Buenos Aires is a modern city of great wealth. With a total population of over 13 million, the capital of Argentina, situated on the Río (River) de la Plata, is inhabited mostly by people of Spanish and Italian extraction, but there are many residents of French, British, German, Eastern European, and Syrian background and some communities of Paraguayans and other Latin Americans.
In its center are the Plaza de Mayo, a square whose buildings include the Casa Rosada [pink house], and the office of the Argentine president. The Avenida de Mayo extends from the square to the Palace of the National Congress. Other famous streets are the Avenida 9 de Julio (commemorating the date of Argentina's independence from Spain, July 9, 1816), said to be the world's widest boulevard, and the Calle Florida, the main shopping thoroughfare, as well as the Avenida de Corrientes, which is the centre of the theater and nightclub district.
Buenos Aires also has many beautiful parks; the cathedral (completed 1804) is a well-known landmark. Among the numerous educational, scientific, and cultural institutions are the University of Buenos Aires, several private universities, the National Library, and the Teatro Colón, one of the world's most famous opera houses. The city has a subway system, and is a railroad hub and a center of inland seaborne traffic.
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Congress Plaza
Plaze de Mayo
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