Retiro to the Teatro Colón: Plaza San Martín, the Kavanagh and Florida street: a walk in Buenos Aires

From the green slope of Plaza San Martín past the 1936 Kavanagh tower and the Santísimo Sacramento basilica, then down pedestrian Florida to the painted dome of Galerías Pacífico and the Teatro Colón.

Best time: Weekday daytime; keep bags in front on Florida street

The route, stop by stop

1
Plaza San Martín
Park at the northern end of Florida street; 15 min.
Scene of a criollo victory during the second British invasion in 1807 and of San Martín's Granaderos barracks from 1812, the sloping square was reshaped by Carlos Thays and is…
2
Kavanagh Building
Modernist residential tower (1934-36), the tallest building in Latin America when it opened; view it from the plaza; 10 min.
Opened in 1936, the stepped 120 m tower was South America's tallest building; it has been a Monumento Histórico Nacional since 1999 and is listed among the heritage of modern…
3
Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento
San Martín 1039, consecrated in 1914; 15 min.
Commissioned by Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena and consecrated in 1916, the basilica by French architects Coulomb and Chauvet glows with marble, blue granite, Venetian mosaic…
4
Galerías Pacífico (dome murals)
Shopping arcade on Florida and Córdoba under a dome decorated by Argentine painters; 20 min.
An 1889 building meant for the Bon Marché store, later the railway's offices and the first home of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes; its dome was painted by Antonio Berni, Lino…
5
Teatro Colón
One of the world's great opera houses; book a guided tour or a performance; 60 min.
Opened on 25 May 1908 with Verdi's Aida, the horseshoe hall by Tamburini, Meano and Dormal is famous for its acoustics; the 50-minute tour takes in the Foyer, the Galería de…

Walking directions

Retiro to the Teatro Colón: Plaza San Martín, the Kavanagh and Florida street

The route, stop by stop

More walks in Buenos Aires