City of Mendoza

Mendoza is one of the most important Argentine cities, being the fourth urban center in the country. With a wide commercial, industrial and cultural development, this town features all the services that can be found in a big city as well as a diverse culinary, recreational and touristic offer.

With a historical tradition, Mendoza preserves many memories of San Martín’s epic campaigns in Cerro de la Gloria, the Plumerillo, the General San Martín Park and in many museums that house documents recording the Argentine hero’s deeds in the region.

Being so close to the Andes, this destination is ideal for adventure activities and high mountain sports including trekking, rafting, mountaineering and wonderful landscapes to do photo safaris, among other activities. Other options for tourists are practicing ski during the winter and visiting hot springs all year long.

Mendoza is an oasis amidst the Andes: the climate is agreeable, mild and with scarce rains; and there are several parks in the city as well as an artificial park (with a surface of about 510 hectares) which is called General San Martín, in honor of the Americas hero. This park is more than 500 km (310 mi) long and features wide tree-lined streets, irrigation ditches and a channel network that transports water and distributes it throughout the city.

This is also a wine-producing area and as such it has numerous wineries that produce fine wines of the highest quality, which are exported to the rest of the world. Many of them can be visited by tourists, who can taste wines and food and lodge in this setting of beautiful vineyards.

The restaurant options in Mendoza are excellent, from international to local places with the best and most diverse wine menu in Argentina.

Also, Mendoza has an important architectural development, shopping centers, a significant hotel infrastructure, movie theaters, theaters, museums, art galleries, pubs, night clubs and a wide range of activities to enjoy of its extraordinary environment.

SIGHTS
The colonial center of Mendoza was founded in 1561 by Pedro del Castillo; back then it was the social and religious center of Cuyo. In 1861, an earthquake destroyed the whole city. The only place that remained was the Pedro del Castillo Square, the most important one from foundation times, where there is a Museum since 1933 that features exhibitions about archaeological digs, pictures and old documents from which the ruins of the city hall, the old slaughterhouse and the municipal fair can be seen.

Tourists can also visit the ruins of the first church, the Jesuitical Temple, built by Jesuits who were expulsed by the Spaniards in 1767.

Opposite the San Martín Square there is the Basilica de San Francisco, which keeps the remains of General San Martín’s daughter, Merceditas, as well as his son-in-law’s and one of his granddaughters’. This site has been declared historical heritage.

The Sarmiento pedestrian street is a very picturesque area with shops, cafés and restaurants with outdoor tables, ideal to have a good time.

One of the most important spots in the city is the General San Martín Park, created in 1896 by landscaper Charles Thays. Located in the west area of the city, this park has an area of 400 hectares (988.42 acres) and is inspired by English and French gardens. This green spot is one of the best of its kind in Argentina and one of the most important ones in Latin America. It contains a variety of foreign and native plant species (many of them are difficult to plant in this land), an artificial lake where boat races are practiced, important sport clubs, an aborigine park, an equestrian center, a zoo, a racetrack, a soccer stadium, a cycle track, and the “Frank Romero Day” amphitheater, where the National Grape Harvest Festival is celebrated.

In the Independence Square, which has an area of 1,600 m²(17,222.26 ft²), there is the "Quintanilla" Theater and the Modern Art Museum.

Opposite to this square there is the Independencia Theater, the major theater in the province, where local, national and international shows are presented.

Within the Aconcagua Provincial Park, there is the Mount Aconcagua, 6,959 meters high (22,832 ft), the highest peak in the Americas, frequently visited by mountaineering fanatics from all over the world. To the north, the Cristo Redentor statue indicates de Paso de la Cumbre and the tunnel which links Argentina and Chile.

The Cerro Arco, located a few kilometers away from the city, is ideal for trekking and mountain biking, and it also offers an exclusive view to the city. Another panoramic site is the Cerro de la Gloria, a natural viewpoint where the monument to the Andes Army is located.

The capital city of Mendoza is also the starting point for visitors to get to know the tourist attractions of the province: wine roads, high mountain activities, snow and skiing, hot springs, rural tourism, San Martin circuits, route 40 and all alternative tourism modalities, which invite travelers to enjoy of Mendoza’s nature.

EVENT VENUES
The city of Mendoza offers 4 and 5 star hotels with all the amenities and facilities needed for world-class meetings of different sizes, in a spectacular setting.

It also offers two convention centers and exhibitions: 'Gobernador Emilio Civit', which accommodates 2,000 guests in 3,200 m² (34,444.51 ft²) spread over 3 buildings, and 'Palmares Bureau' (in the town of Godoy Cruz), featuring a 1,500 m² (16,145.87 ft²) main meeting room which accommodates 1,400 guests in an auditorium, as well as outdoor fairgrounds totaling 10,200 m² (109,791.89 ft²). There is also the Mendoza-UCIM fairgrounds, a perfect venue for large-scale trade fairs and exhibitions (such as the Feria Internacional Aconcagua.) This venue features an exhibition area of 3,500 m² (37,673.69 ft²) indoors and 60,000 m² (645,834.63 ft²) outdoors.

Mendozais one of the most popular conference venues in the country, home to many large-scale national and international events in the mining, hydrocarbon, medicine, viniculture, agriculture, and high-tech industries.

HOW TO GET THERE
The city of Mendoza International Airport, El Plumerillo, (with over 650 thousand passengers a year) offers daily connections to a number of cities in Argentina and neighboring countries. Additionally, a well-developed road network makes traveling to Chile and the main cities in Argentina easy.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Secretariat of Tourism of the Province of Mendoza
Phone/Fax: +54261 – 4132100/03/22
E-mail: turismo@mendoza.gov.ar
www.turismo.mendoza.gov.ar / www.congresos.mendoza.gov.ar

Municipality of Mendoza
www.ciudaddemendoza.gov.ar/turismo

Mendoza Bureau
Phone: +54911 - 51848086
E-mail: info@mendozabureau.com
www.mendozabureau.com