Sights

On the Río Tigre’s right bank, along Avenida General Mitre, two classic rowing clubs are symbols of bygone elegance: dating from 1873, the Anglophile Buenos Aires Rowing Club (Mitre 226), and its 1910 Italian counterpart the Club Canottierri Italiani (Mitre 74). Both still function, but they’re not the exclusive institutions they once were.

Unfortunately, Tigre [1]’s revival has also brought fast-food franchises and the dreadful Parque de la Costa (Pereyra s/n, tel. 011/4002-6000, www.parquedelacosta.com.ar [2], 11 a.m.–midnight, Wed.–Sun.), a cheesy theme park. Open admission, valid for all rides and games, costs US$10–17, but is free for children under three.

East of Parque de la Costa is the Puerto de Frutos (Sarmiento 160, tel. 011/4512-4493, www.puertodefrutos [3] arg.com.ar); though its docks no longer buzz with produce transported by launches from the deepest delta, it is home to a revitalized crafts fair that’s open 11 a.m.–7 p.m. daily, but is most active on weekends. Handcrafted wicker furniture and basketry, as well as flower arrangements, are unique to the area.

In the residential zone across the river, the Museo de la Reconquista (Liniers 818, tel. 011/4512-4496, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Wed.–Sun., free) was the Spanish Viceroy’s command post while the British occupied Buenos Aires [4] in 1806 and 1807. more than just a military memorial, it also chronicles the delta, ecclesiastical history, and Tigre [1]’s golden age from the 1880s to the 1920s.

Several blocks north, fronting on the Río Luján, the Museo Naval de la Nación (Paseo Victorica 602, tel. 011/4749-0608, US$0.80) occupies the former Talleres Nacionales de Marina (1879), a cavernous naval repair station that closed as military vessels got too large for its facilities; it now chronicles Argentine naval history from its beginnings under Irishman Guillermo Brown to the present. Despite occasional jingoism, it houses a remarkable collection of model ships, along with maps and colonial portraits (including Spanish scientist Juan de Ulloa). An open-air sector includes naval aircraft and the bridge of a ship destroyed during the 1982 Falklands war. Hours are 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. weekends.

The city’s newest landmark is the Museo de Arte Tigre (Paseo Victorica 972, tel. 011/4512-4528, www.mat.gov.ar [5], US$1.25), which houses figurative works by Argentine artists from the late 19th to the 20th century. Showcasing artists such as Benito Quinquela Martín and Juan Carlos Castagnino, it occupies the spectacularly restored Tigre Club (1913), a belle époque edifice that once housed a hotel-casino. Hours are 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Wednesday–Friday, with guided tours at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., and noon–7 p.m. weekends and holidays, when guided tours take place at 1, 3, and 5 p.m.