A calm city in Argentina's Mendoza region, known for wine production and the Atuel Canyon. Surrounded by vineyards and close to ski slopes at Las Leñas resort.
San Rafael is the second-largest city in Argentina's Mendoza Province, near the Andes Mountains. You can taste Malbec wines at century-old family wineries, paddle through class III rapids in the Atuel Canyon, or swim in the clear waters of Lake Los Reyunos. The city's wide streets have rows of sycamore trees and intricate irrigation channels that distribute mountain water.
Getting to San Rafael
You can fly to San Rafael Airport from Buenos Aires on Aerolineas Argentinas' daily flights. The city is 240 km south of Mendoza city, with buses running to Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Mendoza city several times daily from the main bus terminal.
Wine Tourism
The San Rafael wine region covers 22,000 hectares of vineyards and makes 15 percent of Mendoza's wines. At Bianchi winery, you can taste wines in a distinctive dome-shaped room - one of 85,000 annual visitors who come here. The La Abeja winery's 1883 French colonial building has its original stone walls and wooden beams, and produces Chenin Blanc wines. Most wineries are within 10 kilometers south of the city center.
Rivers and Recreation
The Atuel Canyon lies 75 kilometers west of the city, where you can paddle through class II and III rapids. The Diamante River flows through San Rafael, with several dams creating lakes along its course. You can swim and have picnics at Valle Grande Dam, 20 kilometers from the city, between December and March.
City Layout
The main commercial street, Hipólito Yrigoyen Avenue, stretches 30 meters wide with rows of sycamore and poplar trees. Concrete channels next to the roads carry mountain water throughout the city. Plaza San Martin takes up one city block, with a central fountain and iron benches. Cafes and a 1930s neo-gothic cathedral surround the plaza. The city follows a numbered grid system - avenues run east-west and streets north-south.
Local Agriculture
Farmers in the valleys around San Rafael grow 40% of Mendoza's stone fruits. The sandy soil and mountain water irrigation support peach, plum, pear, and apricot orchards. Twenty local processing plants turn these fruits into jams, canned products, and dried goods. Italian and French immigrants started these farming practices in the 1880s when they settled in the region.
