Argentina

Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America — grand Haussmann-style avenues, sidewalk cafes, and a fierce cultural identity built on tango, steak, and Malbec. The city's barrios each have a distinct personality, from the colorful houses of La Boca to the tree-lined elegance of Palermo. Incredible value for visitors right now.

One of the New 7 Natural Wonders — 275 individual cascades stretched 2.7km along the Argentina-Brazil border, dwarfing Niagara. The Argentine side's Devil's Throat catwalk puts you above the roaring central plunge; the Brazilian side delivers the panoramic postcard. Subtropical rainforest with toucans, coatis, and capuchin monkeys. Puerto Iguazú is the Argentine base; Foz do Iguaçu sits across the bridge.

Argentina's wine capital sits in the Andean foothills at 750m — Malbec country. Three regions deliver: Maipú's classic vineyards close to the city, Luján de Cuyo's premium Malbecs, and Uco Valley's high-altitude trendy bodegas. Tree-lined streets after the 1861 earthquake rebuild, the huge Parque San Martín, and Aconcagua (the Americas' highest peak at 6,961m) within striking distance. Vendimia harvest festival in early March is the year's headline event.

Argentina's Patagonian lake district capital — a Swiss-chocolate town on the shore of Nahuel Huapi Lake beneath the Andes. Cerro Catedral is South America's largest ski resort; the Circuito Chico drive is one of the hemisphere's most scenic road loops. The "chocolate capital of Argentina" hosts artisan chocolatiers on every corner of Mitre street.

Officially the southernmost city in the world — 'Fin del Mundo' (End of the World) — and the standard departure port for ~90% of all Antarctic Peninsula cruises (October-March, $7,000-$25,000+). The Beagle Channel (Darwin's HMS Beagle) frames the city on one side; the Martial Mountains rise on the other. Tierra del Fuego National Park (12km west) holds the southern terminus of Argentina's Ruta 3 marked 'Buenos Aires 3,063 km'. The 1902-1947 prison is now an excellent Maritime Museum. Tax-free Tierra del Fuego makes electronics and Argentine wine cheaper than mainland; Cerro Castor ski resort 26km away is the world's southernmost commercial slope.

Salta — full name Salta la Linda, 'Salta the Beautiful' — is the colonial capital of northwest Argentina, sitting at 1,152 m in a green Andean valley with the country's best-preserved 18th-century centre. The pink-and-yellow Cathedral and the Cabildo frame Plaza 9 de Julio; the MAAM museum holds three Inca child mummies discovered frozen on Llullaillaco volcano in 1999; the Tren a las Nubes climbs to 4,220 m on one of the world's highest railways. Salta is the gateway to Cafayate's high-altitude Torrontés vineyards, the Salinas Grandes salt flats, and the multicoloured Quebrada de Humahuaca two hours north.

Argentina's trekking capital, founded in 1985 in a border-claim race with Chile and now a ribbon of hostels, microbreweries, and outfitter shops at the foot of Cerro Chaltén — better known abroad as Mount Fitz Roy, the jagged silhouette on the Patagonia clothing logo. Trails leave directly from the village, no entry fee, no shuttle bus required. The 22-kilometre Laguna de los Tres day hike to the base of Fitz Roy is Argentina's most famous walk, climbing 1,100 metres on the final hour to a glacial lake under the granite. Cerro Torre and the Glaciar Grande complete the skyline. El Calafate's FTE airport is three hours south by Ruta 40.