Tigre, Buenos Aires

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The train station at Tigre

View of the riverbank from a commuter boat

Tigre is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, situated in the north of Greater Buenos Aires, 28 km north of Buenos Aires city. The city lies on the Paraná Delta and is an important tourist and weekend attraction, easily reached with bus and train connections, including the scenic Tren de la Costa. It is the head town of the Tigre Partido.

The city sits on an island created by several small streams and rivers. It was founded in 1820 after floods had destroyed other settlements in the area, then known as the Las Conchas Partido.

The area's name derives from “tigres” or jaguars hunted on occasion in the area in its early years. The area was first settled by Europeans farming the land, and the port developed to serve the Delta and to bring fruit and wood from the delta and ports upstream on the Paraná. Tigre is still an important timber processing port. The “Puerto de Frutos” (fruit port) is now a crafts fair located in the old fruit market by the riverside. The Naval Museum is also nearby.

One of the many commuter passenger boats that travel the delta from Tigre

Antiques shops, riverside restaurants and pubs, the casino and Parque de la Costa, an amusement park and its renowned natural beauty make Tigre a popular tourist destination throughout the year.

Tigre is also the starting point to visit the magnificent Paraná Delta, vintage mahogany commuter boats (lanchas colectivas) are the favourite way to travel by locals and tourists alike trough it's web of connecting rivers and streams where English style rowing clubs, countless marinas, humble dwellings and elegant mansions from the “Belle Époque”, lodging, restaurants and teahouses or simple picnic sites dot the area.

Tigre has in recent years seen an increase in people relocating to the city from other parts of Greater Buenos Aires.