If Beverly Hills and Paris mated, Recoleta would be their unfairly handsome and enviously wealthy child.  The popular district of Recoleta is one of the most expensive in Buenos Aires; it’s characterized by French-style architecture and city planning — elaborate mansions, well-manicured plazas, squares highlighted by statues — and renowned for its up-scale and exclusive restaurants, shops and hotels.

Here are the highlights…

La Recoleta Cemetery

Recoleta is all about wealth and status… even in death.  Only the rich and famous can afford to be buried in one of the most exclusive cemeteries in the world, turning Recoleta Cemetery into the final home of many of Argentina’s most prominent writers, artists, military heroes and politicians, including Evita and a host of former presidents.  The streets of Recoleta serve as a competition to construct larger and more eye-catching mansions and the cemetery is no different; each mausoleum is bigger, bolder and more braggadocious than the one prior, with dramatic stained glass windows, domes, plaques and statues vying for attention.

Avenida Alvear

There is more opulence on this stretch of 7 blocks than in the whole of many other countries.  Here, haute couture clothing shops are squished between magnificently designed mansions that evoke images of turn-of-the-century France.  Famous sights include the Duhau Palace (Park Hyatt Buenos Aires Hotel), Anchorena Palace (the Apostolic Nunciature to the Pope in Argentina), Hume House (the Secretariat of Culture) and the 5-star Alvear Palace Hotel.  The eastern end of the avenue ends at Plazoleta Carlos Pellegrini, a small park dedicated to the former president of Argetina, surrounded by two belle epoque palaces that are now embassies: Ortiz Basualdo Palace (French Embassy) and Pereda Palace (Brazilian Embassy).

Recoleta Cultural Center

Three-hundred years ago, this building was a Franciscan church and it was white.  Today it’s an exhibition hall and it’s pink.  The exterior is a pretty good indicator of what you’ll find inside: modern art presentations, experimental theater, political cartoon displays, concerts, classes, festivals, and even a kid’s science museum where it’s forbidden NOT to touch the exhibits.  It’s free to walk around this impressive network of rooms and courtyards, but the rotating exhibits and the kid’s museum will cost a few pesos.  You can play a game of human chess on the painted chess board on the veranda or grab a culturally insignificant lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe situated right behind the cultural center.

National Library of the Argentine Republic

Just as every attractive celebrity has a minor flaw that prevents them from being perfect, so too does Recoleta… and it’s called the National Library.  This bland, boring, brutalist construction almost seems like a mistake in such a refined neighborhood.  But just like a woman reading “He’s Just Not That Into You,” what she lacks in looks she makes up for in substance.  If you can read Spanish, you’ll revel in library’s collection of 2 million-plus works.  If you can’t read Spanish, you’ll enjoy the view of Recoleta from the reading room 21 floors above ground… if you can get in (security is tight so you need to have an explanation for why you’re visiting).

Buenos Aires Design Center

This diminutive mall is devoted entirely to interior design with cutting edge creations at Ikea prices.  Stores feature high-quality products designed by up-and-coming interior designers using local supplies.

Patio Bullrich

This mall serves as a reminder that not everything in Buenos Aires is cheap.  Patio Bullrich features 80 up-scale name-brand stores that are so expensive, they’re usually empty.  Instead, people congregate in the food court, one of the only affordable (though still pricey) things in the mall.  The real highlight is the classical architecture; this former livestock auction house retains its original glass dome, animal head sculptures, and a great clock.  Considered the most exclusive mall in the city, this is the place to see and be seen… but look and don’t touch anything.

Confiteria La Biela

Opened in 1850, this cafe across from the Recoleta Cemetery is one of the most important eateries in the city and a historical landmark.  The waitlist for a table is usually filled with the names of anybody who’s anybody in the city, and usually they take up the sidewalk seats where people-watching is like a fashion runway.  But the wait is worth it for affordable meals, including breakfast, which starts at 7 a.m.  Waiting in the heat isn’t a problem thanks to a 150-foot wide rubber tree called Gran Gomero that shades the patio.

National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA)

Portenos have an unusual predisposition for pink buildings and this is yet another example.  The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes is housed in a building that served as a drainage pumping station in the 19th century.  Today it showcases works from Van Gogh, Monet, Rodin and Renoir, as well as art from the pre-Renaissance period.  It also hosts the largest collection of 19th and 20th century Argentine artwork in the world.

Palais de Glace

Constructed in 1911, the Palais de Glace originally housed the first ice skating rink in the country.  Just 10 years later it was turned into a tango ballroom.  Since then it has become a national historic monument that hosts art exhibitions and occasional tango events.

Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar

Dating back to 1732, this blindingly white church is the second oldest house of worship in the city and one of the best examples of colonial architecture in Buenos Aires.  Entrance to the church is free but the small religious art museum housed in the original and well-preserved convent will cost a few pesos.

National Museum of Decorative Art

Over 4,000 decorative objects are packed into every room in this lavish mansion.  For about $2 US, visitors can get a temporary taste of the good life by walking through bedrooms, ballrooms and even servant’s chambers to witness finely detailed furniture, silverware, sculptures, tapestries and paintings from the early 20th century.

Floralis Generica

We’re not sure what the national flower of Argentina is, but it should be this giant metal flower.  The 75-foot Floralis Generica, situated in United Nations Plaza, adjacent to the imposing University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Law building, is a photo-op at any time, but it’s best at dawn and dusk when the flower slowly opens and closes.