Mendoza walking tour & city guide

The city

Plaza Independencia is the main square, surrounded by four smaller plazas. Parque General San Martín is a huge park with a lake and a hilltop monument. Wide sidewalks shaded by trees are lined with cafés.

Wine and mountains

Wineries in Luján de Cuyo, Maipú and the Uco Valley offer tastings with Andean views. Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside Asia, is a few hours' drive away.

A day in Mendoza

Mendoza is a city of wide, tree-lined streets, with irrigation channels called acequias running along the sidewalks to water the plane trees. Start at Plaza Independencia and the four smaller squares around it, then walk through Parque General San Martín, a huge park with a lake and a hill with views of the Andes.

The afternoon belongs to wine. The wineries of Maipú can be visited by bicycle, while the Valle de Uco, further south, has spectacular modern wineries set against snowy peaks. Malbec is the star grape.

Good to know

Mendoza has a dry, sunny climate. Harvest season, from February to April, ends with the Vendimia festival in early March, the biggest wine celebration in Latin America.

The road to Chile passes Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas, and the Puente del Inca, a natural stone bridge. Most shops close for a long siesta in the early afternoon.