Palacio Noel - Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano

You may have noticed that in the city of Buenos Aires there are not many colonial houses, something that you will find all over Mexico, Colombia or Peru. One reason being that at the time of the colony Buenos Aires was an insignificant port inhabited by a few merchants.
The city prospered and grew in the late 1800s and early 1900s when the predominant architecture was classic or Art Nuveau among others.

Housed in the beautiful Palacio Noel, the Isaac Fernández Blanco, has one of the world's most important collections of Spanish-American art.
The collection includes items covering the entire period of Spanish rule in Latin America, from colonization to independence, ranging from silver work from Peru and the Rio de la Plata region, Peruvian paintings and furniture from Portuguese Brazil, to combs used by women in the Rio de la Plata region in the first half of the 19th century.

The neocolonial Palacio Noel was built in the 1920s by architect Martín Noel as his private home, and is surrounded by Spanish-influenced gardens. In spring and summer, open air concerts, conferences, theater performances and book presentations are held.

Palacio Errazuriz - Museo de Arte Decorativo

Here is a place worth visiting in Buenos Aires, The The National Museum of Decorative Arts.The Palace has its origins in a marriage in 1897 between two prominent members of turn-of-the-century Argentine high society: Matías Errazúriz, the son of Chilean émigrés, and Josefina de Alvear,

The couple commissioned French architect Rene Sergent in 1911 to design a mansion for Errazúriz's future retirement from the diplomatic corps, in which he had been Ambassador to France for a number of years. Completed in 1916, the couple devoted the following two years to decorating the palace, purchasing a large volume of antiques and other objets d'art.

When Mrs. Errazúriz died in 1935, however, the widower bequeathed the mansion to the Argentine government, on his son's and daughter's advice. The National Museum of Decorative Arts was established in 1937

The Trip to Villa Epecuen - Buenos Aires province - Villa Epecuen - The Cemetery

You should definitely include the Epecuen - Carhue cemetery in your list of creepy places

When the waters of Lake Epecuen engulfed the city it also flooded the cemetery prompting some of the newly buried coffins to float and end up in the new shores of the lake.

Many people hurried frantically to collect the remains of loved ones before the water covered the cemetery for good.

Today the graves lie open and the monuments in pieces after 30 years of being under salty waters.

The Trip to Villa Epecuen - Buenos Aires province - Villa Epecuen -The Train Station

Two clicks east of the Epecuen Ghost town sits the old railroad station which was spared from the rising of the lake. Probably instrumental in the evacuation of people and belongings from the towns folk.

No longer serving as a train station it was transformed into a small museum with mementos of the engulfed city.

With some sheep grazing it offers a sight of the pampas in an area that is in between the fertile pampas of the Buenos Aires province and what is called the dry pampas mostly in the province of La Pampa.

The Trip to Villa Epecuen - Buenos Aires province - Villa Epecuen - the fresh water pool park

There are pictures of the famous Carhue fresh water outdoor pools which were frequented byy thousands of tourists yearly.

After the flood a somber scene has resurfaced showing the slides and trampolines that were used by the swimmers.

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Even some cement parasols now lie on the ground as a reminder of past glorious times

The Trip to Villa Epecuen - Buenos Aires province - The Abandoned city.

So, finally I arrived at my final destination which were the ruins of the city of "Villa epecuen".

Where once stood a lake holiday resort on the eastern shore of the Epecuen lake, now sit post flood ruins 

Tourism was developed in the early 1920s by an Englishman after taking the land on lease. He marketed the lake as having healing properties, hiring Italian scientists to bolster the claim. At its height, Villa Epecuén could accommodate at least 5,000 visitors and was accesible by train leaving from Buenos Aires.

On 6 November 1985, a flood, caused by a rare weather pattern, broke a nearby dam, and then the dyke protecting the village; the water rose progressively, reaching a peak of 10 metres (33 ft). The village became uninhabitable and was never rebuilt. Many of the ruins are covered by a layer of white and grey salt. At the time, there were up to 280 businesses in Epecuén, including lodges, guesthouses, hotels, and businesses that 25,000 tourists visited between November and March, from the 1950s to the 1970s

Today it is an enclosed site open to visitors who can roam the abandoned streets of the city.

The Trip to Villa Epecuen - Buenos Aires province - Carhue - Where to stay

I have mentioned that Carhue is famous for its thermal waters so I recommend you stay at a hotel that has a spa or pool, like "Posada del Lago"

I found it not so cheap, but very tidy and comfortable, well located and with very friendly staff