Santa Fe

Information

It is the capital and the second most populated city of the province of Santa Fe. It has a particular history since it was first founded by Juan de Garay in 1573 in an area near the current locality of Cayastá (where there is an archaeological park with remains of that city), and then in 1660 it was moved to where it is now.

It has a long waterfront with cement benches and some descents to the water. In its northern sector there are two breakwaters with sandy beaches and vegetation on the Setúbal lagoon river. Continuing south there is a small lighthouse, and further on there are two bridges to cross the Santa Fe River, one of which is a suspension bridge. If you cross from the other side there is another shored with small sandy beaches, where you will first find the Balneario Costanera Este (a beach) and then the Balneario Paseo de la Laguna (another beach).

In the south of the city is the historic centre. Around the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (a square) is the Museo Etnográfico y Colonial Juan de Garay (an ethnographic and colonial museum), which has exhibits dating from the time of the native peoples to the founding of the city, and nearby is the Museo Histórico Provincial de Santa Fe (a provincial historical museum). Right there is the San Francisco Convent with its museum where a table scratched by a jaguar that entered through a window during a flood and caused the death of three priests is preserved (there is also a painting with the image of the animal's attack). Nearby is the Casa Museo del Brigadier General Estanislao López, which is where the man who was the caudillo and governor of the province between 1818 and 1838 lived after his marriage.

In the southern end of the city there are wide green spaces, first around the South Lake, and later in the South Park, which has another small body of water.

As it is a large city, it has many services for visitors such as tourist information offices, ATMs, petrol stations, restaurants, bars and accommodation in a wide range of prices. To get around the city there are several bus lines (paid for with a card called SUBE).