Recoleta cemetery

La Recoleta cemetery - darkometer rating : 2 - A famous cemetery, acclaimed for its atmospheric tomb architecture, and a major tourist site in Argentina 's capital city of Buenos Aires . Most tourists come to see the final resting place of Evita Peron, but many of the country's presidents are also buried here, including the great educator and innovator Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos What there is to see: The famous Recoleta cemetery is surely an exceptionally atmospheric specimen of its type, sometimes likened to Pere Lachaise in Paris , but differs from its even more famous European counterpart in that it is smaller in area and far less green. Except for a tree-lined avenue and central square just behind the main entrance it is comprised entirely of stone. That's not to say it is in any way inferior, just very different in appearance to many other well-known cemeteries. The architecture of the various tombs, which are mostly family mausoleums, i.e. with more than just an individual grave, often takes the style of exuberant grandeur that was typical for the age elsewhere too. It is therefore interesting to just wander the (often narrow) alleys between the rows of graves and keep one's eyes open for unusual details – of which there are many to discover (see photos below). Most (mainstream) tourists come here primarily in search of the tomb of one of the most famous figures in popular culture that Argentina has ever produced: Evita Peron (of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" fame), the glamorous First Lady in the era of Juan Peron's first presidency. She died aged only 33 in 1952 – but remains an iconic figure much revered in Argentina to this day. Given that legacy, it is surprisingly difficult to track down her grave.