Discover Nueva Helvecia

Nueva Helvecia can be discovered through its festivals as well as its squares and cultural history. The Fiesta Nacional del Chocolate offers several specific activities; at the Plaza de los Fundadores, a floral clock and the square’s name tell of different cultural connections. When planning your trip, it is helpful to first distinguish between a stay centred on a particular event and a visit focused on the town’s history.

Festive culture: tastings, dance and a market

At the Fiesta Nacional del Chocolate, cheese is exhibited and sold, and is also available for tasting. This gives you three different ways to explore the subject of cheese: you can sample the products, view the exhibition or browse the sales. There are also traditional dance performances and a local handicraft market with more than 100 exhibitors. The main stage hosts opening and closing events as well as talks. The stage, dance, tasting and market each offer a different focus, giving you a mix of activities to choose from according to your interests.

The activities may vary from one edition to another. So if you want to plan your trip around the Fiesta Nacional del Chocolate, check the specific dates and programme in advance. The Fiesta de la Cerveza also offers a historical perspective on festive culture: in the 2023 programme, a parade of families of Swiss descent wearing the traditional dress of their ancestral cantons was combined with musical performances, traditional Swiss dances and a handicraft and goods market. The two festivals therefore represent different stated programme focuses; the 2023 programme is a specific historical reference, not an announcement of future activities.

Plaza de los Fundadores and its history

The floral clock in the Plaza de los Fundadores features alpine flower motifs. They were specially designed by the Garden Club Edelweiss. The design brings a specific cultural connection to the square without the need for an event programme to be the main focus. The name also tells a story: the Plaza was initially called Plaza Libertad and was later named after the monument “El Surco.” The same Plaza thus brings together a specially designed motif and a history of its name. If you are interested in local history, these two details offer different points of connection: the design and the evolution of the square’s name.

Cinema and stories from the surrounding area

The Cine Helvético also has a historical connection to the town: in the 1940s, the village cinema was transformed into today’s Cine Helvético cinema hall. This change from village cinema to cinema hall adds another cultural connection to the history of the Plaza. In the destination’s wider surroundings, near Molino Quemado, legends of ghosts and apparitions are also associated with an unexplained death, a suicide and a mysterious fire. These stories are part of local folklore and are therefore quite different from the visible design motifs of the Plaza and the specific activities at the festivals.

Keep your reason for travelling in mind when looking for accommodation

When looking for a holiday apartment in Nueva Helvecia, you can first consider what you want your stay to revolve around: a specific festival programme or cultural themes such as the Plaza, the Cine Helvético and stories from the surrounding area. If a festival is the main reason for your trip, factor the confirmed event dates and the programme for that edition into your plans. If you are more interested in local history and cultural connections, the floral clock, the history of the Plaza’s name and the Cine Helvético’s historical transformation can guide your choice of things to see and do. If you are travelling with children, you can decide together whether tastings, dance and the market or stories about the square and cinema are more interesting.

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For the main travel overview: Colonia.