Best Places to Visit in ArgentinaTop Destinations in Argentina: Experience Adventure, Culture, and Natural Wonders with On The Go Tours

The seductive elegance and charm of Argentina’s capital is hard to resist. Styled like a European city, Buenos Aires is an enticing mix of old-world language and contemporary attitude. Gourmet cuisine, awesome shopping, cutting-edge boutiques, and ritzy neighbourhoods flourish alongside the quaint cafes, colonial architecture, lively outdoor markets, and diverse communities of classic Buenos Aires. The city’s not short on top-drawer activities either—join in with the passionate football fans at a local match, discover a unique bird’s-eye view of the city with an exhilarating skydive, or sample some of the country’s most renowned wines with a wine-tasting tour. No trip to Buenos Aires would be complete without some sort of experience of the Tango, Argentina’s national dance. Under the cover of the night, watch some authentic dance performances or put on your dancing shoes and learn to tango yourself. And when you’re hungry, dine on some of the best steak in the world.

Straddling the border of Brazil and Argentina, the UNESCO-listed Iguazu Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world. The falls were created where the Iguazu Rover broadens to around 1.5 km and then plunges nearly 100 m off a basalt plateau in a series of 274 separate cataracts. Each day, tonnes of water crashes over the cliffs, creating a constant mist of spray that rises amongst the jungle. The falls sit in a national park home to more than 200 species of plants, 450 species of birds, and rare mammals such as the jaguar. This stunning setting of dense jungle interspersed with vivid swarms of butterflies and the constant roar of the falling water combine to forge an unforgettable impression. It’s possible to see the falls from both Brazil and Argentina, and visitors will soon discover that the perspective of Iguazu Falls changes with every step.

Often compared with Alaska’s Panhandle, the stunning Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) National Park covers 63,000 hectares of mountains, rivers, lakes, deep valleys, and glaciers. The park is Argentina’s first coastal national park and has a number of scenic hikes along great bays, rivers, and small beaches backed by rugged mountains and trails through dense native evergreen forests. Autumn puts on a truly spectacular show of colour when hillsides of trees burst into flaming red and orange. The park is also home to a prolific number of bird species and a variety of other wildlife. The town of Ushuaia is the starting point for most forays into the national park and holds the title of the world’s most southern city. From here it’s possible to explore the straits that separate the islands of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago with a cruise on the blue waters of the Beagle Channel.

Considered to be Argentina’s wine capital, the bustling yet laid-back city of Mendoza is the kind of place that instantly appeals and keeps you for longer than expected. Wide avenues lined with bushy sycamore trees lead off from lively plazas where residents gather in cosmopolitan cafés. Some 75% of Argentina’s total wine production comes from the region’s vines, and Mendoza serves as the ideal base from which to explore the local vineyards and bodegas, or wine cellars, with plenty of opportunities to taste the local produce. The eastern suburb of Guaymallén is where you’ll find the greatest concentration of bodegas, along with the satellite towns of Maipú and Luján de Cuyo.

Spread along the shoreline of Lago Nahuel Huapi with the soaring, jagged crests of the Cerro Catedral massif encircling the town, Bariloche is practically picture-perfect in every direction. Combine this with a staggering array of summer and wintertime activities available, and you have the Lake District’s most popular destination. In the warmer months, travellers flock to Bariloche to hike in the surrounding hills, mountain climb, fish, and ride bikes and horses, while in the winter months, when the mountain of Cerro Catedral is blanketed in thick, white snow, it becomes a magnet for skiers and snowboarders. Bariloche is also Argentina’s chocolate capital, and streetsworth of window space is devoted to tantalising fresh chocolate sculpted in amusing shapes.

Often referred to as the 'end of the world', the city of Ushuaia sits at the very south of Argentina and the continent of South America. As the port for many Antarctica cruises and the gateway for those visiting Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia is the starting point for many incredible, once-in-a-lifetime adventures. But you'll also want to spend a day or two exploring Ushuaia itself. Surrounded by stunning scenery, you'll want to get outside and enjoy some hiking, sailing, or cycling. You also have to pay a visit to the Museum of the Prison of Ushuaia. Formerly the most secure jail in Argentina, it is now a fascinating museum.