One of the world's great opera houses, with a horseshoe hall of red velvet and gold and acoustics singers rave about.
The Teatro Colón took two decades to build and opened in 1908 with Verdi's Aida, when Buenos Aires was one of the richest cities on earth.
Its main hall is a classic Italian horseshoe, rising through tiers of boxes and galleries to a painted dome and a great chandelier, with seats for about 2,500 and standing room above. Its acoustics are counted among the best anywhere.
The building is just as grand offstage: a marble foyer and staircase under stained glass, and the gilded Salón Dorado, modelled on European palace halls.
The opera, ballet and concert season runs from March to December, and the cheapest seats in the upper tiers cost less than a steak dinner. Guided tours run every day.
Two ways to see the Colón.
Buy a guided tour online or at the box office on Tucumán; English tours run several times a day.
The tour starts in the entrance hall, under the stained-glass dome and beside the grand staircase.
See the gilded reception room, then step into a box above the main hall.
Look up through the tiers to the dome and chandelier; if a rehearsal is on, you may hear it.
Come back for an opera, ballet or concert; even a cheap gallery seat gives the full sound.
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On Plaza Lavalle, a few blocks from the Obelisco; Subte stations Tribunales and Lavalle are close by.
Tours and performances are sold online and at the box office. Upper-tier seats and standing places are the bargains.
Photography is allowed on tours but not during performances.
Buenos Aires practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
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