The Waterfront

Across Avenida Belgrano, the Parque Nacional de la Bandera stretches several blocks along the floodplain in an area that still houses part of Rosario [1]’s port facilities.

Sailing from its own pier opposite the Monumento Nacional a la Bandera [2], the Ciudad de Rosario (Avenida Belgrano s/n, tel. 0341/449-8688) offers two-hour river excursions (US$5.50 pp) at 2:30 and 5 p.m. weekends and holidays. For a more intimate look at Rosario and its surroundings, Dos Ruedas (Zeballos 327, tel. 0341/15-571-3812, www.bikerosario.com.ar [3]) offers city tours on bikes and kayak tours on the river.

Continuing its policy of waterfront improvement, Rosario has dramatically upgraded its Estación Fluvial, Avenida Belgrano’s passenger terminal for the delta islands. It also holds the Museo del Paraná y las Islas (Avenida Belgrano and Rioja, tel. 0341/440-0751, 7–7:30 p.m. weekends only, US$0.75), the site of Rosarino painter Raúl Domínguez’s straightforward murals of delta lifestyles.

Like the best muralists, Domínguez (“the painter of the river”) deals with everyday themes rather than heroic deeds. Among his subjects are the environmental setting in Creciente (In Flood) and Bajante (In Drought), travels through the delta in Recorrido del Paraná (Exploring the Paraná), folklore in El Paraná y Sus Leyendas (The Paraná and Its Legends), and settlers’ livelihoods in Cortador de Paja (Thatch Cutter) and El Nutriero (The Otter Trapper).

Several blocks southeast, Parque Urquiza is the site of the Complejo Astronómico Municipal (Municipal Observatory, tel. 0341/480-2533, US$0.75). Although light pollution may make a large city like Rosario [1] less than ideal for viewing the southern skies through the telescopes at its Observatorio Víctor Capolongo, visitors can stargaze free of additional charge 8–10:30 p.m. Wednesday–Sunday, weather permitting.