Things to do in Argentina

Buenos Aires, the elegant capital, is a city of grand boulevards, tango halls, leafy barrios and long steak dinners, with San Telmo, La Boca, Recoleta and Palermo each offering a different face. The river delta at Tigre and, across the water, Uruguay's Colonia del Sacramento are short trips away.

Iguazú Falls, on the border with Brazil, is a vast horseshoe of cascades in subtropical forest and one of the great natural sights of the continent. Mendoza, beneath Aconcagua, is the heart of Malbec country, and Salta's red canyons and colonial towns lie in the northwest. In the south, Patagonia offers the Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate, the granite spires of Fitz Roy near El Chaltén, and Ushuaia at the end of the world.

Argentine food centres on beef grilled at a parrilla, empanadas, dulce de leche and fine wine, with mate shared among friends. Seasons run opposite to Europe's: spring and autumn suit Buenos Aires and the wine regions, summer from December to February is best for Patagonia, and winter brings skiing in the Andes.