What is the capital of Argentina?
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and its largest city. Its metropolitan area has more than 15 million people, about a third of the country's population.
Buenos Aires lies on the Río de la Plata, a wide estuary on the Atlantic coast. The Spanish first founded a settlement there in 1536 and refounded it in 1580. It became the capital of independent Argentina and grew rapidly with European immigration in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The city is known for its European-style architecture, wide avenues such as the Avenida 9 de Julio and landmarks like the Obelisco, the Casa Rosada presidential palace and the colorful La Boca neighborhood. People from Buenos Aires are called porteños, meaning people of the port.
The home of tango
Tango music and dance developed in Buenos Aires and nearby Montevideo in the late 1800s. UNESCO recognized tango as part of humanity's intangible cultural heritage in 2009.
Did You Know?
The Teatro Colón opera house in Buenos Aires, opened in 1908, is often ranked among the best concert halls in the world for its acoustics.