Chacras de Coria, Avenida Arístides Villanueva & Mendocino Wine Bars Guide

Beyond the grand estates of the high valleys, everyday life in Mendoza revolves around two distinct, tree-canopied neighbourhoods that capture the relaxed rhythm of Cuyo: the leafy wine-country village of Chacras de Coria fifteen kilometres south of town, and the twelve-block evening dining boulevard of Avenida Arístides Villanueva on the edge of Parque General San Martín.

1. Chacras de Coria: Leafy Adobe Lanes, Cycling Paths & Walk-In Bodegas

Located twenty minutes south of downtown Mendoza in northern Luján de Cuyo (at 920 metres elevation), Chacras de Coria grew up in the nineteenth century as a cool summer retreat of orchards and family vineyards watered by deep stone acequias:

• Plaza General Espejo, Sunday Artisans' Market & Bike Rentals: Centred on the whitewashed parish church of Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro and the plane trees of Plaza General Espejo, the village invites slow exploration on foot or two wheels. Along Calle Mitre, Calle Viamonte, and Calle Darragueira, local shops rent bicycles for riding along shaded lanes bordered by high adobe walls, artisan heladerías (serving Malbec and dulce de leche gelato), tea houses, and a lively Sunday craft and antiques fair on the square.
• Historic Walkable Wineries in the Village Core: Unlike the vast rural estates further south, several celebrated wineries sit right inside the residential fabric of Chacras de Coria, including the 1921 brick cellars of Clos de Chacras (Right off Monte Líbano with a courtyard restaurant overlooking its own vines), Bodega Weinert (famed for long-aged Malbec and Cavas de Weinert in gigantic French oak foudres), and Alta Vista.

2. Avenida Arístides Villanueva, Avenida Emilio Civit & Paseo de la Alameda

• Avenida Arístides Villanueva (Mendoza's Evening Social Spine): Stretching twelve blocks west from Avenida Belgrano (at the Metrotranvía stop) to Calle Boulogne Sur Mer at the edge of Parque General San Martín, level-surfaced Avenida Arístides Villanueva comes alive from 19:30 onward. Beneath strings of lights and plane trees, university students, winemakers, and travellers fill pavement tables at small-batch Malbec wine bars, Andean craft breweries (cervecerías artesanales), cocktail lounges, and wood-fired pizzerias.
• Avenida Emilio Civit & Paseo de la Alameda: Two blocks north of Arístides runs stately Avenida Emilio Civit, lined with early-twentieth-century mansions and refined bistros, while on the eastern side of downtown, the seven-block Paseo de la Alameda (planted with poplars by General San Martín in 1814) hosts traditional parrillas and folk music patios.