Once the private residence of José C Paz – founder of the still-running newspaper La Prensa – this opulent, French-style palace (1909) is the grandest in BA. Inside its 12,000 sq meters are ornate rooms with marble walls, salons gilded in real gold and halls boasting beautiful wood-tiled floors. The pièce de résistance is the circular grand hall with mosaic floors, marble details and stained-glass cupola. Nearly all materials came from Europe and were then assembled here.