Stone and timber
An Alpine-inspired style.
Francisco Esteban Leuman — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carlos Ravazzani — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Francisco Esteban Leuman — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Centro Cívico is the heart and emblem of Bariloche, a group of stone-and-timber buildings around a paved square that opens north onto Lake Nahuel Huapi. The architect Ernesto de Estrada designed it as part of the works run by the National Parks Administration in the 1930s; it opened on 17 March 1940 and was declared a national historic monument in 1987. The buildings wrap around three sides of the square in a U, with walls of local stone and roofs and towers of timber, in a style inspired by Alpine architecture that its designers meant to give the town a distinctive look for tourism. They house City Hall with its clock tower, the tourist office and the Patagonia Museum. The square is the starting point for any walk round town, and Mitre Street, with Bariloche's famous chocolate shops, runs from it. In summer St Bernard dogs wait beside it for photos with tourists, for a fee.
An Alpine-inspired style.
City Hall.
The chocolate shops.
Central Bariloche, overlooking Lake Nahuel Huapi
Chocolate: Mitre Street, running from the Centro Cívico, is lined with famous chocolate shops; ask about ingredients if you avoid alcohol, as some fillings contain it.