South America

April 6-29, 2026

 

Wednesday, April 8, Buenos Aires


El Ateneo (The Athenaeum) Grand Splendid is a bookshop. It was formerly a theatre called Teatro Gran Splendid. In 2008, The Guardian placed it as the second most beautiful bookshop in the world. In 2019, it was named the "world's most beautiful bookstore" by the National Geographic.

 

 

 

 

 

Floralis Genérica (all flowers in the world) is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum, a gift to the city by the Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano. One of the characteristics of the flower is an electrical system that automatically opens and closes the petals. At night the flower closes, emanating a red glow from inside, and reopens the following morning. This mechanism also closes the flower if strong winds blow.

 

Metropolitan Cathedral is the Catholic Church's main site in Argentina, and is where Pope Francis, as Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, used to perform mass. Mausoleum of General José de San Martín, located inside the catedral.

 


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