe. It was decorated with several different Italian marbles, French stained glass, mosaics from Venice and Slavonic woodwork. The main hall is horse-shoe shaped and can seat over 2,500 spectators. There are four levels of galleries and an additional standing space for a thousand spectators. The orchestra pit can host 120 musicians. The acoustics are near perfect causing the great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti to describe it as one of the most challenging halls in the world where even the slightest mistake can be easily detected. The dome has a hidden gallery for a choir to give a dramatic effect as if angels are singing from the skies. There is also a large underground area where workshops and ateliers are located that make all that is needed to support the stage productions.

The Water Palace is an ornate building in Buenos Aires that once had the unique function of supplying water to the entire city. It has long ceased to function as a large water tank and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
The Palacio de Aguas Argentinas was built after an epidemic of yellow fever ravaged the city and killed a major part of its population in 1877. The British Company Hale and Co was entrusted with the work. The architects were s John Medici and Carlos Mystonner and it was constructed with the engineering design of Norwegian engineer Olof Boye. The Water Palace began functioning from 1989.
The colored exterior of the Water Palace looked like an ornate royal residence but it was a functioning public health institution that had tanks and pumps inside. The exterior is adorned by over 30,000 Royal Doulton ceramic tiles both plain and decorative brought from their factory in England. The engineering components in the interior were from Belgium and consisted of 12 water tanks with a capacity of over seventy two million gallons of water. The roof was made of green slate from France. Today the building houses the offices of the water department of the city and a unique museum dedicated to drainage and sanitation. Exhibits at the museum include closets, taps, pipes and basins and all objects that are required to supply clean water to a city.

The San Martin Palace is the ceremonial headquarters of the Argentine Foreign Ministry. The elaborate beaux arts style building was once the residence of the wealthy Anchorena family.
The San Martin palace was commissioned by Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena and her two sons Aaron and Emilio and architect, Alejandro Christophersen designed the building. It was built between 1905 and 1909. In 1936, the government acquired Palacio San Martin and it became the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. In 1993, the headquarters were moved to a new building and the ministry now uses the building as its ceremonial headquarters.
The structure is a complex of three residences with two common rooms. The three residences surround a large patio. Notable features include an iron and glass balcony and ornate iron gates. It has many famous works of art by Argentine and other American artists like Antonio Berni, Pablo Curatella Manes and Roberto Matta. It also houses a valuable pre Columbian art collection consisting of pottery, stone and metal ware made by the indigenous people from Northwest Argentina. The Palacio San Martin has a large library with books in Spanish and other languages on international law and international relations. Tours are conducted around the building on most Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The palace is closed for visitors when ceremonial events take place.