Things to do in Mendoza

A desert city turned green by the Andes

Mendoza sits in a desert, but you would never guess it from the streets. Snowmelt from the Andes runs through a network of open irrigation channels, the acequias, that line every pavement and water the plane trees overhead, turning the city into a tunnel of shade. Five plazas form its heart, with Plaza Independencia in the middle and four smaller squares around it, each with its own character.

The city was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1861 with wide streets and low buildings, which is why it feels so open and calm. Life follows the sun: shops close for a long siesta in the afternoon, and the streets fill again in the evening as cafés and bars spread onto the pavements.

Most people come for the wine. Argentina's biggest wine region surrounds the city, from the easy cycling routes of Maipú to the high-altitude vineyards of the Uco Valley. Add a day in the mountains on the road towards Aconcagua and Chile, a morning rafting on the Mendoza river, and you can easily fill four or five days.