Teatro Colon - found at the intersection of Cirrito and Tucuman, this theatre is a world-class opera house that opened in 1908 with a presentation of Aida. It seats 2500 spectators and offers standing room for another 1000. There is also a museum featuring instruments, costumes and photographs of performers.

Open from Monday to Friday, noon to 6pm. Dress is formal
Museo de Arte Moderno - Open daily except Monday from noon to 8pm, the museum is found in the Centro Cultural San Martin at Avenida Corrientes 1530 on the 9th floor. With works by Picasso and Dali, among others.

Museo Historico Nacional - This museum offers a historical account of Argentina from the time of its independence until the present day. It’s open on Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sun from 2pm to 6pm.
La Boca - Buenos Aires’ most colourful neighbourhood. It’s a great place to go for excellent Italian cuisine and has become an artsy suburb.

San Telmo - Just a few blocks south of Plaza de Mayo lies the artist’s quarter, what some believe to be
Buenos Aires’ most interesting feature.

Avenida Sante Fe - The most fashionable shopping area in Buenos Aires.
Recoleta - Northwest of downtown, this is another very fashionable area. Visit the fine arts museum, called Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, and the city’s gardens of Plaza Alvear and
Plaza Francia. The latter hosts the largest crafts fair in the city every Sunday
Tango - Go to the neighbourhoods of either San Telmo or Boca to try your hand at this national dance.
Theatre - the Teatro General San Martin at Avenida Corrientes 1530 offers excellent, and often free, performances.

Córdoba

Argentina's second city, Córdoba long rivaled Buenos Aires for political, economic and cultural supremacy; indeed, while Buenos Aires languished through neglect in the 17th century, Cordoba was the country's architectural treasure house. Today, a fine collection of colonial buildings is concentrated in its compact centre. They include the old market, the Iglesia Catedral (featuring a Romanesque dome) and the Jesuit Iglesia de la Compañía. The Museo Histórico Provincial Marqués de Sobremonte is one of the most important historical museums in the country.

Iguazú Falls

Situated in the Parque Nacional Iguazú near Puerto Iguazú, these spectacular falls lie just east of the confluence of the Iguazú and Paraná rivers. At least 5000 cubic m (176,570 cubic ft) of water per second plunge the 70m (230ft) into the abyss below. If they look familiar, it's because they were the supporting actors in the film The Mission; appropriately, the area has historic ruins of Jesuit missions which also draw many visitors. San Ignacio Miní, built in a style of architecture known as 'Guaraní baroque', is especially popular. The surrounding park is home to 55,000ha (135,850ac) of pristine subtropical rainforest, with abundant wildlife and plant species.

Mar del Plata

Summer means the beach to the inhabitants of Greater Buenos Aires, and Mar del Plata is most often the beach they have in mind. Situated 400km (228mi) from the capital on the northern Atlantic coast, beaches in this area sprawl for 8km (5mi). Sophisticated mansions from the area's heyday as an upper-class resort mingle with the newer, more modest resorts catering to middle-class porteños. Sea lions keep an eye on the fishing activities around the wharves, and a replica of the grotto of Lourdes is a kitsch paradise.

Pampas

The unrelentingly flat Pampas is Argentina's agricultural heartland and home of that symbol of romantic nationalism, the gaucho. Comprising the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa and major parts of Santa Fe and Córdoba, its varied environments include forested hills, extensive grasslands and flamingo-flecked salt lakes. The Parque National Lihué Calel is a popular detour, with wildlife including puma, guanaco, rhea, native hares and a variety of wild chinchilla called a vizcacha. The cities of La Plata, Luján (whose basilica to La Virgen de Luján receives 4 million pilgrims a year), Rosario and Santa Fe are worth seeing for their many museums, churches and faded colonial buildings.

Andean Northwest

Home to abundant natural attractions and atmospheric relics from the pre-Columbian and colonial past, this is the more 'traditional' part of Argentina. It includes the provinces of Jujuy (with numerous wildlife reserves), Salta (with the best preserved colonial city in the country, hundreds of archaeological sites, subtropical forests and polychrome desert canyons), Tucumán, La Rioja, Catamarca and Santiago del Estero.