Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires had to be founded twice.

In 1536, Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza established a settlement on the banks of the Río de la Plata. The Querandí people fought back, food ran out, and Mendoza died at sea trying to get home.

Survivors abandoned the settlement in 1541. It took 44 years before Juan de Garay sailed down from Asunción with 63 soldiers to try again.

This time it stuck. The city’s full original name, Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire, translates to “City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds.”

Locals shortened it to Buenos Aires by the 1600s.

Spain made Buenos Aires the capital of a new viceroyalty in 1776, giving it control of trade across a huge swath of South America.

Then in May 1810, news arrived that Napoleon had invaded Spain. On May 25, locals gathered in what is now Plaza de Mayo and demanded the Spanish viceroy step down.

That week of revolt launched Argentina’s fight for independence. The May Pyramid in the plaza, built in 1811, became the city’s first national monument.

Millions of European immigrants arrived during the late 1800s. Italian dockworkers in the La Boca neighborhood painted their houses with leftover ship paint, creating the colorful buildings tourists photograph today.

In those same crowded immigrant neighborhoods, African, Spanish, and Italian musical influences mixed to create the tango. The dance was considered so scandalous that Buenos Aires elites rejected it until it became fashionable in Paris around 1913.

Walk the Caminito in La Boca to see tango dancers performing on cobblestones between brightly painted buildings. Tour the Teatro Colón, an opera house that took 20 years to build and has acoustics ranked among the best in the world.

Stand in Plaza de Mayo in front of the pink Casa Rosada, where Eva Perón addressed crowds from the balcony. Order asado at a parrilla and watch the cook grill ribs over open flame.

Grab a choripán, a grilled chorizo sandwich, from a street vendor. Catch a Boca Juniors match at La Bombonera if you can score tickets, but never wear a River Plate jersey in La Boca.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​