Experience the best of Córdoba

Córdoba sits on the Suquía River where the flat pampas begin to rise into the Sierras de Córdoba. The old centre is arranged around the Plaza San Martín, with the cathedral and the colonial Cabildo facing each other across it. Nearby, the Jesuit Block, with its church, school and old university rooms, is listed by UNESCO, and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, founded in 1613, is one of the oldest in the Americas.

Students fill the cafés and parks of Nueva Córdoba, a district of tall apartment blocks just above the old town. Beyond the city the Sierras offer river valleys, reservoirs and walking country. Alta Gracia, to the south-west, grew around a Jesuit estancia that is now a museum, and Che Guevara spent part of his childhood in a house there. Villa Carlos Paz, on Lake San Roque, lies a short drive to the west.

Fernet mixed with cola is the drink the city is famous for, poured at most tables beside grilled beef, empanadas and the heavy stew called locro. Cuarteto, a fast and rhythmic dance music, was born in Córdoba and still fills its clubs. The weather is dry and sunny for much of the year, and the hills turn green after the summer rains.