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A sometimes chaotic mix of grand nineteenth-century public edifices, cafes, high-rise office blocks and tearing traffic, the city centre exudes both frenetic energy and old-style elegance. Its heart is the Plaza de Mayo , a good place to begin a tour of the area, perhaps more for the square's historical and political connections than for its somewhat mismatched collection of edifices, which range from the regularly remodelled colonial cabildo and the stern Neoclassical cathedral to the square's most famous building, the striking pink Casa Rosada or government house. From the plaza, you can choose to head directly north and strike into the densely packed narrow streets of La City , where almost palatial banks and financial institutions loom over you, together with one of the city's finest churches, the Iglesia Nuestra Senora de la Merced , and a handful of modest museums. A gentler introduction to the area, however, would be to amble westwards from the plaza along the wide boulevard Avenida de Mayo , lined with a striking selection of tall Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings. The avenue is even more notable, however, for its traditional restaurants and confiterias, of which the most famous is the supremely elegant Cafe Tortoni . At its western end, the Avenida de Mayo opens up into the long, thin Plaza del Congreso, named after and presided over by the very forbidding Congress building. From Plaza del Congreso, the logical route to follow is to head north along Avenida Callao until you hit one of the city's most famous streets, Avenida Corrientes . Nowadays not immediately striking unless you know its pedigree, Corrientes is famous for having been both the centre of the capital's nightlife and the hub of intellectual, left-leaning cafe society. Though there's less plotting going on there these days, it's still lined with bookshops, cinemas and cafes and is a great place for people-watching. A short detour north from Corrientes will take you to Plaza Lavalle , a lovely grassy square surrounded by various imposing and important buildings, such as the Palacio de Justicio - but most notable for its opera house, the Teatro Colon . Heading east from Plaza Lavalle, you'll run slap bang into the enormous Avenida 9 de Julio - the city's multi-lane central nerve. At its heart stands Buenos Aires' favourite symbol, the stark white Obelisco - a 67-metre stake through the intersection between 9 de Julio and Corrientes. Crossing over the avenue, you could head down Lavalle, a pedestrianized street famed for its cinemas, though suffering somewhat these days from competition from the city's new shopping centres and multiplex cinemas. Following Lavalle will bring you to the central section of Calle Florida , where you'll be swept along by a hectic stream of pedestrians past small shopping malls, book and record stores and regaled by a variety of street performances. To the east of Florida lies a grid of much quieter streets - home to some of the city's best bars - which lead down to Avenida L.N. Alem, commonly referred to as "el bajo". To the east of el bajo lies the newly revamped Puerto Madero district, the city's newest barrio and a swanky assemblage of restaurants, loft and office space.
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