If you are looking for a culturally stimulating way to spend a nice day outside in Buenos Aires, the cemetery in Recoleta is a wonderful place to start. It features rows and rows of intricately designed mausoleums; no two are alike. The main rows are wide and shaded by beautiful, green trees, and smaller aisles are lined with tombs that seemingly go on forever. There are statues and carvings everywhere you turn. Many are religious, but there are also classical sculptures. Several tombs also feature realistic statues of the people resting inside.
The cemetery is so big, and there are so many aisles that it seems much like a labyrinth. It is very easy to get lost and hard to find any specific tomb you might be looking for such as Eva Perón or Raúl Alfonsín – both very important political figures in Argentina. In order to better navigate the cemetery and also enjoy one of the many guided tours offered, it would be a good idea to learn Spanish in Buenos Aires. Knowing Spanish would enable you to ask for directions from any of the many cemetery caretakers who clean up around the tombs and hand-cut small grassy patches found around the cemetery. There is also a band of drummers that marches throughout the cemetery, and you need to know Spanish in order to understand the leader’s calls.
The cemetery contains the graves of many important historical figures in Argentina and the world including poets, politicians and Nobel Prize winners. Even Raúl Alfonsín, the first democratically elected president of Argentina, is buried there. Be prepared to wait to see the tomb of Eva Perón because many tourists will be crowded around trying to snap a photo. Studying at a Spanish school in Buenos Aires would also give you the opportunity to use the local knowledge of your professors in order to learn more about these people before venturing out to their gravesites.
After you have seen the cemetery and taken many pictures of all the interesting architecture, be sure to travel around the rest of Recoleta. There are several places very close that are great to visit including the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Floralis Genérica – a giant steel and aluminum sculpture of a flower in the Plaza de las Naciones Unidas that operates on solar power. Also, pack a lunch because there are numerous parks in which to enjoy a picnic!
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