Metropolitan Cathedral

Don’t be fooled by its looks! This massive Greek-looking temple is actually the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires. It is the city’s main Catholic church and the seat of its archdiocese. Construction started way back in 1692, but the building wasn’t consecrated until 1791 – seems they hit a few snags along the way. The cool thing is, this neoclassical style is pretty rare for cathedrals. The portico was designed by French architects, largely inspired by the famous Palais Bourbon in Paris. The twelve columns represent the twelve apostles, and the low relief shows Jacob reuniting with his son Joseph in Egypt. The interior, on the other hand, was designed in the Spanish colonial style, with a massive dome topping the central crossing at a whopping 41 meters high! You can visit the cathedral free of charge and see the mausoleum of San Martin, the Argentine general who freed his country from Spanish colonization. His remains lie in his tomb, guarded around the clock by Argentine army grenadiers. The cathedral was listed as a historical monument in 1942 and restored in the late 1990s.