When the city of Buenos Aires was founded for the first time by Pedro de Mendoza in February 1536, he could not have chosen a better name than "Santa María del Buen Ayre" - the Saint Mary of ye Goode Winds, and when he declared possession of " A 200 leagues length from North to South and a not determined width of land." he never imagined that this Buen Ayre would hundreds of years later turn into the Greater Buenos Aires.

Those that study Argentinean history have yet to agree on the exact place where the first foundation took place. Some claim it was at the Vuelta de Rocha in the present-day barrio neighbourhood of La Boca, while others say it probably took place in the present day Parque Lezama Park in the Barrio San Telmo, where the river used to be, before the area was regained from the waters.

However, the place of the second foundation, which took place on June 11th, 1580, is well known. The prestigious and noble warrior Juan Garay chose what today is the Plaza de Mayo Square, and gave it the name of the "Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto Santa María de los Buenos Aires" or the City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port Saint Mary of the Good Winds"

Garay planted the tree of justice in that place and then he ordered the layout of the city in accordance with the Spanish King Felipe II 1573 edict on "Ordenanzas de Población de las Leyes de Indias" He divided up the land plots a designated the members of the "Cabildo" Town Council, who by lottery determined that the Patron Saint of the City should be Saint Martín of Tours.

Today, the capital of the Argentine Republic is called the Ciudad Autónoma del Gobierno de Buenos Aires or the Autonomous City of the Government of Buenos Aires. Divided into at present 47 Barrios or neighbourhoods it is also known as the Capital Federal. It is surrounded by the Province of Buenos Aires and the Río de la Plata River. The Province is an almost flat plain limited in the south by the Río Riachuelo River and north by the Río Reconquista River.

The extended city limits reach 19.4 kilometres from north to south and 17.9 kilometres from east to west. In its 202 square kilometres there live approximately 3 million people. However, adding on to that the metropolitan area proper and the population rises to above 14 million people, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Buenos Aires is a city with its own personality. Cosmopolitan and contradictory, dynamic and traditional, historical and avant-garde, it opens its arms to the most modern concepts, while at the same time embracing the traditional.

It is the financial, investment and economic centre of the country, as well as its principal port city. It displays a very active commercial activity, which can be seen reflected in the numerous world brand boutiques and sales outlets, commercial galleries and shopping malls. Apart from this aspect, the city also offers an immense range of attractions: Monuments, churches, museums, art galleries and theatres; plazas, parks and public gardens with ancient trees; Barrio neighbourhoods, each with its own characteristic; huge commercial areas, traditional and modern hotels, as well as many first-class restaurants serving both local and international delicacies.

The City never sleeps and proof of this is that many of its bars, cafés, pizza places and restaurants stay open until dawn, especially on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurants that you find in Barrio neighbourhoods such as Puerto Madero, La Recoleta, Palermo and in areas like Costanera Norte, Soho Porteño, Palermo Hollywood and Las Cañitas, are open to the public 24 hours a day.

Make up your mind and come to visit this noble and active City, where modernity mixes easily with old traditions and where you will find unforgettable little corners that you will remember long after.