Hotels near Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada

Plaza de Mayo has been the stage for Argentine politics since the May Revolution of 1810: Peron's balcony speeches, the 1955 bombing, the crowds of December 2001. The pink presidential palace, the Casa Rosada, closes the eastern end. Its colour is usually explained as white lime mixed with ox blood, chosen in the 1870s as a neutral shade between Federalist red and Unitarian white. Free guided tours of the interior run at weekends and must be booked online well in advance. The Museo Casa Rosada in the basement, built around the excavated foundations of the old customs house, is free and open Wednesday to Sunday.

The square is ringed by the Cabildo, the colonial town hall of 1610 and now a small museum, the Metropolitan Cathedral holding the tomb of General Jose de San Martin with its permanent grenadier honour guard, and the Banco de la Nacion. White headscarves painted onto the paving stones mark the circuit walked by the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, who have gathered every Thursday afternoon since 1977. Demonstrations here are frequent and generally orderly, but they can close surrounding streets with no notice at all.

Pro Tip: Come on a Thursday around 15:30 for the Madres de Plaza de Mayo march, then walk two blocks down Defensa straight into San Telmo. The changing of the grenadier guard at the cathedral happens roughly every two hours through the day.