Palacio Taranco, French-style palace in Ciudad Vieja, Uruguay

Palacio Taranco is a light beige stone building with a curved facade facing Plaza Zabala, its upper section carrying a balustrade with stone urns and a round emblem. Below, three arches open through black wrought-iron gates, framed by carved floral and scroll ornament. Inside, a marble staircase leads to the main salon, dining room, smoking room, billiard room and library.

The Ortiz de Taranco brothers bought the site of Montevideo's first theatre, the Casa de Comedias (later Teatro San Felipe), and in 1907 commissioned French architects Charles Louis Girault and Jules Chifflot León to build their residence, completed in 1910. The state purchased it in 1943; it became the Museum of Decorative Arts in 1972 and a National Historic Monument in 1975. In 1979 the Acta de Montevideo, mediating the Beagle Channel dispute between Argentina and Chile, was signed here.

The palace has housed the Museo de Artes Decorativas since 1972. Its rooms keep the Taranco family's European purchases: Louis XV and Louis XVI inlaid furniture, Flemish tapestries and Persian curtains, and paintings by Ribera, Van der Helst, Zuloaga and Sorolla. The basement holds Greco-Roman and Near Eastern ceramics, glass and bronzes.

The site sits at the corner of 25 de Mayo and 1° de Mayo in the historic quarter and is easily accessible on foot. Plan enough time to walk through the different rooms and view the collections at a leisurely pace.

The 1979 Acta de Montevideo, the papal-mediated agreement settling the Beagle Channel border dispute between Argentina and Chile, was signed in this residence. The building later became the Museum of Decorative Arts in 1972 and was declared a National Historic Monument in 1975.