As I have stressed many times here on About.com Argentina Travel, Buenos Aires is a great walking city.  Here, I am going to give you a specific itinerary for what will be the first of several walking tours I will post here on Argentina.

Pedestrianized Calle Florida mostly has a reputation as a shop-till-you-drop and people-watching site. It is also full of superb examples of architecture and history as well, some of which will really surprise you.

I highlight some of the most beautiful features here, but I recommend you always keep your head up and on the lookout – both to not bump into anyone on this crowded street – but also not to miss any treasures not in this way too short list. Take note that while you might find ugly, advertise sign encrusted doorways at street level, a glance overhead reveals some fabulous well preserved facades. The last portion of this trip along Calle Florida takes you into Buenos Aires’s banking center, nicknamed “La City” after London’s financial district.  This is an easy walk, and is for the most part also wheelchair accessible.

1 Centro Naval

We’re starting at the corner of Calle Florida and Calle Córdoba Streets. Centro Naval, which I featured in my article Favorite Overlooked Buildings of Buenos Aires is one of the city’s most gorgeous buildings, a masterpiece of cast stone architecture. Take note of the doorway with its nude sea god riding a Spanish galleon, announcing announcing triumph through a conch shell, oversees its corner doorway.

Naval themes continue along the upper balustrades. The building opened in 1914 and was designed by Swiss architect Jacques Dunant.

Cross Calle Córdoba heading south and stop on the other side of the street, at the:

2 Galerías Pacífico

Another building we’ve featured in our Shopping Malls of Buenos Aires piece, and in other articles. The most famous shopping mall in Buenos Aires, Galerías Pacífico opened in 1891, designed to mimic Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, with its multi-level galleries and glass ceilings. A recession at the time meant the building was repurposed as an office for Pacífico Railroad Company. In 1992, everything old became new again, and the building reverted into its original function. Enter the building and walk to the central atrium. In 1945, while still an office building, paintings about the history of mankind by Antonio Berni and other artists were installed under the dome. Ask at the information desk for a brochure and when the free art interpretation tours are given.

Head back to Calle Florida and turn left, walking south on Calle Florida until you get to Lavalle, another pedestrianized street. No need to look out for cars just street performers (watch your pockets if you stop!)  After crossing Lavalle, stop midblock and face the building at Calle Florida 460 on your right, or west, side. It’s the:

3 Sociedad Rural Argentina

This small, elegant building seems out of place among the tacky shops. It’s the headquarters of the Sociedad Rural Argentina, an organization created in the mid-1800s by the country’s oligarchs which was behind the creation of Argentina’s great agricultural wealth. The door is almost always closed, and there are no official tours.

Continue walking south on Florida until Avenida Corrientes. Cross the street and stop at Burger King, located on what was once the:

4 Ana Díaz Historical Homestead

Men usually get all the attention for founding cities, but Spanish explorer Juan de Garay’s 1580 expedition, which permanently founded Buenos Aires, had a woman’s touch. Ana Díaz, whose homestead was where Burger King now sits, was on the voyage. It’s unclear her exact role - Spanish conquistadora, an Indian woman who served as a guide, or a lover of one of the men? Ana Díaz’s original home is long gone, but a stunning belle epoque home was later built here, though heavily altered in the 1920s and for the Burger King. Enter and walk up the staircase and try to not gasp at the stained glass ceiling, rotunda and other ornamentation that still remains. Sadly, the history of Ana Diaz is virtually unknown to most Argentines. On the Corrientes side of the building, plaques explain her overlooked importance to Buenos Aires.

Leave Burger King, turn to the right and continue south on Calle Florida. Stop midblock between Corrientes and Sarmiento. Then face the east side of the street to see the:

5 Galería Mitre/Falabella

One of the unusual buildings on Calle Florida, it imitates the missions along the Paraguayan border. The most unique feature is the doorway carving with men in 16th-century Spanish garb. The crudely executed but detailed ornamentation is a homage to art created by Indian slaves in that region during the early colonial period in the late 1500s and early 1600s. The building is now home to a branch of Chilean department store Falabella.

Continue south on Florida to Perón, but don’t cross it yet. Instead, face your left, or east, side for a glimpse of the:

6 HSBC Building

This is one of my favorite Buenos Aires buildings, with its travertine marble and heavy bronze doors. It unfortunately is very often covered with graffiti.

Cross Perón and walk half a block south on Florida, stopping on the east side in front of Calle Florida 165, the:

7 Galería Guemes

The Calle Florida entrance of this 1915 gallery, is nothing special, reconstructed in a modern style after a 1971 fire. Piazzolla Tango is in the basement theater. Step in and be dazzled by the designs of Italian architect Francesco Gianotti, creator of the now-closed Confitería del Molino which is also featured in the overlooked buildings article. Look for the elevators decorated with bronze figures. And your history bonus – Little Prince author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once lived here.

Continue south on Calle Florida crossing Calle Bartolomé Mitre. Stop on the corner at the wedge-shaped building on your left, or east, side at Calle Florida 99:

8 Standard Bank

Officially called the Bank of Boston building as that was the original tenant, this is another ornate Spanish colonial building, even more stunning than HSBC. Much of the limestone and steel came from the United States. The 4-ton bronze doors, now missing, were made in England. Since the 2001 peso crisis, the building has often been a site for anti-American graffiti. The lobby is built with slender columns for a gilded, coffered ceiling. The building is topped by an ornate cupola, which you’ll notice is a theme for Diagonal Norte buildings, marking each intersection with the connecting streets through to the vista of the Obelisco at Nueve de Julio. The Haussmann-esque grandeur of the street’s design is a remnant of when Buenos Aires was at her peak, rivaling European cities in beauty.

Leave the building, face the plaza and look at the:

9 Roque Sáenz Peña Monument

This 1936 Art Deco monument commemorates Roque Sáenz Peña, president of Argentina from 1910 to 1914, who died while in office, as well as the 400^th anniversary of the failed first founding of Buenos Aires. It overlooks Diagonal Norte, which is also known as Avenida Roque Sáenz Peña.

This is the end of this walking tour, but don’t stop on our account. Across the street is the Buenos Aires City Tourism kiosk, the modern metal structure. Behind is the main customer service center for Aerolíneas Argentinas. If you just want to head home, the D line Catedral subway station is here, or you can walk a little toward Plaza de Mayo for more subway line access (lines A and E). My suggestion as always is to keep wandering. I always do!

What is your favorite part of Buenos Aires to wander? Comment below or email me.