Joel Albarrán coverage
The City of Rosario has always been characterized by having a very good and varied tourist offer. Receptive tourism is a constant in the life of Rosario, it is enough to go 5 minutes to the Monument to the Flag to appreciate visitors from all over taking a selfie or recording a video for their social networks. And the first associations that one makes with this city are the Monument to the Flag, the Paraná River and Messi.
The place where our flag was raised for the first time is one of the places most chosen by tourists. Access to the entire Monument (the Proa, the Propylaea and the Civic Patio) is totally free. Those who want to climb to the top of the Monument pay an entry fee of 100 pesos and take the elevator ride, which is comfortable. Rosario’s story includes other very striking facets, such as life around the port and the consequent formation of neighborhoods linked to this activity. Contemplating the large ships and the Paraná River is permanent in any displacement that one makes through the city.
Messi’s city
For Argentines, but above all for international tourism Rosario is the city of Messi. “People want to know where he was born, where he played and where he went to school. Messi was always an icon of Rosario and the World Cup has strengthened him”, highlights Adrián Ghiglione, Secretary of Sport and Tourism of the Municipality of Rosario. The Messi circuit or the Di María circuit are routes that every soccer fan wants to do. The city, through its APP “Rosario Turismo”, promotes both itineraries where the lives of the stars are recounted through emblematic places: the house where he lived as a child, his first soccer club, his primary school, his murals . It is that in Rosario football is breathed. It is common to see the south of the city all painted red and black, the colors of Newell’s. The Marcelo Bielsa stadium appears nestled in the Parque de la Independencia and everything around it uses this color palette. In the north everything is dyed blue and yellow in honor of Central. El Gigante de Arroyito, on the banks of the Paraná, stands out in this area.
It is almost an obligation for the man from Rosario to make a decision: to be “Canalla” (from Central) or “Leproso” (from Newell’s). Beyond this, that division is only limited to football folklore. Di María and Messi automatically seem to close any type of crack that could be generated: “one from Central, one from Newells, one from the north, one from the south and that every time they merge into a hug they represent that union and everything that is well”, remarks Alejandra Mattheus, Undersecretary of Tourism.
Beyond football There are other circuits that are promoted by the APP. You just have to select the route of interest and start walking with your cell phone as if it were a tour guide at your service.
The green, the river and the gastronomy
Rosario has on weekends the “Recreational street” programavenues where traffic is cut off to make them pedestrian, in order to better enjoy the river and the green of the parks, which also allows physical activity, walking and drinking mate.
Alejandra Mattheus proudly points out that this place in Argentina “is the one with the largest number of green spaces per number of inhabitants.” Undoubtedly, the Rosario makes them his own; It is very common to see people in lounge chairs or on the grass drinking mates, reading a book or simply contemplating the surroundings. The river brings with it a very good gastronomy related to fish. A good weekend plan could be to dine at Delta Gastrococtelería, a restaurant located on the terrace of the Hotel Puerto Norte, on the banks of the Paraná. For those who like traditional bars more, an excellent option is to visit Sunderland, a typical restaurant specializing in pasta and fish.
For combine gastronomy and football, the VIP bar of the Messi family condenses everything. In front of the Monument to the Flag, one finds menus alluding to the star such as the miLIONesa, a super complete Milanese sandwich, or else the Milanesa a la Celia, a dish in honor of the mother of the Flea. If the idea is to enjoy good food, wine and music at night, the option is Lehonor Brasas & Resto. One of the novelties of this place is that it has more than 120 types of wines available to consume without having to buy the whole bottle. With machines that dispense different measures of wine, one can opt for a glass of one variety and then try another variant.
The city of Rosario is the national ice cream capital, and for this reason it is impossible to say goodbye without at least buying a “bochita”. There are many ice cream parlors and all of them are very good. Esther Helados is a highly recommended option that makes it difficult to choose just one or two flavors: it is an invitation to visit this place more than once.
The image that tourists take is contagious. Rosario is strengthened as a tourist option for vacation plan or a weekend getaway. The permanent training and professionalization of the private sector and the municipal promotion programs make it continue to be a thriving city in urban tourism within the national and regional offer.
