Rosario.
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Overview

Rosario is the third largest city in Argentina and the largest city in Santa Fe province, at the Paraná river. It is known for its rich architectural heritage and beautiful riverside scenery, and offers a vibrant cultural and night life.

The city itself has about 1.1 million inhabitants, but considering the suburbs it rivals Córdoba in importance, with about 1.6 million living in the metro area. Economically it is the second most important port of the country and an important industrial hub, with a large and renowned university. In modern times, it is also known as the hometown of famous Argentinian fútbol world champions Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María; there are numerous murals of them around the city. The local derby, Rosario Central vs Newell's Old Boys, is also one of the most iconic in South America, and indeed of world football.

Understand

The third most populated city of the country, Rosario is gradually becoming a tourism destination. The attractive city center has some of the finest art nouveau buildings in Argentina. Also, Rosario has developed a good skyline in the area near the river. There are lots of beautiful parks, good riverside beaches for the hot summer days, and many museums.

Rosario has a reputation for being one the most liberal and tolerant cities of the country. It has a vibrant LGBT scene and is governed by left-wing mayors since the 1980s.

Being located at a major drug-trafficking route, Rosario has a somewhat bad reputation for being a hub of crime - one of the nicknames is Little Chicago - but tourists normally won't get affected, as the problematic neighborhoods are well outside of the city center and the interesting areas for tourists are not more dangerous than in Buenos Aires or Córdoba.

Rosario has a temperate climate, and is known for changeable weather conditions. The average annual high is 23.4°C (74.1°F) and the low is 11.6°C (52.9°F). The annual rainfall is 1,038 mm (40.9 in). Summers are hot and humid with thunderstorms that can bring a lot of precipitation. However, sunny days are common. Spring and fall have pleasant weather, featuring warm days and cool nights. Winters are generally cool though occasional cold air masses from the south can cause temperatures to drop below freezing. However, sunny weather and warm days can also occur during winters.

Get in

By plane There are daily flights (50 min) from Buenos Aires Aeroparque Airport and Ezeiza Airport, although still the more convenient way to get into the city is to hire transport at EZE Airport. It is a four hour trip. There are also flights from/to Brazil, Perú, Panama, and Uruguay.

Trenes Argentinos runs a daily train from Buenos Aires. After a renovation in 2015 the service is improving slowly, but compared to buses the train is still slower. Additionally, twice a week there are trains from Córdoba (via Villa María) and San Miguel de Tucumán (via Santiago del Estero). These trains are still very cheap, but slow and you must reserve your ticket well in advance. Train services from the provincial capital Santa Fe are still suspended.

Rosario has two railway stations, in general disembarking at Rosario North is preferable as it's closer to downtown.

By car Two freeways (autopistas) connect Rosario with Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, and to Cordoba. Locals take the bus, a remisse (a private taxi service), or hail one of the many taxis roaming the area.

Rosario is approximately a four hour bus journey from the capital Buenos Aires, and there are many buses departing daily from the Rosario bus station to almost every city in the country. It is also possible to travel by bus to southern Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. EGA bus lines operates a daily bus direct to Montevideo, leaving at 23:50 and arriving in Montevideo at 08:30 next morning.

Get around

By bus The only forms of public transportation in Rosario are above ground: the bus system and a trolleybus line. As in other Argentine cities, there is a system with rechargeable prepaid cards.

Rosario is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in Argentina. The cycleway network is almost as large as the Buenos Aires one, although the city is significantly smaller, and the flat topography makes the city ideal for using this kind of transport. There is a public bicycle renting system in the city centre, Tu Bici Mi Bici, with automatic stations.

Rosario has a plethora of very inexpensive taxis all over the city. In the city center and surrounding areas, you should have no problem finding a taxi at any hour of the day between 7:30am-midnight. On weekends, taxis are very easily accessible much later in the night.

See

Historical journey through the boulevards, appreciating the city's architectural wealth

National Flag Memorial. Built in 1957 to commemorate Manuel Belgrano, the creator of the Argentina flag, one of the great Libertadores during the Latin American wars of independence.

El Che Guevara birthplace house. The house where Ernesto Guevara was born. As of 2019, it's not open to the public.

Parque de la Independencia. One of the biggest parks in the country

Estadio Gigante de Arroyito. Rosario Central's home ground hosted matches of the 1978 World Cup.

Paseo del Siglo. pedestrian section of Cordoba Street, from Bv. Oroño to the Flag Memorial

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Museums It has a great variety of museums from art to science and natural history

Dr. Julio Marc Provincial Historical Museum.

Juan B. Castagnino Fine Arts Museum.

Museum of Contemporary Art of Rosario.

Firma y Odilo Estévez Municipal Decorative Art Museum.

Museum of the City of Rosario Wladimir Mikielievich.

Dr. Ángel Gallardo Provincial Natural Sciences Museum.

Do

Rosario is swimming with things to do for both tourists and locals. Providing an adventurous variety of services such as: kayaking, biking, skydiving, horseback riding, sailboating, Spanish classes, dance classes in both folklore and tango, guitar and drum classes, as well as capoeira and many others.

You can go to the beach at the river's edge, locally referred to as La Florida, to enjoy a cold drink on a summer's day, or cross the river to the island and spend a day at the beach. Either way you will find a wide variety of bars and restaurants with a spectacular view of the Parana!

Also known for their nightlife, which amazingly starts around 02:00 (with luck) and ends as the sun is coming up, Rosario counts on a large variety of night clubs and discos to dance the night away!

Rosario is also known as the Salsa Capital of Argentina. Wednesdays and Sundays are the most popular days at Willie Dixon's.

City Center Rosario. Rosario is home to the largest casino in South America. Apart from gambling, City Center offers concerts and events on a daily basis.

Polyglot Meetings. You can meet locals at a weekly gathering. The meetings are part of Language Exchange International and Polyglot Club.

Islands. take a boat from passenger terminal near Flag Memorial

Acuario del Río Paraná, Av. Eduardo Carrasco S/N. Lots of cichlids on display, plus special attention to the Parana River ecosystem.

Buy

American travellers might be surprised to see that many of the goods sold in “el centro” (city centre / downtown), are much like that in any mall. Goods that might interest travellers, however, are the leather handbags, wallets, belts, and accessories. A must-see shop in that area is Raices, the perfect shop to pick up a purse or mate set.

Also note that, although the currency difference, apparel, shoes, handbags, etc., are not that much cheaper than in the US. If you're looking for a bargain, stick to the street vendors and artisans posted up around El Centro and the park surrounding the Argentine Flag Monument.

A great store not found in Buenos Aires (possibly anywhere in Argentina) is called Underworld. It is found in a number of locations in Rosario and stocks different and interesting t-shirts and other funky clothes and accessories for girls.

Alto Rosario is a shopping center that contains a large grocery store, clothing stores, electronics stores, convenience stores, a food court, and anything else you might imagine to be in a standard mall. The Alto Rosario is a great place to get all your shopping needs in one place. It is located at Junín 501.

Mercado del Patio. Gastronomy market, where you can buy and eat any number of things.

Eat

Rincon Vegetarian Restaurant. For ARS11 you get an all-you-can-eat buffet with all sorts of innovative vegetarian goodies. Good if you want a break from steak.

Parrilla la Estancia. Great asado, empanada, and wine dinner.

Burgers On Rosario there are various places where you can to eat burgers. Orik. Rato.

Ice cream parlours The city of Rosario is known as the capital of handcrafted ice cream.

Drink

Rosario is known for having big nightclub nights all week long. Ask around to find out where the hip place is for the night you want to go out and don't plan to be home until the morning. It is also famous for having a disproportionately large woman/man ratio (more women). Craft beer is also becoming very popular among the locals, and many microbreweries are popping up around the city.

Rock & Feller's. Big, high-energy, rock-and-roll themed bar/restaurant. Very popular among the young and trendy crowd. Has great drink specials and bar food. Located on one of Rosario's busiest streets, the Oroño Boulevard.

Sleep

Cool Raul Hostel. A great hostel with a relaxed atmosphere and super friendly hosts right near the main shopping strip. A fun, chill place to meet people and hang out. Minihostels members receive a 10% discount.

Hostel Allegro Piu. Big, clean, good facilities and boring.

Livin' Residence Rosario. Offers guests ten apartment units.