222 Best Sights in Argentina

From the middle of September through mid-April, almost 400,000 penguins live in the Area Natural Protegido Punta Tombo, the world's second-largest colony of Magellanic penguins and one of the most varied seabird rookeries. From the park entrance, a series of trails, boardwalks, and bridges lead you 3½ km (2 miles) through the scrubby landscape where the penguins nest to the sea. The quizzical creatures seem unafraid of humans, and peer up at you from under the bushes where, between September and November, both males and females incubate eggs, often right beside the trail. Look for the bald vertical strips on the penguins' abdomens: they pluck out feathers so the eggs can sit warm against their skin. Come December, the ground is teeming with fluffy gray young, and the adult penguins waddle back and forth from the sea to feed them. They may move comically on land, but once you reach the rocky outcrops overlooking the water you'll see how graceful and powerful these creatures become when they enter the water. You may also spot guanacos, seals, and Patagonian hares in the reserve, as well as cormorants and a host of other seabirds.

The last 22 km (14 miles) of the road from Trelew is fairly bumpy gravel. If you're not driving, you can easily reach Punta Tombo on a day tour from Trelew, Gaiman, or Puerto Madryn, although note that these often give you a scant 1½ hours in the reserve. A small restaurant next to the carpark serves good lamb empanadas and also has burgers, coffee, cakes, and cold beverages.

Every salteño's soul belongs to the landmark St. Francis Church and Convent, with its white pillars and bright terra-cotta-and-gold facade. The first sanctuary was built in 1625; the second, erected in 1674, was destroyed by fire; the present version was completed in 1882. A 53-meter (173-foot) belfry houses the Campaña de la Patria. This bell, made from the bronze cannons used in the War of Independence, sounds once a day at 7:30 pm. In the sacristy, the Museo Convento San Francisco displays religious art. Guided visits are at 11, 12, 4, 5 and 6, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and at 5 and 6 pm on Saturday. 

The gray adobe building with its uneven slate roof almost disappears against the background of bushes and mountains. This enormous estancia property (whose boundaries date back to 1658, when the Jesuits owned it) is owned by a French family who named it after a native tree. In addition to the winery, where you can undertake three tastings, Atamisque includes a trout farm, a 9-hole golf course, a restaurant, and lodge.

Remote wineries and museums are one thing; Bodega Colomé is something else altogether. Yet finally arriving at this world-class spot puts the miles of driving along bumpy, unpaved roads firmly into perspective. Established in 1831, Colomé is Argentina’s oldest winery. A visitor center runs daily tours and offers tastings, while a terrace restaurant serves delectable lunches with views of one of the world’s highest vineyards. Colomé is also home to the breathtaking and unexpected James Turrell Museum, which showcases five decades of the artist's works with light and space, and includes a fun tunnel of color (book in advance).  Turrell’s contemporary light installations are at their most striking at sunset.

On the lovely grounds of this bodega, cardon cacti mingle with Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah vines, which thrive at 2,500 meters (8,202 feet) thanks to hot days and very cool nights. The Paleta del Pintor hill provides a stunning and vibrant backdrop. You can call ahead for a brief yet interesting tour; take home the Rosa de Maimará Rosé or the Sikuri Syrah. Although there is a bridge, reaching the winery remains impossible when the river floods in the rainy season (summer).

Built in 1897, Lagarde is one of the oldest wineries in Mendoza, and it's led by Sofía and Lucila Pescarmona, third-generation sisters who now cultivate grapes and make wine. Tour the 19th-century property before enjoying lunch or dinner alongside the centenary vines at Fogón, a delicious tasting and à la carte menu with many ingredients sourced from the organic garden; you can also enjoy a picnic on the grounds. Those after a fully immersive eno-gastro experience can sign up to the cooking school.  Lagarde rents an adorable two-bedroom cottage on its Perdriel estate.

Several tour operators run trips along the Canal Beagle, on which you can get a startling close-up view of sea mammals and birds on Isla de los Lobos, Isla de los Pájaros, and near Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse. Catamarans, motorboats, and sailboats usually leave from the tourist pier at 9:30, 10, 3, and 3:30 (trips depend on weather; few trips go in winter). Some trips include hikes on the islands. Check with the tourist office for the latest details; you can also book through any of the local travel agencies or scope out the offers yourself by walking around the kiosks on the tourist pier.

The 1907 Casa de Gobierno (Government House) fronts the plaza on San Martín and contains the provincial government offices. A first-floor hall, the Salón de la Bandera, displays the original Argentine flag donated by General Belgrano in 1813, a gift to the city after it cooperated with the Belgrano-headed Exodus of Jujuy during the War of Independence. Entry is on Sarmiento street. The flag was replaced a few years later by the current white and sky-blue stripe version, and the one here is now used as the national coat of arms.

The Zuccardi family set up here in 1950 and has since expanded to the Valle de Uco, but their location in Maipú remains an important base for producing their popular, fully organic, Santa Julia range. The extensive tourist offerings here include harvest experiences and olive oil-making sessions in season, as well as tastings, cooking classes, and dining at one of two restaurants for lunch, including Pan y Oliva, where every dish uses the house olive oil. Be sure to appreciate the exhibitions, which support local artists' work.

The ominous gates and labyrinthine paths of the city's oldest cemetery, founded in 1822, is the final resting place for the nation's most illustrious figures. Covering 13½ acres and said to be the most expensive real estate in town, the cemetery has more than 6,400 elaborate vaulted tombs and majestic mausoleums, 70 of which have been declared historic monuments. Architectural styles run the gamut from chapels to Greek temples to pyramids to art deco and miniature mansions. The biggest name is Eva Duarte de Perón, after 17 years of posthumous wandering, found in the Duarte family vault. Other highlights include the tombs of landowner Dorrego Ortíz Basualdo, who resides in Recoleta's most monumental sepulcher, complete with chandelier, and Rufina Cambaceres, the girl who died twice. Entombed on her 19th birthday in 1902, she awoke inside her casket and clawed the top open, dying of a heart attack before she could be rescued. The names of many key players in Argentina's history are chiseled over other sumptuous mausoleums: Alvear, Quintana, Sáenz Peña, Lavalle, Sarmiento. There are guides for hire at the entrance or the administrative office can provide a free photocopied map if you wish to wander at your own pace. On weekends catch the open-air market known as La Feria de Artesanos de Plaza Francia outside the cemetery. It's usually teeming with shoppers eager to stock up on quality crafts.

Looming above Purmamarca is the brightly tinted Cerro de Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colors). Look closely and see if you can find all seven—most people can pick out only four. The best way to see the hill is by walking a 3-km (2-mile) loop called the Paseo de Siete Colores, which starts to the left of the church on the main square. This one-lane gravel road winds through bizarre, humanlike formations of bright, craggy, red rock, before passing a series of stark, sweeping, Mars-like vistas with stands of trees in the river valley. The road then passes a few family farms and ends with a striking view of the Cerro itself before bringing you back to the center of Purmamarca.

The colors are most clearly visible in the morning. The tourist office on Florida Street has a map showing the best points for photos.

About 2 km (1 mile) north of Cafayate, Domingo Molina has been making Torrontés, a 90-point Malbec, and various blends since 2000. Tastings are available, and you can book in advance for a picada or asado. A drive leads you high up into the hills, offering stunning views of the wine lands to the east.  Take a look at Domingo Molina's oldest vine—a 130-year-old Malbec, still providing excellent grapes. Domingo Hermanos, a sister winery in town, is one of Cafayate's biggest operations, producing 3 million liters a year.

Following the coastal road 14 km (9 miles) north from Puerto Madryn brings you to this whale-watching spot. The ocean floor drops away steeply from the beach, so between June and mid-December you can stand on the sand with a close up view of the southern right whales right from the shore, usually mothers teaching their young to swim. During the rest of the year, it's just a regular beach. It's a pleasant 1½ hours' bike ride from Puerto Madryn. Alternatively, taxis charge about 2,500 pesos for the round-trip including a 45-minute stay. Grab some food to go and make it a picnic spot. 

Old blends with new at Bodega El Porvenir. Founded at the turn of the 20th century by Italian immigrants, the winery was bought by the Romero Marcuzzi family in 2000 and brought up-to-date. The result is a small yet sleek facility surrounded by old carob casks and presses. Drop by the tasting room to sample the Laborum-label Malbec and Torrontés, as well as the top-end Amauta three-grape red blend; ask to see the small olive oil factory. If you have time, book a private asado or picnic at Finca El Retiro, the family's downtown vineyard, for lunch among the vines. 

All of Buenos Aires' history is packed into this unusual house. The street it's on was once a small river—the zanjón, or gorge, of the property's name—where the first, unsuccessful attempt to found Buenos Aires took place in 1536. When the property's current owner decided to develop it, he discovered all sorts of things below: pottery and cutlery, the foundations of past constructions, and a 500-foot network of tunnels that has taken over 25 years to excavate. With the help of historians and architects, they've now been restored, and the entire site has been transformed into a private museum that's valuable urban archeology. Excellent 50-minute-long guided tours in English Monday through Friday and Sunday at 12 pm and 4 pm take you through low-lighted sections of the tunnels. Expect few visitors and plenty of atmosphere on weekdays; you can also visit next-door property Casa Mínima.

Head south out of Cafayate toward Tolombón, then drive 7 km up the eastern mountain to this remote vineyard and winery. One of the valley’s newer projects, Mendoza winemaker Alejandro Sejanovich teamed up with the Salta Saavedra Azcona family to create this project, named for the towering cacti. The mica-speckled rock ensures terroir characteristic wines; try the Tigerstone line that includes Garnacha and Malbec. 

At the peninsula’s northern tip is the world's largest Magellanic penguin colony at and around Estancia San Lorenzo, numbering some 600,000 penguins. San Lorenzo offers three guided tours (1 hour and 15 minutes) to the penguin colony every afternoon, always with a ranger. Also on site are a restaurant and visitors can tour a sheep ranch and the ruins of a former factory that once processed sea lion blubber and skin. 

Plaza Dorrego is the heart of the Feria de San Pedro Telmo—an open-air market that stretches for more than a kilometer (0.6 mile) along Calle Defensa each Sunday. Thrust your way through the crowds to pick through antiques and curios of varying vintages as well as tango memorabilia, or watch professional tango dancers perform on the surrounding cobbled streets. The unofficial "stalls" (often just a cloth on the ground) of young craftspeople stretch several blocks up Defensa, away from the market proper. As it gets dark, the square turns into a milonga, where quick-stepping locals show you how it's done.

It might pale in comparison to the glaciers in El Calafate, but a visit to the shrinking Glaciar Martial in the mountain range just above Ushuaia offers a nice walk. Named after Frenchman Luís F. Martial, a 19th-century scientist who wandered this way aboard the warship Romanche to observe the passing of the planet Venus, the glacier is reached via a panoramic aerosilla (ski lift) or by foot. Take the Camino al Glaciar (Glacier Road) 7 km (4.5 miles) out of town until it ends (this route is also served by the local tour companies). Stop off at one of the teahouses en route (at the foot of the ski lift, when it is functioning) because this is a steep, strenuous 90-minute hike to the top. You can cool your heels in one of the many gurgling, icy rivulets that cascade down water-worn shale shoots or enjoy a picnic while you wait for sunset (you can walk all the way down if you want to linger until after the aerosilla closes). When the sun drops behind the glacier's jagged crown of peaks, brilliant rays beam over the mountain's crest, spilling a halo of gold-flecked light on the glacier, valley, and channel below. Moments like these are why this land is so magical. Note that temperatures drop dramatically after sunset, so come prepared with warm clothing.

Eighty km (50 miles) away on R11, the road to the Glaciar Perito Moreno has now been entirely paved. From the park entrance the road winds through hills and forests of lenga and ñire trees, until all at once the glacier comes into full view. Descending like a long white tongue through distant mountains, it ends abruptly in a translucent azure wall 5 km (3 miles) wide and 240 feet high at the edge of frosty green Lago Argentino.

Although it's possible to rent a car and go on your own (which can give you the advantage of avoiding large tourist groups), virtually everyone visits the park on a day trip booked through one of the many travel agents in El Calafate. The most basic tours start at 4,000 pesos for the round-trip (excluding entrance) and take you to see the glacier from a viewing area composed of a series of platforms wrapped around the point of the Península de Magallanes. The platforms, which offer perhaps the most impressive view of the glacier, allow you to wander back and forth, looking across the Canal de los Tempanos (Iceberg Channel). Here you listen and wait for nature's number-one ice show—first, a cracking sound, followed by tons of ice breaking away and falling with a thunderous crash into the lake. As the glacier creeps across this narrow channel and meets the land on the other side, an ice dam sometimes builds up between the inlet of Brazo Rico on the left and the rest of the lake on the right. As the pressure on the dam increases, everyone waits for the day it will rupture again.

In recent years the surge in the number of visitors to Glaciar Perito Moreno has created a crowded scene that is not always conducive to reflective encounters with nature's majesty. Although the glacier remains spectacular, savvy travelers would do well to minimize time at the madhouse that the viewing area becomes at midday in high season, and instead encounter the glacier by boat or on a mini-trekking excursion. Better yet, rent a car and get an early start to beat the tour buses, or visit Perito Moreno in the off-season when a spectacular rupture is just as likely as in midsummer, and you won't have to crane over other people's heads to see it.

Wedged between three busy Palermo streets, this unexpected haven has 18 acres of gardens filled with 5,500 varieties of exotic and indigenous flora. Different sections re-create the environments of Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe, and the Americas. An organic vegetable garden aims to teach children healthy eating habits, and winding paths lead to hidden statues and a brook. The central area contains an exposed-brick botanical school and library, plus a beautiful greenhouse brought from France in 1900 but unfortunately not open to the public.

Some 4 km (3 miles) from Puerto Pirámides lies the Lobería Puerto Pirámides, a year-round sea-lion colony that is also a great bird-watching spot. A signposted turnoff from the main road into town leads here, or you can follow the coastal path on foot.

Comprising works of 19th- and 20th-century Latin American art collected by founder Eduardo Constantini, the fabulous Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA) is one of the cornerstones of the city's cultural life. Early works in the permanent collection reflect the European avant-garde experiences of artists such as Diego Rivera, Xul Solar, Roberto Matta, and Joaquín Torres García. These, in turn, gave rise to paintings like Abaporu (1928) by Tarsila do Amaral, a Brazilian involved in the "cannibalistic" Movimento Antropofágico. Geometric paintings and sculptures from the 1940s represent movements such as Arte Concreto, Constructivism, and Arte Madí. Argentina's undisputed modern master, Antonio Berni, is represented by a poptastic collage called The Great Temptation (1962) and the bizarre sculpture Voracity or Ramona's Nightmare (1964). Pieces by local greats Liliana Porter, Marta Minujín, Guillermo Kuitca, and Alejandro Kuropatwa form the end of the permanent collection. The MALBA also hosts world-class temporary exhibitions—recent examples include Yoko Ono and Jeff Koons—and two small basement galleries show art by cutting-edge Argentines.

This modern winery in the heart of Lujan is Santiago Achaval (co-founder of Achaval Ferrer) and Roberto Cipresso's personal project. They make a series of exciting, exclusive Malbecs, producing just 40,000 bottles from different wine regions in Argentina. The dollar price tag (tours start at $30) reflects the exclusive pours and attentive experience. There's also Mater House, a small lodge, worth staying at. 

The fascinating Museum of High Mountain Archaeology (MAAM) holds the mummified remains of three children born into Incan nobility—aged 6, 7, and 15—and the 146 objects buried with them in sacrificial services some 600 years ago. They were discovered at the summit of the 22,058-foot Volcán Llullaillaco, on the Argentine–Chilean border, in 1999. The high altitude and freezing temperatures kept their skin, hair, and clothes in impeccable condition, although the face of one was damaged by lightning. The museum also contains an exhibition about the Qhapaq Ñan Inca trading route from southern Colombia to Mendoza and another mummy, the Reina del Cerro (Queen of the Mountain), which for decades was illegally in the hands of private collectors.

You'll find this surprising photography gallery by following a stony road that runs alongside the River Huichaira up into the mountains. The brainchild of photographer Lucio Boschi, the "museum in the hills" has two spaces displaying permanent collections as well as a temporary exhibit room. For the ultimate in artsy tranquility, kick back in the library while browsing coffee table books with a coca leaf tea.

Part of the original penal colony, the Presidio building was built to hold political prisoners, murderous estancia owners, street orphans, and a variety of Buenos Aires' most violent criminals. Some even claim that singer Carlos Gardel landed in one of the cells for the petty crimes of his misspent youth. In its day it held 600 inmates in 380 cells. Today it's on the grounds of Ushuaia's naval base and holds the Museo Marítimo, which starts with exhibits on the canoe-making skills of the region's indigenous peoples, tracks the navigational history of Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn and the Antarctic, and even has a display on other great jails of the world. You can enter cell blocks and read about the grisly crimes of the prisoners who lived in them and measure yourself against their eerie life-size plaster effigies. Of the five wings spreading out from the main guard house, one has been transformed into an art gallery and another has been kept untouched—and unheated. Bone-chattering cold and bleak, bare walls powerfully evoke the desolation of a long sentence at the tip of the continent. Well-presented tours (in Spanish only) are conducted at 11:30 am, 4:30 pm, and 6:30 pm daily.

The world's largest collection of Argentine art is contained in this neoclassical wine-color building, which once housed the city's waterworks. Here, you can see many lesser works by big-name European artists from the 12th through 20th centuries, and the MNBA also hosts high-profile temporary exhibitions on its refurbished second floor. The European collection and 19th-century Argentine works are on display in the 24 ground-floor galleries; highlights include Cándido López's panoramic battle scenes, which he painted with his left hand after losing his right arm in the 1870s during the War of the Triple Alliance. His work spearheaded contemporary primitive painting and is showcased in Gallery 23. A whole room (Gallery 8) is given over to European master Goya’s dark, disturbing works. The room behind the entrance hall (Gallery 10) contains Rodin sculptures. The right wing includes paintings by Manet, Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Gaugin, and Toulouse-Lautrec. The large modern pavilion behind the museum also hosts excellent temporary exhibitions, often showcasing top local artists little known outside Argentina. Free one-hour guided visits in English are offered on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 12:30, and Saturday at 2.

Trelew's star attraction is the paleontology museum, where four hushed and darkened galleries of fossils both real and replica take you back in time. You start among the South American megafauna (giant armadillos and the like) that may have cohabited with the first humans here, then plunge back to a time before the Andes existed. Back then Patagonia was a subtropical rain forest filled with dinosaurs, including one of the largest creatures ever to walk the earth: the 70-ton, 120-foot-long Argentinosaurus. Replicas of its massive leg bones are on display, along with countless other dino skeletons, including the latest discovery of the largest dinosaur in the world—a 130-foot-long herbivore. Other highlights include a 290-million-year-old spider fossil with a 3-foot leg span and the 70-million-year-old petrified eggs of a Carnotaurus. The visit ends with a peek into the workshop where paleontologists study and preserve newly unearthed fossils. Tours in English are available—they're a good idea, as only the introductions to each room are translated.

As the name suggests, this national park is renowned for being the home of 47 glaciers, with almost a third of the entire park covered in ice. A giant ice cap located in the Andes Mountains, the world’s largest outside of Antarctica and Greenland, feeds all 47 of the glaciers, which snake through the Patagonian steppe and sub-polar forests, eventually crumbling into milky blue glacial lakes. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is also the largest national park in Argentina and spans over 2,500 square miles, encompassing the territories running from El Chaltén down to El Calafate, on the border of Chile’s Torres del Paine. Spotting the glaciers is the highlight of any visit to the park, with the most accessible one being Perito Moreno, which can be reached by road. Visiting the Upsala and Spegazzini glaciers requires a boat journey, and the Viedma Glacier can be seen from hiking paths on the shore of Lake Viedma, a route that is particularly popular with trekkers and climbers who journey onward to Mount Fitzroy and Cerro Torre (which are also within the park limits). Lago del Desert and Lago Roca are the other two most visited sites in the park, but outside of these locations the majority of the park is left wonderfully unexplored and untouched. There are few places to stay in the park with the exception of a few estancias and campsites at Lago Roca and on the hiking routes of El Chaltén. Beyond the stunning landscapes, the park is the natural habitat of guanacos, ñandúes, cougars, and the South American gray fox, as well as more than 100 different species of birds. The park is open all year-round, although winter frequently sees snowfall as the temperature drops below freezing.