Concordia

Concordia is the citrus capital of Argentina, a working river city surrounded by orange and mandarin groves, and its main draws for visitors are water in several forms. Two thermal parks tap hot mineral water from deep beneath the region, with graded pools set among trees. North of the city the Salto Grande dam, shared with Uruguay, has created a reservoir of more than seven hundred square kilometres used for sailing, fishing and beaches. In the riverside Parque Rivadavia stand the ruins of the Castillo San Carlos, a French-built mansion of the 1880s burned out decades later, associated locally with a visit by the young Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who later described a house of this kind in his writing.

What you actually see

• The thermal parks - graded hot pools in wooded settings.
• Salto Grande reservoir - a vast lake for sailing, fishing and beaches.
• Castillo San Carlos - the burned-out French mansion in the riverside park.
• The citrus country - groves and packing houses around the city.

When to go

April to November suits the thermal baths, when cool air makes the hot water welcome; summer is for the lake and river beaches but is hot and humid. The citrus harvest runs through the cooler months.

Honest expectations

Concordia is an industrial and agricultural city rather than a scenic one, and the sights are scattered around it. The castle is a shell with limited interpretation. Thermal parks vary in quality and can be crowded at weekends.

Nearby

Federación and its hot springs lie north; El Palmar national park is south.