This guide is for you if you have a few days in Mendoza and want to see the city, not only the vineyards around it. It helps you pick a morning or an afternoon, place the four hours in your trip, and know what you are looking at when you stop.
Morning or afternoon
You choose a 07:00 or a 13:00 pick-up. Mendoza's summer runs from December to March, with nights around 18°C, days that climb to about 33°C and very little rain. In those months the morning is the cooler half of the day to stand on top of Cerro de la Gloria.
The afternoon has a rhythm of its own. The city goes quiet after lunch, when many shops close for a break. A 13:00 start trades the shopping streets for calmer squares. If you plan to go inside a museum on the way, check its opening hours for your date before you go; they change, and entrances are not included.
Late February and early March are different. That is when Mendoza holds the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia, its harvest festival. Its big events come over one weekend: the Vía Blanca parade of the harvest queens at night, the Carrusel parade the next morning, and the main show at the Teatro Griego Frank Romero Day. The dates move each year. If your trip falls in that window, check this year's programme, tell us when you book, and plan the city tour on a day without a parade.
Where four hours fit in your trip
A half day is easy to place. Two slots work well. The first is your arrival day, when you want the shape of the city before you head for the wine country and do not want a long drive. The second is between two full days out: a lighter day after the vineyards, or before the long road into the Andes.
If you can only spare one day and it is a choice between the city and the wine, our guide to day trips from Mendoza sets the five days side by side. You can also stretch this tour with a winery in Maipú or Luján de Cuyo, both close to the centre. Ask us for a longer tour.
What you are looking at
Two centres, a few blocks apart
The tour starts in the modern centre, at Plaza Independencia and the tiled Plaza España, then goes back to where the city began. The order makes sense once you know why there are two centres.
On the evening of 20 March 1861, at 20:36, an earthquake brought down almost every building in Mendoza. The bibliography of the Área Fundacional museum estimates between 5,000 and 8,000 dead, up to half the population at the time. A mass and a procession had been held in the main square that day. Afterwards the city was rebuilt around what is now Plaza Independencia, not on the original site.
The old main square is today Plaza Pedro del Castillo. Beside it, the Museo del Área Fundacional is a site museum built over the excavated ground. Digs in 1989 and 1990 found the remains of the colonial Cabildo, the town council, whose last building dated from 1749 and fell in 1861. Over them lay the floors of a slaughterhouse that worked there from 1877 to 1927. Inside you can see the layers of the site and a model of the old city.
The Ruinas de San Francisco stand at the north-west end of the square. They are the only colonial structure there still standing above ground, now held up by metal braces. The church had already been weakened by an earlier earthquake, in 1789.
The park and the hill
From the old town you cross to Parque General San Martín, with its lake and rose garden, and go up to Cerro de la Gloria at the top of the park. The monument there was unveiled on 12 February 1914, the anniversary of the Battle of Chacabuco. It is the work of the Uruguayan sculptor Juan Manuel Ferrari, who won the competition for it, with a team of Argentine sculptors.
Three things are worth finding:
- San Martín on horseback, at the centre, not in military dress.
- A figure of Liberty with broken chains, and the inscription "La Patria al Ejército de los Andes".
- The relief friezes round the base. The east side shows the workshop that made the army's weapons, led by Fray Luis Beltrán. The south shows what the people of Mendoza gave, including the women known as the Patricias mendocinas. The west shows the army's farewell before the crossing.
The staircase up to the monument replaced the original ramp in 1939. The monument was declared a National Historic Monument in 2019.
Driving, walking, or a bit of both
The centre is compact. The squares are close together, so you can walk between them while your driver waits for you at the other end. The park is on a much larger scale, and the hill sits at the top of it. That is where having the car pays off.
You could do the squares and the old town on foot by yourself. What a private car adds is the park and the hill without planning a route, an order you can change on the day, and a drop-off at a café or restaurant at the end instead of back at the hotel. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to bring
- Sun cream, a hat and water in summer, when afternoons reach the low thirties.
- Comfortable shoes for the walk between the squares and the steps to the monument.
- A card or some local cash for coffee, a museum entrance or lunch. None are included.
- An extra layer for the 07:00 start.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits a first day in the city, a family that does not want a long drive, or anyone who wants some history before the wine days. Think twice in these cases:
- You have one free day and you came for the wine. The Maipú wine and olive oil tour is also a half day close to the city, among the bodegas.
- Someone in your group finds stairs hard. The monument is reached by a staircase. Tell your driver in the morning; the itinerary can change on the day.
- You are more than 16. Two vehicles travel together on one booking. Message us and we will price it.
Questions people ask
Are entrances included?
No. The price covers the car, the driver, fuel, tolls and parking. Entrances, food and drinks are paid separately.
Can we add a winery?
Yes. Maipú and Luján de Cuyo are both close to the city. Ask us for a longer tour.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. The details are on our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Pick the morning in summer, the afternoon if you want quieter streets, and keep an eye on the harvest festival dates. The pick-up area, timings and inclusions are on the Mendoza private city tour page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
