Mendoza

Mendoza is a desert city kept green by water: wide avenues shaded by plane trees, irrigation channels running along every street, and the Parque San Martín climbing to the Cerro de la Gloria. South of the centre, Chacras de Coria is an old village of country houses and wineries; beyond it, Luján de Cuyo and Maipú hold the older bodegas and olive groves. West, the road to Chile follows the Mendoza river past the Potrerillos reservoir, the hot springs of Cacheuta and the valley of Uspallata to Puente del Inca, at the foot of Aconcagua. East, in the desert of Lavalle, the Huarpe communities of Altos Limpios live among the dunes and carob forests of the Reserva Telteca.

The region's classic three nights hold a lot. A morning on foot in the city and its parks. A day among the vineyards of Maipú or Chacras by bike, or an electric bike, with tastings along the way and lunch at a winery, perhaps at the table of a sommelier who makes his own wine. An open-fire cooking class at a finca, or a ride on horseback into the foothills at sunset. For the active, a hike in the Quebrada del Durazno; for the curious, a day in the desert with the Huarpe families. And the full day up the mountain road to Puente del Inca and the Aconcagua viewpoint.

The harvest and the Vendimia fill March. In winter, the snow on the Andes makes the best backdrop for the vineyards.