Mendoza: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Mendoza lies in a desert at the foot of the Andes, made green by acequias, open irrigation channels that run along every street, first dug by the Huarpe people. On 20 March 1861 an earthquake destroyed the colonial town and killed perhaps a third of its people; it was rebuilt a short distance away with wide avenues and a grid of five plazas as places of refuge. Half a day on foot; shops close for the afternoon siesta.
A short history of Mendoza
Mendoza was founded in 1561 by Spaniards who came from Chile, in an oasis at the foot of the Andes watered by channels that the indigenous people had dug before them. In 1817 José de San Martín set out from here with the Army of the Andes, which crossed the mountains and freed Chile from the Spanish. In 1861 an earthquake destroyed almost the entire city and thousands were killed, and it was rebuilt a short distance away with wide streets and open squares, so that there would be somewhere to escape to in the next earthquake. At the end of the 19th century immigrants from Italy and Spain developed grape growing, and today Mendoza produces most of Argentina's wine.
The ten best sights in Mendoza
1Plaza IndependenciaThe central square of the five plazas
2Plaza EspañaBenches of Andalusian tiles
3Plaza ItaliaThe Italian plaza of the grid
4Plaza ChileThe plaza of friendship with Chile
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5Plaza San Martín
The liberator on horseback
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6Museo del Área Fundacional
The old town buried by the 1861 quake
7Ruinas de San FranciscoA ruined Jesuit church
8Parque General San MartínA huge park with a lake and rose garden
9Cerro de la GloriaThe monument to the Army of the Andes
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10Museo del Vino y la Vendimia
Wine history in Maipú
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Mendoza →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Mendoza:
Free walking tours in Mendoza
The city of plazas and canals
Mendoza lies in a desert at the foot of the Andes, made green by acequias, open irrigation channels that run along every street, first dug by the Huarpe people. On 20 March 1861 an earthquake destroyed the colonial town and killed perhaps a third of its people; it was rebuilt a short distance away with wide avenues and a grid of five plazas as places of refuge. Half a day on foot; shops close for the afternoon siesta.
- Plaza Independencia · The large central square of the new city, with four smaller plazas set one block from each of its corners, three of them named for Spain, Italy and Chile and one for San Martín; there is a craft fair here at weekends.
- Plaza España · The most beautiful of the four, covered in blue-and-white Andalusian tiles with benches illustrating scenes from Spanish history and from Don Quixote.
- Plaza Italia · The plaza of the Italian community, the largest group of immigrants who planted Mendoza’s vineyards from the late nineteenth century.
- Plaza San Martín · A square with the statue of José de San Martín, who as governor of this province trained the Army of the Andes here and in 1817 led it across the mountains to free Chile and then Peru.
- Mercado Central · The covered market of olives, cheese, dried fruit and empanadas mendocinas, baked and filled with beef, onion, olive and egg.
- Museo del Área Fundacional · On the site of the old town hall, a museum built over the excavated foundations of the city destroyed in 1861, showing the layers from the Huarpe to the colonial town.
The park and the vineyards
West of the centre lies one of the great city parks of South America; south, in Maipú and Luján de Cuyo, the vineyards of Malbec, the grape that made Argentine wine famous. Mendoza produces most of the country’s wine. A day, best by bicycle among the wineries of Maipú or with a driver.
- Ruinas de San Francisco · The ruined walls of a Jesuit church, left standing after the earthquake of 1861, in the old quarter that the survivors abandoned.
- Parque General San Martín · A park of some three hundred hectares designed in 1896 by the French landscape architect Charles Thays, with an artificial lake, a rose garden and tens of thousands of trees, all watered by channels in the desert.
- Cerro de la Gloria · A hill in the park crowned by a great bronze monument of 1914 to the Army of the Andes, showing the soldiers, the women who sewed their uniforms and the mules of the crossing.
- Museo del Vino y la Vendimia · In Maipú, a museum of wine in an old family mansion. Every March the Vendimia, the grape-harvest festival, crowns a harvest queen in a huge show in the amphitheatre of the park.
- Chacras de Coria · A village of tree-lined lanes and old wineries south of the city, where Malbec — a French grape that nearly vanished in Bordeaux — found its home in the dry, sunny climate of the Andes.
- Bodega Catena Zapata · A winery built in the shape of a Maya pyramid among the vines, by the family that helped turn Argentine Malbec into a fine wine from the 1990s by planting at high altitude.
Up to Aconcagua
West of Mendoza the international road climbs through the Andes to the Chilean border past a reservoir, a natural bridge and the highest mountain in the Americas. A long day by car or tour; the pass may close in winter snow.
- Dique Potrerillos · A turquoise reservoir completed in 2003 in a desert valley, used for kayaking and kitesurfing, with rafting on the Mendoza river below.
- Termas de Cacheuta · Hot pools carved into the rock beside the river canyon, near the ruins of a grand spa hotel swept away by a flood in 1934.
- Uspallata · A valley of poplars and coloured mountains that stood in for Tibet in the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet, with Brad Pitt.
- Puente del Inca · A natural bridge over the river, stained orange and yellow by mineral hot springs. A spa hotel built beside it was destroyed by an avalanche in 1965; its ruins and a small church remain.
- Aconcagua · At about six thousand nine hundred and sixty metres, the highest mountain outside Asia. From the Horcones lagoon a short walk gives a view of its south face, a wall of some three thousand metres of rock and ice.
- Cristo Redentor · A bronze Christ placed in 1904 on the old border pass at about three thousand eight hundred metres, cast in part from melted-down cannons, to mark the peace treaties that ended a threat of war between Argentina and Chile.
Getting to Mendoza and getting around
- Mendoza Airport · About twenty minutes north-east of the centre
Cheap eats in Mendoza
Mendoza eats asado, beef and sausages grilled slowly over wood embers; empanadas mendocinas, baked with beef, onion, olive and egg; tomaticán, a stew of tomato, onion and egg; and olives and olive oil from the local groves — with Malbec, of course. An empanada costs about one or two dollars; a glass of good Malbec about the same.
- Mercado Central · Empanadas and olives
- Arístides Villanueva · Parrillas and wine bars
- Chacras de Coria · Winery lunches
Museums in Mendoza
Mendoza’s museums are about its earthquake, its wine and its liberator.
- Museo del Área Fundacional · The buried city
- Museo del Vino y la Vendimia · Wine
- Cerro de la Gloria · The Army of the Andes
Nature and day trips near Mendoza
A desert oasis, the high Andes and the highest mountain in the Americas.
- Aconcagua · The south face
- Valle de Uco · Vineyards under the peaks
- Dique Potrerillos · The turquoise lake
Things to do in Mendoza with kids
With children: a giant park with boats, hot pools in a canyon and a stained natural bridge.
- Parque General San Martín · Boats on the lake
- Termas de Cacheuta · Hot pools
- Puente del Inca · The coloured bridge
Nightlife in Mendoza
Mendoza dines late — never before nine — and its nights are on Arístides Villanueva, in wine bars and parrillas.
- Arístides Villanueva · The bar street
- Plaza Independencia · Evening on the square
Frequently asked questions about Mendoza
What is there to see in Mendoza?
The top sights in Mendoza are Plaza Independencia, Plaza España and Plaza Italia. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Mendoza?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Mendoza without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Mendoza?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Mendoza, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The city of plazas and canals.
How do you get to Mendoza and get around?
The main ways are Mendoza Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Mendoza, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Mendoza that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Mendoza for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.