I’m not sure what it says about Buenos Aires that one of it’s biggest tourist attractions is a cemetery. I can’t really think of anywhere else, even London with it’s gorgeous Victorian graveyards, where tourists flock to a cemetery in such high numbers.
Of course, I can’t really think of any cemeteries quite like Recoleta:
The place well lives up to it’s reputation as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. Each tomb is a unique work of art, an individual memorial to a person or family. Not all of them are quite as fancy as the one above (my personal favorite), but they run the full gamut from sedate and stately to flashy and elaborate. Some are in pristine condition and some are pretty dilapidated:
Of course the biggest celebrity in Recoleta is Eva Peron. Tourists flock to her tomb, despite the fact that it definitely falls under the more boring design category:
Honestly though, there’s so much more to see in La Recoleta than Evita’s little plaque. A couple hours wandering the blocks of tombs leads to all sorts of details and discoveries:
I actually love old cemetaries and often find myself exploring them – from broken tombs in Limerick on Christmas morning to the hilltop santuary in Northn Spain. Just recently, I visited the tombs in Seville’s San Fernando Cemetary. I was shocked with just how peacful the plots were, and it was obvious that no expense were refused for bullfighters, ex-governers and flamenco artists. Really gives you aninteresting insight into Hispanic culture to visit places like these. Lovely shots!
This reminds me I always meant to do a post about the cemeteries in the Cayman Islands and never got around to it. The graves (?) were all boxy above ground tombs, lined up neatly and painted white. But they looked so beautiful against a background of tacky but colorful fake flowers, real palm trees, and the blue ocean. Different from anything I had seen before.
Reminds me of the cemetery in Montmartre, Paris. Can’t wait to get to Buenos Aires- I’ve been wanting to visit Recoleta for years!
i just love cemeteries, i don’t know why but they always attract me, specially ones that are as beautiful as this one. they r just so relaxing in a weird kind of way 😀