San Juan is the capital city of San Juan province, in the central-west Cuyo region of Argentina, about 150 km north of Mendoza. The province has a large Triassic period fossil record, believed to be one of the largest in the world. See the Dinosaur Museum near Parque de Mayo.

Understand

San Juan is in a fertile valley surrounded by rocky mountains. Sixty-five percent of agricultural production is related to wine production. After the earthquake of 1944, San Juan completely changed, with new, wide, tree-lined avenues irrigated by small channels. The San Juan River has been dammed upstream to provide a regular source of water for irrigation and electrical power to the region at the Quebrada de Ullum Dam. A much larger Punta Negra Dam was built upstream from the Ullum Dam. San Juan is the birthplace in 1811 of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, former President and writer, famous for his struggle for public education.

Winter is mild, generally between 1° C and 18° C, while summers are hot and dry, between 25° C and 40° C.

Get in

San Juan lies on National Route 40 with Mendoza 168 km to the south and La Rioja 449 km to the north. National Route 20 leads to San Luis 323 km. Córdoba 585 km, Catamarca 623 km and Buenos Aires 1110 km.

By bus

• 1 Intercity bus terminal (San Juan bus terminal) (1.5 km east of the centre, 0.5 km east of Route 40). The modern bus terminal is clean, efficient and feels safe. Shops, restaurant, ticketing, toilets, an information office, police and first-aid points. (updated May 2019)

By plane

• 2 Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport (UAQ ^IATA) (15 km from the city in the Department 9 de Julio, in the village of Las Chacritas). Aerolineas Aregentinas flies in from Buenos Aires. (updated May 2019)

Get around

San Juan pedestrianised center

The city centre is green and walkable, supplemented by an urban transport system of buses, a taxi service and remises.

Plaza 25 de Mayo is the centre and the two blocks north and east of it on Tucumán and Rivadavia towards Plaza Aberastain are somewhat pedestrianised, pleasant, with trees. Some other streets around that are also fairly quiet, but Libertador San Martín Avenue (RP7/RP14 running east and west two blocks north of Plaza 25 de Mayo) and Santa Fe (running west one block south of Plaza 25 de Mayo) are both more busy with multiple bus lines. A ring road had reduced traffic through the centre.

See

• 1 Plaza 25 de Mayo (25 May Square). The centre of the city, dating from 1871 is green and relatively quiet. Coffee shops. Statues of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Fray Santa Maria de Oro by Miguel Sugo Angel. See cathedral. (updated May 2019)
• 2 Catedral Arquidiocesana San Juan Bautista (Metropolitan Cathedral), cnr of Rivadavia Oeste and Mendoza Sur (in front of main square 25 de Mayo), ☏ +54 264 422-7050, catedralsj@gmail.com. Built in 1979 after the 1944 earthquake seriously damaged the previous Jesuit church that had been erected as the Cathedral of San Juan. A work of prestigious architect Daniel Ramos Correas. The bell tower is 51 m high, covered with red ceramic brick and topped with an ornamental pyramid. An elevator goes up to a viewpoint at the top. It has a Big-Ben clock and a German carillon that rings every 15 minutes. The main nave is accessed through a bronze vestibule built in Faenza, Italy with bas-relief of Santa Rosa de Lima, San Luis, the Santiago apostle, Santa Ana and several other shields and emblems. In the basement of the church is a crypt, tombs of former bishops and a chapel of famous argentine bishop and San Juan-born Justo de Santa María de Oro. free. (updated Oct 2018)
• 3 Plaza Aberastain (Aberastain square) (1 km east of the centre of San Juan). This square is clean, well-kept and in the center is a statue of Aberastain, a lawyer and governor of the province. (updated May 2019)
• 4 Parque de Mayo (May Park) (2.3 km west of the centre). This green space was inaugurated in May 1910 to commemorate the centenary of the May Revolution. It has games for children, an artificial lake with an island, fish and aquatic birds, a cycling circuit, karting facilities, lots of statues and a dinosaur museum next door. (updated May 2019)

Dinosaur museum

• 5 Dinosaur museum (Instituto y Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Tierra de Dinosaurios) (near Parque de Mayo). Tu-F 0:00-13:00, Sa Su holidays 11:00-19:00, closed Mondays. In the old railway station Ferrocarril General Belgrano, is the largest dinosaur museum in the region. Well presented. Although called a natural science museum, it is more a natural history museum, mostly focused on dinosaurs. The descriptions are only in Spanish, but it is surprising how much can be understood: many technical words are quite similar in English. Significant fossil finds in the north and east of San Juan province. Can see cleaning of fossils being done at the museum. AR$90 ~US$2 (May 2019). (updated May 2019)
• 6 Casa Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Domingo F. Sarmiento Sur, 21 (two blocks west and two blocks north of Plaza 25 de Mayo). Tu-F 09:00-20:30, Sa Su 10:30-16:00, Holidays 10:30-18:00, Mondays closed.

  

  Casa Domingo Faustino Sarmiento

  Birthplace of the illustrious educator and president of the republic, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento on 15 February 1811. 9 rooms with relics, photographs, medals, journals and books written by Sarmiento. In the central patio a sprout of a famous fig tree and replica of the historical loom of Doña Paula, his mother. The first historical monument declared in the country, in 1910. Almost all labelling only in Spanish. Free. (updated Oct 2018)
• 7 Plaza Laprida (Plaza Francisco Narciso Lapida) (one block west of Casa de Domingo Faustino Sarmiento). Another leafy square with a couple of OK cafes and a statue in the middle. This one has a small children's play-park. (updated May 2019)
• Museum of Fine Arts Franklin Rawson - Historical Provincial Museum Agustín Gnecco (General Paz Street & G. Rawson Avenue). The Gnecco Museum has items related to XVIIIth and XIXth century fashion, creole silver-work, coins and stamps. 
• Museum Amid Read - House of the Tango Carlos Gardel (General Mariano Acha street between Brazil and Manuel Belgrano). Displays and videos about tango and its evolution in the 20th century. Conferences, discussions, classes of violin and bandoneón (tango accordion). 
• Museo Santiago Graffigna, Colón 1342 norte (take bus 12A from the center (calle Libertador/Tucuman)), ☏ +54 264 4214227. 09:00-17:30. Visit the 140-year-old Graffigna winery with a tasting at the end of the tour. free. 

  

  San Guillermo National Park

• Juan Victoria Auditorium Center
• El Leoncito National Park. An internationally recognized Observatory
• San Guillermo National Park and Provincial Reserve. Habitat of vicuñas and guanacos
• San José de Jáchal – Iglesianos Valley
• Cuesta del viento Dam
• Alcázar Hill
• Museo de la Historia Urbana (Urban History Museum), 25 de Mayo Oeste 1128 (in Parque de Mayo), ☏ +54 264 412-6300. Noon — 9PM. The Museo de la Historia Urbana belongs to the municipality, and is about the history, the memories, the urban life and the inhabitants of San Juan. It aims also to improve the quality of life and strengthen the community links by affirming its diversity. The museum is a public site of reflection, projection to the future, and inclusion. Free. (updated May 2023)

Do

Ischigualasto National Park

Tourism here is centered around wine production and degustation, as well as the extraordinary rock formations in places like the Ischigualasto Provincial Park, also called the Valle de la Luna, 330 km from the city, and the Quebrada de Ullum Dam.

• 1 Embalse Dique de Ullum (Ullum Reservoir) (18 km northwest of San Juan). (updated Jun 2019)

The province has a large Triassic period fossil record, believed to be one of the largest in the world. See museum in centre near Parque de Mayo.

There is also the celebrated Mariano Gambier Archeology museum at La Laja, Albardón county, some 25 km from the center of the city. It concerns itself with the many cultures that inhabited San Juan from Pre-History till the arrival of the Spaniards in 1560. It has a priceless collection of Indian artifacts, cave paintings and other elements of agriculture and life in the Tulum valley from the last 8500 years.

La Difunta Correa

A curiosity is the Difunta Correa sanctuary. An unofficial popular saint, not recognized by the Catholic Church, for which some people in Argentina and Chile feel a great devotion. Sometimes crowds of 200,000 have been claimed. 64 km away from San Juan, on route 141.

Buy

Tabletas Sanjuaninas are the local version of alfajor (a national candy in Argentina). They can be purchased in local panaderias (bakeries) and some souvenir shops. They usually come in two varieties: with Dulce de Leche (milk caramel) or Dulce de Alcayote (a jam made of a local fruit).

Eat

• 1 La Madeleine (Petit Bistrot y Casa de Té), Mitre Oeste 202 (Two blocks west of SW corner of Plaza 25 de Mayo). M Tu 08;00-21:00, W-Sa 09:00-4:00, Su closed. French cafe-restaurant at Alliance Française. Fair, fixed lunch of salad, main, dessert and drink at AR$330 (<US$8, May 2019). Wifi. No evening meal Monday or Tuesday. (updated May 2019)

Drink

• 1 Cafe Franklin, Laprida 83e (One block north of Plaza 25 de Mayo). M-Sa 07:30-13:30, 17:00-21:30; closed Su. Although there are several other pleasant, more modern cafés in the area including Bonafide, Cereza Light and Tres Cumbres, this one, being rather older, and attached to the Franklin library (Biblioteca Franklin), around since 1866, has a distinct atmosphere:Pleasant to sit there in the evening. Reputedly the oldest public library in South America. Recommend the Napolitan (tomato) pizza (AR$180 ~US$4 May 2019). Three draught, artesanal beers on the menu, although sometimes only one is available, (you can try before you buy), the rubia, (dorada) which was nothing special. Wifi. (updated May 2019)
• 2 Cafe Tres Cumbres (Alfajores & Cafe Club) (near/facing Parque de Mayo). M-Sa 07:00-22:00; Su 08:00-13:00, 17:00-22:00. Coffee-shop. Modern, bright, with wifi and long hours. There are a few quieter, more local cafes, just round the corner you might want to check out first, some also with wifi, but that might close for siesta. (updated May 2019)
• 3 Cervecería Ancestral. M 18:00-21:00, Tu W 18:00-00:00, Th-Sa 18:00-02:00, closed Su. Somewhat out of the centre, but a brewery with many good artesanal ales, good atmosphere, seating indoors and out (AR$70-120 ~US$2 per pint, May 2019), with seating outdoors and indoors. Food from food carts just outside a little pricey, but OK (e.g. small choripan AR$170, ~US$4). With table-tennis room and Wifi. (updated May 2019)

Sleep

• 1 AIH (Alhambra Inn Hotel), Gral. Mariano Acha Sur 180 (just off NE corner of Plaza 25 de Mayo, signed “AIH"). Clean, modern, central, budget hotel. Surprisingly quiet. Small windows. Included breakfast of medialunas and coffee/tea is served in Café Ristretto on Plaza 25 de Mayo. AR$819 US$18 single per night (May 2019). (updated Jun 2019)

Go next

• Ischigualasto Provincial Park aka Moon Valley
• Barreal: a village up against the Andes Cordillera