Palacio Paz, French-style palace in Retiro district, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Palacio Paz is a grand townhouse in the Retiro district of Buenos Aires, designed after French aristocratic estates of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and furnished with marble, wood paneling, and carvings brought from Europe. The building includes three wings arranged around an interior garden, along with multiple reception halls, a large domed hall of honor, and a central ceremonial staircase.
Construction began in 1902 commissioned by José C. Paz, owner of La Prensa newspaper, following plans by French architect Louis Sortais. Work continued until 1914, and the Paz family occupied the residence until 1938, when it passed to the Military Officers Association.
The name comes from José C. Paz, founder of La Prensa newspaper, who built it as a family home inspired by French models and filled it with European materials. Today the Military Officers Association occupies the rooms, maintaining its library of over one hundred twenty thousand volumes on military history and hosting the National Museum of Armaments with collections from past conflicts.
Visits are possible only through guided tours held on select weekdays and must be reserved in advance by email. The tours cover different areas of the building, including reception halls, the library, and the armaments museum.
The large circular hall of honor beneath the dome borrows design elements from Château de Chantilly, built in the sixteenth century northeast of Paris. This direct reference appears in the arrangement of pilasters and in the stucco work, which reproduces French craftsmanship of that period.
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