You Can Sleep When You're Dead...Or Can You?

In a city that literally never sleeps (clubs don't even open until 2 a.m. and close after 6 a.m. giving everyone just enough time to shower before work) and that is known for it's lively Tango shows, extravagant meals, and colorful open-air craft markets, how does a cemetery manage to make the Buenos Aires To-Do List?

But once you pass through the towering Greek marble columns of world-famous Recoleta Cemetery, you immediately understand that even this city of the dead is anything but dying.

Nestled within one of Buenos Aires' poshest neighborhoods, residents and tourists alike pour through the cemetery's entrance to wander the narrow streets of the wealthy dead, snapping photos and ogling at the artistry that has been poured into the marble tombs since the cemetery's creation in 1822.

Walking through the city walls you are transformed into a different world and a hodge-podge of history. Every direction you turn, there is an angel, a saint or Jesus looking back at you. As you meander along the brick streets, it is easy to not only lose track of time but to also forget that you are in fact living in the 20th century and surrounded by modern skyscrapers filled with busy bees processing their 9-5 paperwork.

Voted to be the 3rd most beautiful cemetery in the world - after those in London and Paris, Recoleta Cemetery is as much an art gallery as a place of mourning. The cemetery is laid out on a grid system of quaint alleys all lined with trees and marked by street signs. Tombs are made from marble, brass, stone, and stained glass, and fresh flowers mark almost every grave. Gothic Revival architecture mixes with Neoclassical, Art Nuevo and Art Deco styles.

The cemetery walls contain over 6,400 mausoleums, and the monthly rent to house your ancestors is quickly becoming astronomical, forcing some families to put their tombs up for sale. And who would buy someone else's tomb? Don't worry, the waiting list for a plot inside Recoleta is also growing.

Although there are several rumors floating about of ghosts still haunting this dead city, Recoleta Cemetery is anything but creepy. Perhaps the ghosts' presence is simply to reiterate that Buenos Aires never actually sleeps.