Legislatura de la Ciudad (City Legislature Building)

Description:

• This striking neoclassical building houses exhibitions in several of its halls. Ask about free tours, offered on an informal basis by the guide Alejandra Javier in English or Spanish, Monday through Friday. She will take you into the impressive bell tower that, according to legend, was made as high as it is so that the city could keep an eye on the nearby president in the Casa Rosada. Portions of the building were also built around an old mansion that once faced the Plaza de Mayo. The view from the corner balcony of this part of the building calls to mind how powerful, wealthy families, at one time, could oversee the entire town from their living-room window before the city grew so rapidly. In front of the Legislatura, you'll see a bronze statue of Julio A. Roca. He is considered one of Argentina's greatest generals, but one of his legacies is the slaughtering of tens of thousands of Indians in the name of racial purity within the province of Buenos Aires. It's because of him that Argentina, unlike most of Latin America, is a largely white, rather than mestizo, society.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010