Buenos Aires Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Tourism=== {{Main|Tourism in Buenos Aires|Landmarks in Buenos Aires}} [[File:Buenos Aires Tour Bus.jpg|thumb|left|Buenos Aires Bus, the city's [[tour bus service]]. The official estimate is that the bus carries between 700 and 800 passengers per day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clarin.com/ciudades/Medio-millon-pasajeros-Bus-Turistico_0_521347973.html |title=Medio mill贸n de pasajeros ya viaj贸 en el Bus Tur铆stico |language=es |date=21 July 2011 |publisher=Clarin.com |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409211848/http://www.clarin.com/ciudades/Medio-millon-pasajeros-Bus-Turistico_0_521347973.html |archive-date=9 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>]] According to the World Travel & Tourism Council,<ref name=rgi0708>{{cite web |url=http://www.wttc.travel/ |title=Wttc Travel |website=Wttc.travel |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017174501/http://www.wttc.travel/ |archive-date=17 October 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> tourism has been growing in the Argentine capital since 2002. In a survey by the travel and tourism publication [[Travel + Leisure]] Magazine in 2008, visitors voted Buenos Aires the second most desirable city to visit after [[Florence]], Italy.<ref>Buenos Aires was also voted world's best [[South American]] city of fashion [http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2008/results.cfm?cat=cities ''Travel + Leisure'' Magazine worldsbest/2008] Retrieved on 9 July 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727012939/http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2008/results.cfm?cat=cities |date=27 July 2009 }}</ref> In 2008, an estimated 2.5 million visitors visited the city.<ref name="smith">{{cite web |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Hola-Buenos-Aires.html?c=y&page=1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202145841/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Hola-Buenos-Aires.html?c=y&page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 February 2013 |title=Buenos Aires: a City's Power and Promise |work=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=2 May 2012 }}</ref> Buenos Aires is an international hub of highly active and diverse [[nightlife]] with [[Bar (establishment)|bars]], dance bars and [[nightclub]]s staying open well past midnight.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nicol谩s|first=C贸caro|date=April 1983|title=Attractive, enigmatic Buenos Aires|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA35|magazine=[[The Rotarian]]|issn=0035-838X|volume=142|issue=4|access-date=5 February 2020|page=35|archive-date=26 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226125221/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=UzQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA35&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sebreli|first=Juan Jos茅|author-link=Juan Jos茅 Sebreli|language=Spanish|date=1 April 2011|accessdate=5 February 2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oT75KNJnNFkC&pg=PT149|page=149|title=Buenos Aires, vida cotidiana y alienaci贸n: seguido de Buenos Aires, ciudad en crisis|publisher=[[Penguin Random House]]|isbn=9789500734257|archive-date=26 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226125220/https://books.google.com/books?id=oT75KNJnNFkC&pg=PT149#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/con-mantras-ciegas-altura-cinco-experiencias-culinarias-nid2325319|title=Con mantras, a ciegas o en altura: cinco experiencias culinarias en la ciudad|last=Cullen|first=Luc铆a|language=Spanish|date=21 January 2020|accessdate=5 February 2020|work=[[La Naci贸n]]|archive-date=5 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805181439/https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/con-mantras-ciegas-altura-cinco-experiencias-culinarias-nid2325319/|url-status=live}}</ref> Visitors have many options for travel such as going to a tango show, an [[estancia]] in the [[Buenos Aires Province|Province of Buenos Aires]] or enjoying the traditional [[asado]]. New tourist circuits have recently evolved, devoted to Argentines such as [[Carlos Gardel]], [[Eva Per贸n]] or [[Jorge Luis Borges]]. Before 2011, due to the [[Argentine peso]]'s favorable exchange rate, its [[shopping centers]] such as Alto Palermo, Paseo Alcorta, [[Patio Bullrich]], [[Abasto de Buenos Aires]] and [[Galer铆as Pac铆fico]] were frequently visited by tourists. Nowadays, the exchange rate has hampered tourism and shopping in particular. In fact, notable consumer brands such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton have abandoned the country due to the exchange rate and import restrictions. The city also plays host to musical festivals, some of the largest of which are [[Quilmes Rock]], [[Creamfields BA]], [[Ultra Music Festival]] (Buenos Aires), and the [[Buenos Aires Jazz Festival]]. [[File:Buenos_Aires_Galerias_Pacifico_3.jpg|thumb|[[Galer铆as Pac铆fico]] is a [[shopping centre]] located at the intersection of [[Florida Street]] and [[C贸rdoba Avenue]]]] The most popular tourist sites are found in the historic core of the city, specifically, in the [[Montserrat, Buenos Aires|Montserrat]] and [[San Telmo]] neighborhoods. Buenos Aires was conceived around the [[Plaza de Mayo]], the colony's administrative center. To the east of the square is the ''[[Casa Rosada]]'', the official seat of the [[executive branch]] of the government of Argentina. To the north, the ''[[Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral|Catedral Metropolitana]]'' which has stood in the same location since colonial times, and the [[Banco de la Naci贸n Argentina]] building, a parcel of land originally owned by [[Juan de Garay]]. Other important colonial institutions were [[Buenos Aires Cabildo|Cabildo]], to the west, which was renovated during the construction of [[Avenida de Mayo]] and Julio A. Roca. To the south is the ''Congreso de la Naci贸n'' (National Congress), which currently houses the ''Academia Nacional de la Historia'' (National Academy of History). Lastly, to the northwest, is City Hall. [[File:Puente_de_la_mujer_-_panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Puente de la Mujer]] in [[Puerto Madero]]]] Buenos Aires has become a recipient of [[LGBT tourism]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/qa-in-buenos-aires-gay-friendly-spots/|title=Q&A: Gay-Friendly Spots in Buenos Aires|last1=Haljuci|first1=Rusha|date=24 August 2010|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=29 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208055820/http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/qa-in-buenos-aires-gay-friendly-spots/?_r=0|archive-date=8 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="gayclarin">{{cite web|url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2003/11/01/h-05015.htm|title=Buenos Aires, nueva capital del turismo gay de Sudam茅rica|last1=Santagati|first1=Adriana|date=1 November 2003|work=[[Clar铆n (Argentine newspaper)|Clar铆n]]|publisher=Clar铆n Group|access-date=29 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105115135/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2003/11/01/h-05015.htm|archive-date=5 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> due to the existence of some [[gay-friendly]] sites and the [[LGBT rights in Argentina#Same-sex marriage legalization|legalization]] of [[same-sex marriage]] on 15 July 2010, making it the first country in [[Latin America]], the second in the [[Americas]], and the tenth in the world to do so. Its ''Gender Identity Law'', passed in 2012, made Argentina the "only country that allows people to change their gender identities without facing barriers such as [[Hormone replacement therapy (transgender)|hormone therapy]], [[Sex reassignment surgery|surgery]] or psychiatric diagnosis that labels them as having an abnormality". In 2015, the [[World Health Organization]] cited Argentina as an exemplary country for providing transgender rights. Despite these legal advances, however, homophobia continues to be a hotly contested social issue in the city and the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20180206-activists-hold-collective-kiss-buenos-aires-protest-homophobia|title=Activists hold collective kiss in Buenos Aires to protest homophobia|date=6 February 2018|website=fRance24.com|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927113532/https://www.france24.com/en/20180206-activists-hold-collective-kiss-buenos-aires-protest-homophobia|archive-date=27 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Buenos Aires has various types of accommodation ranging from luxurious five star hotels in the city center to budget hotels located in suburban neighborhoods. Nonetheless, the city's transportation system allows easy and inexpensive access to the city. There were, {{as of|2008|February|lc=y}}, 23 five-star, 61 four-star, 59 three-star and 87 two or one-star hotels, as well as 25 [[boutique hotel]]s and 39 [[apart-hotel]]s; another 298 [[hostel]]s, [[bed & breakfast]]s, [[vacation rental]]s and other non-hotel establishments were registered in the city. In all, nearly 27,000 rooms were available for tourism in Buenos Aires, of which about 12,000 belonged to four-star, five-star, or boutique hotels. Establishments of a higher category typically enjoy the city's highest occupation rates.<ref>[http://buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/hacienda/sis_estadistico/SEC_abril_20082.pdf Buenos Aires Statistical Monthly, April 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024201444/http://buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/hacienda/sis_estadistico/SEC_abril_20082.pdf |date=24 October 2012 }}</ref> The majority of the hotels are located in the central part of the city, in close proximity to most main tourist attractions. 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