Highlights
Mendoza
Wine and food aficionados will love exploring the wine route around Mendoza, renowned for its delicious red Malbec wine. The route weaves its way through world-class wineries and an impressive Andean landscape of snow-capped mountains, crystal-clear lakes and bubbling streams and rivers, offering opportunities for wine-tastings, lunches and even cookery classes. The city itself is laid-back and cosmopolitan, and boasts a number of museums, galleries and parks, along with leafy avenues, cafe culture, bars, restaurants and five plazas, including Plaza Espana, which is beautifully tiled. Head to City Hall and make your way up to Terraza Mirador, where fabulous panoramic views of the city and beyond can be enjoyed.
Salta
Salta is a charming city in the Lerma Valley, boasting neo-Classical architecture and charming craft markets. Panoramic views of Salta can be enjoyed from atop the city's San Bernado Hill, reached via an ascent of 1,000 steps or a scenic cable-car ride from San Martin Park. Another must-visit during your stay is the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology, cataloguing over a thousand years of history and showcasing fascinating, though at times harrowing, exhibitions. Meanwhile, tree-lined Plaza 9 de Julio oozes local ambience, and as night falls, its bars and restaurants play host to Salta's enthralling nightlife; seek out a traditional folk music hall (pena), where locals gather and take it in turns to play guitar, sing and dance.
Bariloche
Nestled among the scenic Lago Nahuel Huapi National Park, picturesque Bariloche enjoys the most glorious lakeside setting in the foothills of the Andes and offers a wide range of activities for visitors to enjoy, including hiking, mountain-biking, fly-fishing, rafting, horse-riding, skiing, and more! The town is also the 'Chocolate Capital of Argentina', boasting a thriving number of chocolate shops and patisseries. A relatively 'new' town, Bariloche was officially discovered at the turn of the last century and its subsequent urban design was inspired by Central European style and Alpine architecture, which is still prevalent today. At present, the charming town is thriving and developing, and is home to a number of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and a casino.
Buenos Aires
One of the most inventive, cosmopolitan and enticing cities in Argentina, Buenos Aires will captivate you from the moment you arrive. Catch world-class Argentinian footballers in action, step inside one of the city's many restaurants for succulent regional steaks and glorious wines, or dance the night away at a traditional Milonga (tango night). If Argentinean political history with a dash of glamour appeals, you could do no better than to seek out a number of venues related to, perhaps, Buenos Aires' most famous resident, Eva Peron (Evita). Tour Casa Rosada, the pink-coloured presidential palace where Evita famously addressed her many followers from its northern balcony, and visit the Palermo district, where you can find a museum dedicated to the life and times of this folk heroine.
Iguazu National Park
Iguazu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, boasting 250 spectacular waterfalls that straddle the borders of Argentina and Brazil, known as Iguazu Falls (translating to 'Big Water'). Taller than North America's Niagara Falls and twice as wide, this natural phenomenon includes a series of wooden platforms that allow visitors to get as close as safely possible to its thunderous display - which is set amongst a glorious lush forest. Take an eco-train trip to Devil's Throat Falls, the largest and most breathtaking gorge, or a 4WD trip along the eight-kilometre-long Yacaratia Trail, culminating in a thrilling boat-ride upstream to the mesmerising main falls: a glimpse of Mother Nature at her very best.