The barrio of Monserrat in Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, despite being the one of the oldest, most historically important and interesting of Buenos Aires barrios seems not to have the same pulling power as its more popular neighbor San Telmo.
However, Monserrat is ‘steeped’ in history and boasts Buenos Aires most wonderful and oldest architecture and some of Buenos Aires City’s most important buildings and institutions.
Monserrat has great places to eat and drink, and last but not least, some excellent central Buenos Aires real estate. More recently, Monserrat is very much on Buenos Aires tourist’s radars, mainly because accommodation is still very good value.
We caveat the above statements by saying that many of our clients both Buenos Aires Stay and sightsee Monserrat without even knowing that they stepped foot in Buenos Aires’ main historical center.
Monserrat is home to Buenos Aires most important main square, Plaza de Mayo, first settled by the Spanish way back in 1580.
Avenida de Mayo also runs right through Monserrat, which is one of the most famous streets in Argentina, and symbolically connects the Presidential HQ in Plaza de Mayo with Congress in the Plaza de los dos Congresos.
The barrio of Monserrat features some Buenos Aires of the most important historical building and landmarks:
- Buenos Aires’ Cabildo the former Spanish colonial government headquarters and the oldest building left standing in Buenos Aires city.
- Café Tortoni the oldest and most famous café in Buenos Aires.
- Casa Rosada the “Pink House”, which is home to the executive power of Argentina, made famous by Juan and Evita Peron.
- National College of Buenos Aires is a fabulous architectural work known as the Palacio Barolo.
We also hear Monserrat described as the “Cathedral of Buenos Aires”. In addition to being home to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires, found in Plaza de Mayo, Montserrat is the Buenos Aires barrio with the highest concentration of churches, most of which are architectural masterpieces in their own right.
These Buenos Aires churches include:
- San Ignacio Church on Bolivar and Alsina, the oldest church in Buenos Aires
- San Francisco Church and convent on Alsina and Defensa, with an amazingly decorative façade
- Our Lady of Rosario Basilica on Belgrano and Defensa, which was famously used as a strategic fort during the British invasions of 1806 and 1807 – shrapnel marks can still be seen on its towers.
A little known fact is that locals called Monserrat the ‘Barrio of the Candoumbe Drum’, after former black salves made the barrio of Monserrat their home after the abolition of the slave trade. They brought their strangely rhythmic drumbeats to the city of Buenos Aires, and many people believe that these rhythms had an important influence on the early formation of Tango music and dance during the second part of the 19th century.
Quick Sightseeing guide:
- Buenos Aires City Hall built in the 1890’s to strengthen the city’s institutions and house civil servants and police
- Buenos Aires City Legislature is a central part of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, as well as an architectural landmark
- The Buenos Aires Cabildo is Buenos Aires earliest government house from the Viceroyalty of the Rio del la Plata.
- Café Tortoni is a coffeehouse that opened 1858. Named Tortoni after a cafe in Paris at Boulevard des Italiens. Like its Parisian namesake, it became a focal point for artesanos and the intelligencia.
- Casa Rosada is the Casa de Gobierno (“Government House”) or Palacio Presidencial (“The Presidential Palace”)
- Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires provides a free, rigorous, multi-disciplinary education that includes classical languages such as Latin and Greek. The school is one of the most prestigious in Argentina.
- Jesuit Temple of St. Ignatius and college a baroque structure completed in 1722, and the adjoining College of St. Ignatius between 1710 and 1729. The Jesuits formally housed in an earlier structure sold to make way for Plaza de Mayo.
- Plaza de Mayo is Buenos Aires’ main square in downtown plaza has, since being the scene of the 25 May 1810 resolution that led to independence, a focal point of political life in Buenos Aires and, arguably, Argentina.
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