234 Best Sights in Argentina

One of the oldest wine dynasties of Mendoza, the Arizú family brought vines over from Spain in 1890 and continues the family legacy at this large winery, which has both a big domestic following and impressive exports. In 2022, the family opened up Finca El Paraíso, a1905-constructed château in impeccable form. While away a day wandering the vineyards and olive groves accompanied by an audio guide, followed up by a tasting and barbecue lunch.

This modest winery is home to one of Argentina's best-known winemakers, Roberto de la Mota, and "quality, not quantity," is the mantra. Informal tours of the unassuming 87-year-old adobe building highlight the loving care grapes receive—from handpicking to hand-crushing to storage.

On the edge of Palermo Hollywood lies the large warehouse sheltering the Mercado de las Pulgas, packed with furniture on its second—or third or fourth—time around. You won't come across any Louis XV, but original pieces from the 1940s, '50s, and '60s may turn out to be (relative) bargains. Lighting up your life is a cinch: choose from the many Venetian-glass chandeliers, or go for a chrome-and-acrylic mushroom lamp. If your taste is more rustic, there's also a sizable selection of hefty farmhouse-style tables and cabinets in oak and pine. Don't be deceived by the stalls' simple-looking set-up: vendors are used to dealing with big-name local customers, and can often arrange overseas shipping.

The same family has been cultivating vines at this finca (estate) since 1897, but it wasn't until the 1990s they started producing varietals, including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Syrah. A visit offers three experiences, including a tour of the winery and a taste of its modern portfolio to a picnic in the lovely garden. Book ahead for three-course paired lunch.

This mirador (scenic overlook) isn't easy to get to: from town, you'll need to hike, mountain bike, or drive 5 km (3 miles) up a steep hill through a cypress-and-oak forest to the summit. Once there, however, you’ll be rewarded with a view of San Martín's environs and scintillating Lago Lácar. The chance to visit Paraje Trompul—a Mapuche community that’s home to about 40 families—is an added bonus. After taking a snack break in the quincho (café) and perusing the weavings and wood carvings for sale, you can continue another 5 km (3 miles) to Playa La Islita, a small, rocky island in the middle of of the lake.

If you're walking, take Av. San Martín to the lake, turn right, cross the bridge behind the waterworks plant over the creek, and then head uphill on a path around the mountain. By car, take Ruta Provincial 48 northwest out of town for about 4 km (3 miles) to a turnoff (there's no sign) on your left. After the turn, continue to Comunidad Mapuche Curruhuinca, where you'll pay a small fee to visit the lookout.

An eerie and vast landscape scattered with hundreds of petrified trees takes you more than 75 million years back in time. The palm and conifer trees originally arrived here by river when the area was a tropical delta, although now the sun-bleached and striated badlands are anything but tropical. Dry, parched, and whipped by winds, this place requires a jacket any time of year. Entrance is free, but consider paying for a guide to help you understand exactly what you are looking at. The Monumento Natural Bosque Petrificado Sarmiento is about 30 km (19 miles) from Sarmiento following R26 until you reach the access road on the right. If you don't have your own vehicle, book a remis from Sarmiento: most will charge you for the return trip, including an hour's waiting time.

The former home of its founder, divided into two parts, visitors to this small museum can first enjoy a musical instrument collection that belonged to Justiniano Torres Aparicio, before stepping into the second room for a more archeological and paleontological experience. Exhibits include a pre-Hispanic mummy, everyday implements such as axes, pipes, and ceramics from the San Francisco culture, as well as pieces from Bolivia’s Tiawanaco culture and hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Quebrada de Humahuaca. 

Exhibits at the Museo Arqueológico, run by the University of Buenos Aires, can be a little confusing due to a lack of explanatory labels. The two mummies here are considerably less well cared for than those in Salta's MAAM (Museum of High Altitude Archaeology), but no less fascinating. The clothes, hair, and skin of the first, which was found in San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, are well preserved. Other rooms display Nazca, Inca, Moche, and other remains from the past 2,000 years.

Italian wine expert Don Santiago Graffigna, who planted Tulum Valley's first vines, founded this winery in 1870. You can learn the history of his family and their vineyard in the museum. An enormous barrel serves as a sitting area in the tasting room.

Hard-core tango fans must visit the home of tango's greatest hero, Carlos Gardel. The front rooms of this once-crumbling casa chorizo (sausage house—that is, a long, narrow house) contain extensive displays of Gardel paraphernalia—LPs, photos, and old posters. The maestro's greatest hits play in the background. The back of the house has been restored with the aim of re-creating as closely as possible the way the house would have looked when Gardel and his mother lived here, right down to the placement of birdcages on the patio. Concise but informative texts in Spanish and English talk you through the rooms and the history of tango in general. Guided visits are available in Spanish Wednesdays and Fridays at 12 and 4, and on weekends at 12, 2, 4 and 6. English tours are usually available on request on weekdays.

Today, the River Plate is nowhere in sight, but the humming traffic circle that overlooks this underground museum behind the Casa Rosada was once on the waterfront. The brick vaults, pillars, and wooden pulley mechanisms are the remains of the 1845 Taylor Customs House and jetty discovered after being buried for almost a century. In honor of Argentina's 2010 bicentenary celebrations, the structure was restored and capped with a glass roof.

Formerly known as the Bicentenary Museum, each vault covers a portion of Argentina's political history, recalling it through artifacts (many are personal possessions of those who governed from the house overhead), paintings, photographs, film reels, and interactive screens. Temporary art exhibitions run on the other side of the museum courtyard.

The large glass structure in the center contains the star attraction: a 360-degree masterpiece by Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. When that house was demolished in the early 1990s, the mural was carefully removed in pieces, though it then languished in a shipping container for 17 years.

Geometric abstraction is the guiding principle for both the collection and the construction of Buenos Aires' contemporary arts museum. Sharply sloped walkways connect four floors of concrete-walled galleries, creating an austere backdrop for the bright lines and shapes of local financier Aldo Rubin's private collection. Regularly changing exhibitions may include pieces by contemporary local stars like Pablo Siquier and Guillermo Kuitca.

The small, private Museum of Ethnic American Art Pajcha contains interesting artifacts and illustrations from the pre-Columbian world and later. Enthusiastic tour guides explain exhibits, using religious objects, furniture, jewelry, and the like to illuminate indigenous culture; there's also a well-curated textile collection. There's enough reason to linger here for hours; when you're done, relax with a coffee on the back terrace.

The distinctive Peruvian neocolonial-style Palacio Noel is the perfect backdrop for this colonial art and craft museum, which was built in 1920 as the residence of architect Martín Noel. He and museum founder, Fernández Blanco, donated most of the exquisite silver items, religious wood carvings, inlaid furnishings, and paintings from the Spanish colonial period that are on display. Guided tours in English can be arranged by calling ahead. Shaded benches in the lush walled Andalusian gardens are a welcome respite, and the rustling leaves and birdcalls almost filter out the busy Retiro traffic noise.  Time a visit for elevenses or lunch at adorable restaurant Los Jardines de las Barquín.

Some 7,000 contemporary artworks make up the permanent collection at this block-long museum. Formerly the site of a tobacco company, the MAMBA retains its original exposed-brick facade and fabulous wooden doors with wrought-iron fixtures. Inside, galleries showcasing a carefully curated selection of paintings, sculptures, and new media are complemented by large temporary exhibitions of local or Latin American works as well as smaller installations. Highlights include the unusual portraits of superstar collective Grupo Mondongo, who eschew paint in favor of materials like crackers, sliced ham, and chewing gum.

Mendoza has cultivated numerous home-grown artists, many inspired by the Andes and wine culture. You can appreciate works by many renowned, contemporary Argentine artists such as Antonio Berni and regional ones such as Osvaldo Chiavazza and Camila Insúa at this museum cellared under Plaza Independencia.

The Fine Arts Museum's collection of colonial-era religious works includes figures from Argentina's Jesuit missions as well as Cuzco-style paintings from Peru and Bolivia. Another part of the museum highlights 20th-century pieces by Salta artists.

The City Museum is in Casa de Hernández, an 1879-constructed neocolonial house. The ground floor displays an exceptional collection of musical instruments. Rooms upstairs document the history of Salta through paintings and photographs.

Inside Estadio Boca Juniors (aka La Bombonera or "the candy box"), this modern, two-floor museum is heaven for fútbol fans. It chronicles Boca's rise from a neighborhood club in 1905 to its current position as one of the best teams in the world. Among the innovative exhibits is a giant soccer ball that plays 360-degree footage of an adrenaline-fueled match, recreating all the excitement (and the screaming) for those too faint-hearted to attend the real thing. A huge mural of the late Maradona (the club's most revered player), a hall of fame, jerseys, and trophies complete the circuit. For the full-blown experience, buy a combo ticket that includes museum entry plus an extensive tour of the beloved stadium. Lighthearted exhibits take you all over the stands as well as to press boxes, locker rooms, underground tunnels, and the emerald grass of the field itself. Everything you need to Boca up your life—from official team shirts to school folders—is available in the on-site gift store (shops outside La Bombonera sell cheaper copies).

This small museum highlights the social and geological history of northern Patagonia through displays of Indian and gaucho artifacts and exhibits on regional flora and fauna. The stories of the Mapuche and the Conquista del Desierto (Conquest of the Desert) are told in detail.

This museum, located in a warehouse dating from 1881, has undergone an extensive refurbishment to include more flash and 3D exhibitions. You can learn about winemaking in the Calchaquíes Valley. Machinery, agricultural implements, and old photographs also tell the history of winemaking in this area.

Here you can see a large taxidermied condor and other native birds, indigenous artifacts, maritime instruments, a reconstruction of an old Patagonian general store, and such seafaring-related objects as an impressive mermaid figurehead taken from the bowsprit of a galleon. There are also photographs and histories of El Presidio's original inmates, such as Simon Radowitzky, a Russian immigrant anarchist who received a life sentence for killing an Argentine police colonel. The museum is split across two buildings—the first, and original, is in the 1905 residence of a Fuegonian governor at Maipú 173. The newer museum building is farther down the road at Maipú 465, where you can see extended exhibitions of the same style.

Home of former governor and senator Emilio Civit, this 26-bedroom 1873 mansion was the gathering place of the belle epoque elite. Today it's the Museum of the Cuyo's Past with paintings, antiques, history books, and artifacts from Argentina's War of Independence on display.

San Antonio is famed for its silversmiths, and the late Juan José Draghi was the best in town. This small museum adjoining his workshop showcases the evolution of the Argentine silver-work style known as platería criolla. Pieces are ornate takes on gaucho-related items: spurs, belt buckles, knives, stirrups, and the ubiquitous mate gourds, some dating from the 18th century. Also on display is the incredibly ornate work of Juan José Draghi himself; you can buy original pieces in the shop. His son keeps the family business alive—he's often at work shaping new pieces at the back of the museum.

Until 2012, the 100-peso bill still honored General Roca—the man responsible for the massacre of most of Patagonia's indigenous population—so it's not surprising that information on Argentina's original inhabitants is sparse. This fascinating but little-visited museum is a welcome remedy.

Begun by local scientist Juan Bautista Ambrosetti in 1904, the collection originally focused on so-called exotic art and artifacts, such as Australasian sculptures and a Japanese temple altar. The real highlights here, however, are the Argentine collections: if you're planning to visit Argentina's far north or south, they'll provide an eye-opening introduction.

The ground-floor galleries trace the history of human activity in Patagonia, underscoring the tragic results of European arrival. Dugout canoes, Mapuche silver jewelry, and scores of archival photos and illustrations are the main exhibits. Ask for a photocopied sheet with English versions of the texts.

In the upstairs northwestern Argentina gallery the emphasis is archaeological. Displays chronicle the evolution of Andean civilization, the heyday of the Inca empire, and postcolonial life. Artifacts include ceramics, textiles, jewelry, farming tools, and even food.

Eva Duarte de Perón, known as Evita, was the wife of populist president Juan Domingo Perón. Revered by working-class followers and despised by the Anglophile oligarchy, the Museo Evita shies from pop culture clichés and conveys facts about Evita's life and works. Exhibits include family photos that document Evita's humble origins, 1952 film footage showing hundreds of thousands of mourners lined up to view their idol's body, and mannequins wearing some of her fabulous designer outfits. The Evita myth can be baffling to the uninitiated, but excellent guided visits shed light on the phenomenon and are available in English for groups of 10 or more, but they must be arranged by email ([email protected]) in advance. A video chronicles the fate of Evita's cadaver after dying of cancer at age 33: embalmed by Perón, stolen by political opponents, and moved and hidden for 17 years before being returned to Argentina, where it now rests in Recoleta Cemetery. Knowledgeable staffers are on hand to answer questions. Book a table at the on-site restaurant, whose checkered floors and glossy black tables are as stylish as the lady herself.

At first glance the Museo Folklórico Regional appears to be a dusty collection of stones and strange objects, but allow a guide to show you around (arrange in advance for an English-speaking one), and you'll learn a lot about the indigenous population. The museum was founded by Sixto Vázquez Zuleta, who invested a huge amount of passion and imagination, and each exhibit—from dolls made of dried apricots to musical instruments made from armadillos—provides a new insight into the carnival spirit of the area. Note that it is only open to groups of three or more.

Gaucho life of the past is celebrated—and idealized—at this quiet museum just outside town. Start at the 150-year-old pulpería (the gaucho version of the saloon), complete with dressed-up wax figures ready for a drink. Then head for the museum, an early-20th-century replica of a stately 18th-century casco de estancia (estancia house). Polished wooden cases contain a collection of traditional gaucho gear: decorated knives, colorful ponchos, and elaborate saddlery and bridlery. The museum is named for local writer Ricardo Güiraldes (1886–1927), whose romantic gaucho novels captured the imagination of Argentinean readers. Several rooms document his life in San Antonio de Areco and the real-life gauchos who inspired his work.

What better place for the National History Museum than overlooking the spot where the city was supposedly founded? Once owned by entrepreneur and horticulturalist Gregorio Lezama, the beautiful chestnut-and-white Italianate mansion that houses it also did duty as a quarantine station during the San Telmo cholera and yellow-fever epidemics before it became a museum in 1922. Personal possessions and thoughtful explanations (in Spanish) chronicle the rise and fall of Argentina's liberator José de San Martín. Other galleries celebrate the heroes of independence and foreign forces' unsuccessful attempts to invade Argentina.

Plaza de Mayo's only remaining colonial edifice was built in 1765 as the meeting place for the city council, now based in the ornate wedge-shaped building on the southwest corner of the square. The epicenter of the May Revolution of 1810, where patriotic citizens gathered to vote against Napoleonic rule, the hall is one of Argentina's national shrines. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped successive renovations to its detriment, including the demolition of the whole right end of the structure to make way for the new Avenida de Mayo in 1894 and of the left end for Diagonal Julio Roca in 1931. The small museum of artifacts and documents pertaining to the events of the May Revolution is less of an attraction than the building itself. Thursday and Friday from 11 to 6, a tiny craft market takes place on the patio behind the building.