Discover Argentina and the essential cities for your travels around the country in our article today. Argentina is a country that will never cease to surprise you with its size, its natural beauty and its people.
But being a large country with considerable distances to travel, it is best to plan well and determine beforehand qué cities and destinations include in your list.
Buenos Aires
Obviously, our list of Essential cities for your trips around Argentina It is headed by the capital city.
Buenos Aires is on the banks of the River Plate and it is a typical national capital that has not stopped growing and modernizing in recent decades. It is a cultural capital in Latin America like few others: it has an active and varied theatrical life, museums, concerts and recitals, art exhibitions, literary fairs...
Buenos Aires has grown hand in hand with immigration, so Europeans will find some corners very similar to cities of the Old Continent. For example, the beautiful Avenida de Mayo is reminiscent of Madrid, or certain corners of the Recoleta district, of Paris.
Although most tourists stay in the centre, near the Obelisco, Florida Street or the San Telmo neighbourhood, I think there are much nicer areas to stay in. For example, Palermo or Barrio Norte.
Palermo is an old neighborhood of low-rise, middle-class houses that has been rejuvenated in recent decades with buildings and houses converted into hotels, bars and restaurants. So if you like the idea of going out for breakfast, lunch, cool shopping or dinner just steps from the hotel, then Palermo or Barrio Norte are the best areas to stay.
Among the museums to visit are the Museum of Decorative Art (which operates in a huge and elegant former residential palace from the beginning of the 20th century), the National Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Latin American Art, Evita Museum, Ice Palace and Quinquela Martín Museum, Colon Theatre Museum, For example.
If you like boats you can visit the Museum Ship ARA Sarmiento Frigate or Uruguay Corvette Museum Ship. For art exhibitions there is the center Cultural Borges, the Recoleta Cultural Center and the Proa Foundation, and we did not forget the guided tour of the Teatro Colón.
Personally, I think that visiting Caminito, a narrow and colorful street in the poor neighborhood of La Boca (the center of Italian immigration), is overrated. It already seems like a tourist trap and I think it's better to join the tourist bus instead.
The international airport (Ezeiza) is an hour from the centre of Buenos Aires, and there is no train or metro connecting it. Only taxis and buses, but the latter are not designed for tourism, so you will need to use a hotel bus or shuttle.
When it comes to accommodation, although Buenos Aires has almost 50 neighborhoods, not all of them are touristy, especially those that border the city limits towards the suburban area. The most touristy and beautiful ones are Recoleta, Palermo, Belgrano, La Boca, San Telmo, Puerto Madero, Chacarita, Villa Crespo, Caballito, Almagro, Barrio Norte…
Finally, summer in Buenos Aires is hot and humid, so it is best to go in winter, which is quite mild these days, or in spring, when the jacaranda trees that line its streets are in bloom.
Córdoba
Our list of must-see cities continues with Córdoba, the capital of the province of the same nameIt is not as big as Buenos Aires but it has its own things.
The people of Córdoba have a reputation for being conceited, they speak with a particular tone and they don't like the people of Buenos Aires, the inhabitants of the national capital. Córdoba It is a student city because it houses one of the oldest universities in the country, as well as being the cradle of secular university education.
Córdoba capital has a population of 1.5 million people, about half the size of Buenos Aires. It is about 700 kilometers from the national capital, surrounded by mountains, so the classic tourism here involves going out to the nearby mountains and canyons, especially in summer.
The city can be walked or used public transport, but buses are not as frequent as in Buenos Aires. And It is a city without a subwaySummers here are hot and humid, but winters are milder.
The most popular neighborhoods are: Alberdi, residential, General Paz, also residential, Cerro de las Rosas, Güemes, with restaurants and markets, Nueva Córdoba, with bars and nightclubs.
Villa General Belgrano
As a tourist you must travel the San Martin Square, with the cathedral and the Cabildo, the Church of the Sacred Heart, Women's Museum, Walk of the Arts, Ferreyra Palace, today a Museum of Fine Arts, the Caraffa Museum, the beautiful Sarmiento Park, the Eiffel Ferris wheel (made by Eiffel himself, although it doesn't work).
Typical steps on the outskirts of Cordoba include the town of Villa General Belgrano,s of German influence, its architecture, its beer festival, or The Cumbrecita. Carlos Paz It is another destination in the mountains, very summery, which in this season is filled with shows, turning into an active theater square.
Mendoza
Mendoza is both an Andean province and a city, capital of the former. With the spectacular setting of the Andes Mountains, the city of Mendoza is a special destination for lovers of good wine.
Mendoza is also a elegant, quiet, orderly city, without the annoying noise of cars, typical in Córdoba or Buenos Aires. The weather is hot in summer, although not so humid, with lots of sun.
Mendoza is a city that can be explored on foot, although there is a train and buses. The vineyards, tourist destinations, are on the outskirts, in Lujan de Cuyo o Maipu.
The heart of the city of Mendoza is the Independence Square, with its restaurants, its cafes and the nearby pedestrian street, Sarmiento. A very lively artery is the Aristides Villanueva Avenue, especially at night with its bars and loud music.
Another popular area is Juan B. Justo, with many bars, or the The Alameda Walk, with its beautiful trees. Mendoza It is about a thousand kilometers from Buenos Aires, and you can get there by bus, plane or train.
Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloches is the full name of this city located to the south of the country, in the province of Río Negro. It is a lake area beautiful, special for lovers of mountains, lakes, rivers and all the activities that these landscapes entail.
Bariloche continues to grow, with people from all over the country attracted by its landscapes and its supposedly quieter life, and tourists. In addition, it is the destination chosen by high school graduates from all over the country, who make their graduation trip here, so there are always students.
Bariloche rests on the banks of the enormous and majestic Nahuel Huapi Lake of approximately 560 square meters. In winter it snows and winter sports are the absolute kings, and in summer the climate is pleasant and invites to walks and other types of excursions.
There are many hotels, chocolate factories and shops. It is best to go by car to be independent and make all the beautiful excursions around. And if you have money, then the best hotel of all is the Hotel Llao Llao, ancient and modern at the same time, always luxurious.
Salta
Finally, in our article Discover Argentina: essential cities for your trips around the country It is the turn of one of the most beautiful cities in the north argentine: Jump.
Salta has Spanish colonial heritage and is the capital of the province of the same name. It played an important role in the wars for independence, led by its leader Juan Martin Miguel de Guemes, and is one of the oldest cities in the country.
The center of Salta is the colonial square surrounded by the church and the town hall, as in all the provinces of the interior of Argentina that were once colonial. The truth is that the north of the country is where most You will see Spanish heritage and the presence of indigenous American peoples.
Salta is a quiet city. In that same central square you have a very interesting museum where you can see the mummies of two Indians mummified by the cold of the Andes, for example, in the High Mountain Archaeology Museum. You can also visit the Güemes Museum and the Historic Town Hall, or take the cable car to the top of San Bernardo Hill to observe the city below.
Salta has cold winters, although it is far from being as freezing as the south of the country. Summers are extremely hotTourists often pass through here on their way to the neighboring province of Jujuy, where beautiful destinations such as the Humahuaca Ravine.
So far we have made a selection of some of the Essential cities for your trips around ArgentinaIt is a large, varied and beautiful country with its varied geography. Remember that the south is mountainous, with lakes and forests, while the north is more arid, in the foothills, and that you also have humid forests and jungles, the Iguazu Falls, for example, or vineyards with the imposing Andes nearby.
Argentina is a wonderful country. Although the nerve center is Buenos Aires, if you want to feel more of the country you have to travel a bit. I would add to the list cities like Mar del Plata, on the shores of the Atlantic, less than 500 kilometers from Buenos Aires, and Calafate and Ushuaia, to the south.