Mendoza is a city in western Argentina, in the desert Cuyo region. Mendoza is the center of the Argentinian wine industry, for which it is world renowned. It is also near the Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas. Mendoza is the capital of the province of Mendoza.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Although it is in an extremely dry desert region, Mendoza has an extensive artificial irrigation system, which allows for greenery throughout the city as well as the growth of grapes used to make its wines. Most streets have irrigation channels on either side, with bridges for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. These are periodically flooded with water diverted from the river.
Central Mendoza is relatively compact and walkable: for example, it's a 20- to 30-minute walk from Plaza Independencia to Parque San Martin. However to get to the bodegas (vineyards) to the south, walking isn't recommended as it they are at least 10 km away. In January 2019, there was the radical transformation of the public transport system, introducing Mendotran, a system which is based on the setting up of two different transport "webs": one that takes you into and out of the city proper, and one that connects the different areas of the periphery.
Parque San Martín. This huge park is nice for walking or biking around. Mendocinans claim that the 420 hectare park is the biggest city park in South America. A convenient way to explore the park is to take a bus to the junction of Avenida del Libertador and Subida al Cerro. A well maintained path takes you from the junction southward up to Cerro de la Gloria with an excellent view over the city and the mountains and a monument to San Martin's Ejercito de los Andes. The monument may be the best of its kind in Argentina. The view from the Cerro de la Gloria is particularly pleasant at sunset. You can then make your way down to the rest of the park.
Many companies organize trekking, expeditions, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting in the desert and the mountains. Mountain cabins in areas with spectacular scenery are easily rentable in the city. Check the classified ads in the newspaper. Many bodegas (wineries) offer tours. Wine-tasting events are common; check the culture section of local newspapers or ask around. A good time to visit is during harvesting in March and April. Visiting wineries often requires reservations booked in advance (many are closed during the weekends) but some major wineries (Norton, Rutini, etc.) have regular "walk-in tours".
Good restaurants abound. For a round-up of Mendoza's more expensive eateries ask for the Guía Mendoza Gourmet from the tourist office. The main restaurant strip is on Aristides Villanueva, which runs east-west from Ave Belgrano (where the defunct railway tracks are) to Parque San Martin. It is difficult to have a bad meal here, although as a general rule be wary of special offers from places near the hostels - they may be cheap, but this shows in the quality. There are also some excellent (and pricey) restaurants on Ave Sarmiento running west from Plaza Independencia.
Be wary of scams, especially around the bus terminal. Occasionally foreigners will pretend to have been robbed and use your sympathy to "borrow" money for a bus ride. Be careful arriving early morning on overnight buses. If you put your bags down, someone may try to take them. Maipu and Las Heras are something of a crime hot spot although locals say most of the problems are on the eastern side of the train line. Still it might pay not to wander around by yourself in Maipu at night after a long day wine tasting. As everywhere in Argentina, be careful of the vehicles. They do not honour the right of way for pedestrians or stop-sign laws (the police just stand around and are mostly unhelpful).
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
Top-rated tours and tickets from €165 — book ahead for the popular ones.
Tours and tickets provided by Viator (a Tripadvisor company). Some links earn Stayonomy a commission.
In Jul, Mendoza typically sees ~13°C daytime highs and 0 rainy days.
Cheapest destinations travellers searched recently — refreshed daily.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-07-29. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy