What Is Argentina Known For? Tango, Steak, Malbec & More

What Argentina is known for ranges from tango, world-class steak and asado barbecues to top-notch Malbec wine from Mendoza, football superstars (including Maradona and Messi) and its wild natural beauty (from the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia to the thundering Iguazú Falls). Argentina has an elegant, European-style capital in Buenos Aires, a gaucho cowboy mindset on the Pampas and the communal act of drinking yerba mate from a gourd.

In this guide, we cover everything about Argentina: its delicious food and wine, dancing and football culture, right down to the country's most famous cities, wildlife and exports. All worth knowing about before you go.

Tango is what Argentina is most known for and one of the defining cultural experiences in Argentina. It originated in the working class neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires in the early 1880s, mixing European, African and creole elements from the immigrants and former slaves living around the Río de la Plata. In 2009 UNESCO inscribed tango on the list of the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, along with Uruguay. 

The dance is accompanied by the mournful sounds of the bandoneon and often lyrics written in lunfardo slang. Still visible throughout Buenos Aires, you may see this dance on the streets in the Sunday market of San Telmo, down the dance halls or milongas.

Football is the sport Argentina is most famous for, and a huge part of family travel in Argentina, especially during match days. Yet, its official national sport is actually pato, a combination of polo and basketball, played on horseback and formally declared the national sport in 1953. Argentina has won the FIFA World Cup on three occasions, in 1978, 1986 and 2022.

Argentina is also home to two of the greatest players of all time: Diego Maradona, who scored the controversial 'Hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup, and Lionel Messi, who won it in Qatar in 2022. It is also the top country in international polo, with Adolfo Cambiaso considered the best ever player.

Though legendary about beef and asados (barbecues), food in Argentina also includes empanadas, milanesa, choripán, alfajores, dulce de leche and strong Italian influences through pizza and pasta. Since there were so many European immigrants into Argentina, they shaped what Argentinians eat today, blending native ingredients with Spanish, Italian and Andean traditions.

Asado is a ritual as much as it is a meal. Cuts of beef are grilled slowly over wood or hot coals on a parrilla, usually starting with achuras, chorizo and provoleta, then progressing to the more substantial steaks. Sunday family asados are a national pastime. 

The popular cuts include bife de chorizo (sirloin), vaco (flank), lomo (tenderloin) and ojo de bife (rib eye) and are accompanied by a chimichurri sauce. In 2014 Argentinians consumed around 45kg of beef per head. The lowest in over a century but still one of the highest levels worldwide. 

Empanadas are baked or fried half-moon savoury pastries, filled with all sorts of ingredients, varying from region to region. Salteñas, from the northern province of Salta, are the most renowned, while fish and lamb fillings are popular in Patagonia. Bakeries in Buenos Aires sell traditional beef, chicken, ham and cheese empanadas.

Milanesa, a breaded fried beef cutlet, was introduced by Italian and Spaniard immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the country was swelling with millions of arrivals. The milanesa napolitana has tomato sauce, ham and melted mozzarella and is garnished. Alongside pizza and pasta, it remains the dominantly Italian sourced dish in the national cuisine. 

It's called humita cortido chori, or choripán, which is Argentinian slang for several types of traditional street-food: grilled sausages tucked inside crusty white breads, topped off with a generous handful of chimichurri or salsa criolla. You can find it at asados, football matches, or parrilla stalls along the riverfront in Buenos Aires, especially around Costanera Sur. The name in itself is a fusion of "chori" with "pan" (bread). 

Caramelized milk or dulce de leche is used extensively and produced from slow-cooked milk and sugar. It is used in nearly every dessert, from ice cream and churro fillings to alfajores, two soft cookies filled with dulce de leche and covered with chocolate or rolled in coconut. Children are brought up on it. 

Mate is the national drink: dried, crushed yerba mate leaves steeped in hot water inside a hollow gourd, drunk through a metal straw (bombilla). It is usually drunk communally, with the gourd being handed around to the left, with everyone waiting for each person to finish before it is handed on. Argentina drinks more mate per capita than anywhere else in the world. 

A trip to Argentina is incomplete without tasting Malbec, the country’s most internationally celebrated wine. It is one of the world's most popular reds, and Argentina produces 75% of it, most of it high up in the vineyards in Mendoza. When asked about what Mendoza is known for, the first thing most people say is wine. 70% of all the wines in Argentina are produced here, spread across three main routes: Luján de Cuyo, Maipu and the Uco Valley.

The other wine to look for is Torrontés, the country's signature aromatic white, widely connected to the Cafayate Valley in Salta.

Argentina is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, from the thundering Iguazú Falls in the north to the glaciers and granite mountains of Patagonia in the south. Along the way are the Andes, colorful Andean valleys, endless salt plains and the country's southernmost town. 

Iguazu Falls is located on the border between Argentina and Brazil and is made up of approximately 275 separate waterfalls, extending almost 2.7km across the border. A trip to Iguazú Falls is one of the most unforgettable things to do in Argentina thanks to the immense scale and power of the waterfalls. 

The waterfalls are higher than Niagara Falls and twice as wide. The most spectacular individual drop is called the "Devil's Throat" (Garganta del Diablo), and is 80m high, plummeting a roaring wall of water into a persistent cloud of mist. 

Patagonia is the huge, wind-swept southern region of Argentina and one of the best destinations for nature and wildlife experiences in Argentina. The most visited sight here is the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park, which is one of the rare glaciers in the world that continues to grow. Tourists can hear the glacier rumble and see blocks of ice falling into the lake. 

The highest mountain outside Asia is Mount Aconcagua, at 6,960m (22,837ft), the official height recorded by the Instituto Geográfico Nacional in Argentina. An enormous mountain, it is the highest point in the Western and Southern hemispheres, as well as being one of the Seven Summits, attracting climbers during the summer season and even over Christmas in Argentina between December and February. 

The world's southernmost city, Ushuaia lies at the end of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. Request a tailor-made trip to Ushuaia to combine Patagonia cruises, wildlife encounters, and hikes at the edge of the world. Set amidst craggy peaks and the Beagle Channel, this is the starting point for expeditions to Antarctica, and the gateway for hiking, penguin-spotting and exploring Tierra del Fuego National Park.

The Quebrada de Humahuaca in Jujuy, a 155km long multi-coloured Andean valley, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape in 2003. The best known features are the Hill of Seven Colours at Purmamarca and the Hill of 14 Colours (Hornocal) above Humahuaca. To the south are the salt flats (Salinas Grandes) that extend across the Jujuy / Salta border. 

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city in Argentina. Request a tailor-made trip to Buenos Aires to experience the Paris of South America with tango, historic cafés, world-class steak restaurants, and the city’s unique neighborhood culture with the help of local experts. UNESCO proclaimed the city the World Book Capital in 2011, and a study carried out by the World Cities Culture Forum recorded the city's large number of bookshops (25 per 100,000 people). 

The city is built around distinct barrios, each with its own character:

Two other pages are worth mentioning: Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the broadest avenues in the world (16 lanes), built after independence day of Argentina, and Teatro Colón, one of the biggest opera houses (holding about 2,500 people).

There are several fascinating places to visit in Argentina that help define the country’s regional identity. Mendoza for wine, Salta for its colonial architecture and emblematic location on the eastern slope of the Andes, Córdoba for its legacy of the Jesuits and university surroundings, and Rosario for its history of footballing and politics. This is what they are famous for. 

A trip to Mendoza is a must for wine lovers thanks to its famous Malbec vineyards, mountain scenery, and relaxed culinary culture. Almost 70% of the country's wine is grown on high-altitude vineyards in the foothills of the Andes, where Malbec thrives thanks to the dry Argentina weather and mountain climate. 

But it's not just bodegas: Mendoza is also the base for climbers attempting to conquer Mount Aconcagua, the world's highest peak outside Asia, and the city has a relaxed feel with tree-lined plazas, irrigation channels running at the side of the roads and a thriving gastronomy centring on steak, olive oil and wine. 

Salta, nicknamed "Salta la Linda" (Salta the Beautiful), has the best-preserved colonial architecture of all Argentina and is the gateway to its spectacular north-west. From there, you can take the Train to the Clouds all the way up into the Andes, drive the Quebrada de Humahuaca (Humahuaca Gorge) to the rainbowed peaks at Purmamarca and Hornocal, or head for the nearby salt marshes of Salinas Grandes.

The province is also home to Cafayate, a wine region producing Argentina's signature white Torrontés. Salta's empanadas, baked and filled with spicy beef, are widely considered to be the nation's best.

Córdoba is Argentina's second largest city, known for its Jesuit heritage and for its university tradition. The Manzana Jesuítica in the city centre was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, anchored by the National University of Córdoba (founded by the Jesuit Order in 1613), earning Córdoba the rather proud nickname, "La Docta" (The learned). The city remains a vibrant university centre, with a unique sing-song local accent, a vigorous cuarteto music scene, and a national passion for Fernet con Coca.

Rosario ranks as Argentina's third biggest city. It is most famous for being the birth city of Lionel Messi and revolutionary Che Guevara. General Manuel Belgrano first raised the Argentine flag here in 1812 on the banks of the Paraná river, giving Rosario the nickname 'Cradle of the Flag', an honor still referenced today in the city's National Flag Memorial.

It's also a significant port on the Paraná river and a key soybean exporter. Add a riverfront promenade, Art Nouveau architecture and a lively student nightlife, and it is a city that punches far above its weight.

What most characterizes Argentine culture are the gaucho culture of the Pampas, the memory of Eva Perón, the social activity of mate-drinking and the profound influence of Italian and Spanish immigrants (pouring into everything from food to language). Together these threads shape what feels uniquely Argentine. 

Gauchos are skilled horsemen of Argentina's vast Pampas plains, sometimes recognised by the iconic broad-brimmed hats, woollen ponchos and baggy 'bombachas' trousers. They appeared in the 1700-1800s herding cattle on the plains and continue to play an important iconic role in the country's national identity, reflecting the roots of Argentinean rural tradition. San Antonio de Areco situated to the north of Buenos Aires hosts a gaucho celebration every November and is generally regarded as the 'home' of the gaucho. 

Eva Perón, known affectionately throughout Latin America as Evita, was Argentina's First Lady from 1946 (when she married President Juan Domingo Perón) until her death from cancer in 1952 at 33. An actress-turned-politician, she fought for women's votes and for better working conditions, and continues to be a defining national symbol 70 years later. Her grave in Buenos Aires' Recoleta Cemetery, where she was buried under her maiden name Duarte remains one of the most visited graves in Latin America with fresh flowers on display every morning. 

Some 97% of the Argentine population have full or partial European ancestry, the result of the huge immigration boom of 1860-1930, when over six million Europeans arrived, the largest wave after the US. Italians and Spaniards made up the largest numbers. 46% of Argentines have some Italian blood, influencing things like food (pizza, pasta, gelato, milanesa), language (the 'lunfardo' slang of tango) and Buenos Aires's Parisian architecture. 

A small, resilient Welsh-speaking community has been living in Chubut Province since 1865, when 150 settlers arrived on the ship Mimosa, determined to safeguard their culture and language in a land distant from Britain. Today, this can be seen in the town of Gaiman, Trelew and Trevelin (amongst others), where there are still Welsh-language church services, Welsh bilingual schools and traditional afternoon teas including scones and bara brith. It is one of the most cohesive Welsh communities outside of Wales. 

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, 1936, was elected pope in 2013, and was the first Argentine and Latin American pope. A devoted San Lorenzo football fan and former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he focused heavily on the plight of the poor and had a humble approach to his papal role. He died in 2025 at the age of 88, with Argentina observing seven days of mourning. 

The country's National Bird is the rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus), a tiny reddish-brown ovenbird that constructs clay nests all over the country. Still, the animal most closely identified with Argentina is the guanacoa, the wild relative of the llama that roams the Pampas and Patagonia in vast herds.

Argentina is home to some of South America's most abundant wildlife, making it ideal for wildlife tours in Argentina, with: jaguars and capybaras in the northern Iberá wetlands, Andean condors, flamingos and vicuñas in the high Andes, and orcas, elephant seals and southern right whales off the Patagonian coast at Península Valdés. Punt Tombo in Chubut has one of the world's largest Magellanic penguin colonies.

Argentina is one of the world's most important agricultural exporters, with total goods exports reaching roughly US$87 billion in 2025. The major export products of Argentina by volume are:

Argentina is known for tango, steak, Malbec, football and Patagonia. But, Argentina, as we've seen, is so much more than its headline icons. Colonial Salta and Córdoba, the Welsh tea houses of Patagonia, the vast lithium deposits fuelling the electric vehicle revolution, the southernmost city on Earth, the gauchos, the food and so much more, all make Argentina a place that welcomes those who who looks past the postcard.

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