Buenos Aires tourist information

Spanish seaman Juan Díaz de Solís was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata, in 1516, but his expedition was cut short by an attack in which he was killed (and supposedly cannibalized) by the native Charrúa or Guaraní tribe (disputed).

The city was first founded as Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre on February 2, 1536 by a Spanish gold-seeking expedition under Pedro de Mendoza. The name was chosen by Mendoza's chaplain, who was a devout follower of the Virgine de Bonaria ("Our Lady of the Fair Winds") of Cagliari, Sardinia. The location of Mendoza's city was in today's San Telmo district, south of the city center.

More attacks by the indigenous peoples forced the settlers away and in 1541 the site was abandoned. A second (and permanent) settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción (now the capital of Paraguay).

From its earliest days, the success of Buenos Aires depended on trade. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain insisted that all trade to Europe initially pass through Lima, Peru so that taxes could be collected. This scheme frustrated the traders of Buenos Aires, and a thriving contraband industry developed. Unsurprisingly, this also instilled a deep resentment in porteños towards Spanish authorities.

Sensing this instability, Charles III of Spain progressively eased the trade restrictions and finally declared Buenos Aires an open port in the late 1700s. Those placating actions did not have the desired effect, and the porteños, some of them versed in the ideology of the French revolution, became even more desirous of independence from Spain.

During the British invasions of the Río de la Plata British forces invaded Buenos Aires twice in 1806–1807 but were repulsed by local militias. Ultimately, on May 25, 1810, while Spain endured the Peninsular War and after a week of mostly pacific deliberations, the criollo citizens of Buenos Aires successfully ousted the Spanish Viceroy and established a provisional government. That date is now celebrated as a national holiday (May Revolution Day). Formal independence from Spain was declared only in 1816.

Historically, Buenos Aires has been Argentina's main centre for liberal and free-trade ideas, while many of the provinces, especially to the Northwest, advocated a more conservative-Catholic approach to political and social issues. Many tensions within Argentine history, starting with the centralist-federalist conflicts of the 19th century, can be traced back to these contrasting views.

In the 19th century the city suffered naval blockades on two occasions: first by the French, from 1838 to 1840, and then a joint Anglo-French blockade from 1845 to 1848. Both blockades failed to surrender the city, and the foreign powers eventually desisted from their demands.

During most of the 19th century, the political status of the city remained a sensitive subject. Meant by many to be the nation's capital, it was already capital of Buenos Aires Province, and for seven years from 1853 to 1860, it was the capital of the seceded State of Buenos Aires. The issue was debated more than once on the battlefield, until the matter was finally settled in 1880 when the city was declared national capital, separated from the province of the same name, and became the seat of the federal government, with its Mayor appointed by the President. Today, the Casa Rosada is the seat of national government and the office of the President of the Republic.

Railroad construction near the end of the 19th century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories, and the town became a metropolitan and multicultural city that ranked itself with the major European capitals. For example, the Teatro Colón was one of the world's top opera venues. The city's main avenues were built in those years, and the dawn of the 20th century saw the construction of South America's then-tallest buildings and first subway network.

By the 1920s Buenos Aires was a favoured destination for immigrants from Europe, as well as from the poorer provinces and neighbouring countries, and large shanty towns (villas miseria) started growing around the city's industrial areas, leading to extensive social problems.

Buenos Aires was the cradle of Peronism: the now-mythical demonstration of October 17, 1945 took place in Plaza de Mayo. Industrial workers of the Greater Buenos Aires industrial belt have been Peronism's main support base ever since, and Plaza de Mayo became the site for demonstrations and many of the country's political events.

On June 16, 1955, the military uprising that would depose President Perón three months later had the Plaza de Mayo area bombed, killing 364 civilians. This was the only time the city was attacked from the air.

In the 1970s, the city suffered from the fighting between left-wing revolutionary movements (Montoneros, E.R.P. and F.A.R.) and right-wing paramilitary group Triple A, supported by Isabel Perón, who became president of Argentina in 1974, after Juan Perón's death.

The military coup of 1976, led by Jorge Rafael Videla, only escalated this conflict; the "Dirty War" produced between 10,000 and 30,000 desaparecidos, people kidnapped and killed by the military during the years of the junta. By some estimates upwards of 100,000 people were held in illegal detention centers and concentration camps during those years. The silent marches of their mothers (Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) are a well-known image of Argentine suffering during those times.

The city was visited by Pope John Paul II on two occasions: in 1982, due to the outbreak of the Falklands-Malvinas War, and a second visit in 1987, which gathered crowds never seen before in the city.

On March 17, 1992 a bomb exploded in the Israeli Embassy killing 29 and injuring 242. Another explosion, on July 18, 1994, destroyed a building housing several Jewish organizations killing 85 and injuring many more.

In 1996, under the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution, the city gained autonomous status, and held its first mayoral elections (its formal title changed to "Chief of Government"). The winner was (later President) Fernando de la Rúa.

On December 30, 2004, a fire at República Cromagnon concert hall killed almost 200 people, the greatest non-natural tragedy in Argentine history. Due to his responsibility over the non-enforcement of safety regulations, and (allegedly) also because of his precarious political standing, Mayor Aníbal Ibarra was impeached by the legislature, and deposed on 6 March 2006. His deputy, Jorge Telerman, who had been the acting mayor since December 2005, was invested with the office.