Paraná 01
5 Days / 4 Nights
Day 01 - Parana
Reception at Santa Fe airport and private transportation service to the chosen hotel in Paraná with bilingual guide. In the afternoon, we will enjoy the “Visit to the City” excursion in a private service with a bilingual guide. It includes trips by motorboats*. Paraná, which means “Father of the Water” in Guaraní language, is located by the side of the homonymous River. It presents a waving topography given the action of the river, forming abrupt ravines of over 80 meters and coasts where different nautical activities can be practiced. It also has a rich historic, architectural, and cultural patrimony; the city buildings are the product of the combination of old big houses and modern constructions, with different styles that vary from colonial architecture, Confederation style, Liberalism, Manorial, Rationalist, to the Modern Movement itself. A city tour consists in visiting the old Paraná, its historic city center, Costanera Avenue, the Cathedral, the Palacio Municipal (City Palace), the Civic Center, the Post Office Building, the Spanish Society, and the 3 de Febrero Theater, among others. It is also worth visiting the commercial center, the New Harbor, and the Sub fluvial Tunnel Complex (audio-visual), and of course the Urquiza Park, a 44-hectare area over the ravines of Paraná River with aged steps in between falls, water fountains, and several monuments and sculptures which constitute a tourist attraction through colors and floral scents. By sailing about 1 hour in Paraná River, we will enjoy a quiet and pleasant journey that will take us to the Nautical Club, the New Harbor, the Island Bridge, Beaches, and Costanera. At the same time, we will enjoy the best view of the city. At night, dinner can be enjoyed at La Fourchette restaurant or a similar one, including starter, main course, dessert, coffee or tea, and a soda or juice, or mineral water, or a beer. (It includes hotel/restaurant/hotel private transportation service if lodged in a different hotel). Accommodation. *Subject to weather and/or meteorological conditions.
Day 02 - Parana
Breakfast. After breakfast, private transportation service with bilingual guide to “Club Atlético Estudiantes de Paraná” golf course. 1st golf round, electrical golf cart or caddie is optional, green fee included. After the round, private transportation service with bilingual guide is offered to the hotel. Free afternoon. Accommodation.
Day 03 - Parana
Breakfast. After breakfast, private transportation service with bilingual guide is offered to the “Club Atlético Estudiantes de Paraná” golf course, 2nd golf round, caddie is optional, green fee included. After the round, private transportation service with bilingual guide is offered to the hotel. Free afternoon. At night, dinner can be enjoyed at Armonia restaurant or a similar one, including starter, main course, dessert, coffee or tea and soda or juice, mineral water or a beer. (It includes hotel/restaurant/hotel private transportation service if lodged in a different hotel). Accommodation.
Day 04 -Parana
Full-day excursion to “San José Palace, Colón, and El Palmar National Park” in private service with bilingual guide. First, we will visit “San José Palace”. Many outstanding personalities of the political environment of that moment entered the building by its main entrance and many plants of different species, birds of different origins, and marble sculptures lived together in the palace Exotic Park. Its French Garden joins the Exotic Park with the residence entrance. The main avenue signals the back access to the residence. Hernán Cortéz, Alexander The Great, Julius Cesar, and Napoleon are represented in four marble sculptures. The Lake Park was the last monumental construction of San José. In the Vine Patio, there were rooms that hosted some relatives and guests. Its Honor Patio was the main place of the residence, where most of the family life took place. The Guest Rooms are located in the west wing of the main patio. The Tragedy Room was General Urquiza bedroom, which was later transformed into an oratory by his wife. In this place he fell wounded; after that he was murdered in April 11th, 1870. The Reception Room was regularly known as the Mirror Room due to its ceiling, built with more than one hundred mirrors brought from France. The Political Desk traces back 20 years of relevant facts of the national history. The Game Room. Its Dinning Room reflects San José magnificence with the mahogany table and refined tableware, and glassware. The Kitchen, currently decorated with original objects of the house, reveals the technological developments that were taking place in the middle of the 19th century. San José Chapel was consecrated in 1859. The main elements are the altar made of cedar polychrome wood, an image of Saint Joseph with Baby Jesus, the sits made of locust tree wood, and the Carrara marble baptismal font. Then, we will visit Colón, which was founded by General Urquiza on April 12th, 1863. Colón´s tourist destiny was marked when the founder expressed in his proclamation that the village was “the most beautiful site of Uruguay lovely riversides”. Its condition of natural harbor favored the river trade of regional products, mainly of those coming from Colonia de San José, urban center formed some years before by Urquiza together with Swiss-French immigrants. Colón natural beauty has attracted tourists for decades, turning the city into the Provincial Capital of Tourism. Even though it features 21,000 inhabitants, this city keeps the peace and calmness of a small town making it ideal to rest and relax. With slight land undulations and fully-wooded streets, the city represents a beautiful natural balcony by the bank of the magnificent Uruguay River. It features excellent services that meet all requirements. Nightlife is lively and varied. One of the main alternatives is the Casino, located in Costanera Avenue. Lunch included at Costarenas hotel (in Colón) or a similar one, which includes starter, main course, dessert, coffee or tea and soda or juice, mineral water or a beer. After lunch, we will visit El Palmar National Park, a 8,500-hectare area created in 1996 in order to preserve a representative portion of the yatay palm trees. It is located on the western margin of Uruguay River. The particular landscape of this park is a mosaic of palm trees, pastures, and little forests interrupted by scrublands and gallery forest along the water currents. It presents a softly waving topography, with small streams running through the west to the east, towards its end flow in Uruguay River. The typical feature of this park is the yatay palm trees, which grow in different places and density, with species of homogenous ages. Underneath there is a continuous layer of herbs with many remarkable species which outstand due to the beauty of their flowers, like wild petunias and daisies. Some sectors are covered by chilca bushes. Regarding fauna, the most outstanding species are woodpeckers, like the field flicker, the golden-breasted, and the white one, which can be observed in small groups. There are different pedestrian paths that run through different areas of the Park such as: Path to the Uruguay riverside, Path to the Barquin Ruins, and the “Mollar” Path. There are also four inner roads such as: “Glorieta” Circuit, Path to El Palmar Stream, Vehicular Path leading to the beach and to the Historic Ruins of Barquín and the Path to Los Loros Stream. Return to Paraná. Accommodation
Day 05 - Parana
In due time, private transportation service to the airport with bilingual guide is offered to take the return flight. END OF SERVICES.