Argentina Guide
The Litoral and the Gran Chaco
Corrientes
Sensual, sultry, subtropical and sitting on a bend in the Río Paraná, CORRIENTES is one of the region's oldest and most attractive cities, founded in 1588 as an intermediary port along the river route between Buenos Aires and Asunción. Its charm is derived largely from the number of traditional correntino buildings in its crumbling – but very handsome – centre, based around the Plaza 25 de Mayo. These Neocolonial edifices, with overhanging roofs supported on wooden posts, are interspersed with more elaborate late nineteenth-century Italianate architecture. Corrientes' modest museums, most notably the original Museo de Artesanía, where you can see fine examples of the province's distinctive crafts, are given added appeal by being housed in these traditional buildings, and its central streets make it a pleasant place to just wander around for a day or two.