Buenos Aires for The Time Travellers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

The square where Argentina was declared, with the Casa Rosada on one side and the Cabildo on the other. Mothers still walk here on Thursdays.

The Jesuit block with its tunnels and the first university. The guided tour is the way in; ask which parts are older than 1700.

A 1894 café where chess players, billiards and a tango trio share the room. Order a picada and a vermouth and watch the games.

Brick tunnels and cisterns of the 1700s, rediscovered under a mansion in 1986. The guided tour covers every century of the city in one cellar.

Colonial San Telmo on foot, with antique shops and old bars on the corners. Stop in the Mercado de San Telmo for a coffee.

A corner bar since 1864, with the original wooden counter. Order a vermouth and a picada while the street lights come on.

The 1908 opera house, seven floors of marble and gilt. The guided tour covers the horseshoe hall, the workshops and the sets stored below.

The oldest café in the city, open since 1858. Lunch on a tostado and a submarino among the stained-glass and the marble tables.

Palanti's 1923 tower is built as a map of the Divine Comedy. Join the guided climb, then step out on the balcony for the dome view.

The city's aristocracy in marble, from presidents to Evita. Find the tomb of Rufina Cambaceres and the statues behind the central lane.

A 1917 beaux-arts mansion built for a wealthy family, with salons intact and a tea room in the garden. Quiet on Monday mornings.

The café under the great gomero tree opposite the cemetery since 1850. A lunch of lomito sandwich and coffee under the branches.