Neuquén (city)

Neuquén is the capital of Neuquén Province and the largest city in Patagonia.

Understand
Located in the south-western part of Argentina, Neuquén is a fast-growing and modern city with an attractive central district and a rich cultural life, competing with Comodoro Rivadavia for the "title" of the cultural capital of Patagonia. The city has 300,000 inhabitants and is the center of a densely populated metropolitan area with about 700,000 people, which stretches into the neighboring Río Negro province.

Neuquén is located near the confluence of the Limay and the Neuquén river, being called Negro river after the union. The city lies in an irrigated oasis valley with some agriculture at the foot of the arid Patagonian meseta with steppe vegetation; the hills north of the city, called las bardas, are already part of this typical Patagonian landscape.

The city center is located about 8 km north-west of the confluence. The railroad connecting it to Bahía Blanca divides the city in two parts: the Alto near the hills in the North and the Bajo in the lower part south of the railroad. The Bajo is the main commercial sector and has also some cultural life, but has no real tourist attractions. In contrast, the Alto has attractive boulevards like Avenida Argentina, many high-rise buildings, and comprises a banking sector, most government agencies, gastronomy, nightlife and some luxury commerce. In the middle of both parts lies the attractive Parque Central around the railway station with museums, monuments and a tourist office.

Outside the city center the only really interesting sector for visitors is the Río Grande neighborhood near the Limay river, with pleasant riverside beaches, a modern park and some gastronomy.

Founded in 1904, Neuquén is the youngest provincial capital of Argentina. Few historical buildings remain, most of them being typical Argentine residences of the 1910s and 1920s or buildings related to the railway activity, some of them have been converted into museums.

The climate is pleasant with hot summers, similar to those in central Argentina, and cool to cold winters. The weather is often sunny - there are cloudy days but it barely rains. Windy days are common, above all in spring, but Neuquén is protected from the worst storms of the Patagonian meseta because of its location in a valley. Bathing in the Limay river is possible between mid-November and early April.

By plane


The 501 bus line runs connects the airport about once every 30-60 min to the city centre. A taxi to the Central Park will cost you about US$10.

By train
The train station - surprisingly small for a city of this size - is in the Central Park near Avenida Olascoaga. There's a local train connecting Neuquén with nearby Plottier and Cipolletti, in neighboring Río Negro province. Long-distance trains to Bahía Blanca and Buenos Aires have not run since the early 1990s. For train enthusiasts coming from Buenos Aires, an alternative is to take a train to Bahía Blanca and continue by bus.



By bus


There are a few hotels and hostels near the bus station, the area is not really dangerous but a bit boring (having almost no gastronomy) and the city center offers more variety.

By car
National Route 22 is the main long-distance highway and passes through the whole city from east to west. It connects Neuquén to Bahía Blanca to the east, where other highways part to Buenos Aires and the Atlantic Coast. It also connects Neuquén with Zapala, the Andean region and Chile to the west. From Córdoba and most cities of Northern Argentina, go via Santa Rosa and General Roca.

Get around
The city center is not too large and can be visited by foot. Buses are the main transportation in Neuquén city. Before boarding you must buy a bus card (SUBE, available at some kiosks for about US$1.50). It is also valid in Buenos Aires and other Argentine cities; if you bought one in Buenos Aires you can use it in Neuquén, too. Fares are about US$0.80 for a single ride, combinations are free.

The local government offers timetables and maps of the stations and lines (some are a bit inaccurate).

Taxis and remises (similar to radio-taxis) are found throughout the city. The fare is about US$2 per km.

Neuquén has also some cycleways, the most important being one that crosses the city from the bus station bordering the railway, crossing the Central Park and reaching neighboring Cipolletti city.

See


Neuquén's museums are all free of charge and most of them are located in the Central Park. Here you can begin your walk through the city. A good idea is to move to the north on Avenida Argentina until the overlook at Balcón del Valle with nice sights of the valley, with a slight detour to points like the Government House and the modern district on Avenida Leloir.



Do

 * Beaches. Neuquén offers good river beaches at the Limay river. For swimming, water and air temperature is fine from November to early April but lifeguards are operating between December 1 and March 15. Beware of the strong currents of the river. Kayaking and canoeing are also popular and possible the year round. Bathing in the Neuquén river is strongly discouraged because of dangerous waters. There are three main beaches and some others that are less well-known:
 * Walking. There are some interesting paths on the barda hills north of downtown, where you can explore semi-desertic landscapes with stony hills and small canyons at less than 2 km of the city center. Most of them begin at the northern end of Avenida Argentina, with beautiful views of the Neuquén river valley and the neighboring city of Cipolletti. Mountain biking is also possible in the area, only on one of the paths bicycles are forbidden. Another nice spot to walk is the Río Limay coastline, where you can walk on (an island with a park) and between the Río Grande and Sandra Canale beaches.
 * Theaters. Most theaters are located in the city centre, and there are some in the Alto and some in the Bajo areas.
 * Walking. There are some interesting paths on the barda hills north of downtown, where you can explore semi-desertic landscapes with stony hills and small canyons at less than 2 km of the city center. Most of them begin at the northern end of Avenida Argentina, with beautiful views of the Neuquén river valley and the neighboring city of Cipolletti. Mountain biking is also possible in the area, only on one of the paths bicycles are forbidden. Another nice spot to walk is the Río Limay coastline, where you can walk on (an island with a park) and between the Río Grande and Sandra Canale beaches.
 * Theaters. Most theaters are located in the city centre, and there are some in the Alto and some in the Bajo areas.
 * Walking. There are some interesting paths on the barda hills north of downtown, where you can explore semi-desertic landscapes with stony hills and small canyons at less than 2 km of the city center. Most of them begin at the northern end of Avenida Argentina, with beautiful views of the Neuquén river valley and the neighboring city of Cipolletti. Mountain biking is also possible in the area, only on one of the paths bicycles are forbidden. Another nice spot to walk is the Río Limay coastline, where you can walk on (an island with a park) and between the Río Grande and Sandra Canale beaches.
 * Theaters. Most theaters are located in the city centre, and there are some in the Alto and some in the Bajo areas.

Eat
Unlike the malls, the restaurants are concentrated in El Alto.

Drink
Typical for Neuquén's nightlife are the various craft beer bars and shops. These bars are, however, relatively expensive.



Connect
WiFi is plentiful available at many common places, like cafés, restaurants and accommodations, and also at some public spaces like plazas, public buildings and libraries. A map of free WiFi locations is available at the website of the local government.

Go next


There are plenty of short trips you can start in Neuquén.


 * Cipolletti (80,000 inhabitants), a pleasant town just 6 km east of Neuquén across the Neuquén river, with some good gastronomy and nightlife. Near the town the Alto Valle del Río Negro, with large fruit plantations, offers nice walks and bike tours and some pleasant river beaches.
 * Cinco Saltos (30,000 inhabitants) with Lago Pellegrini, about 25 km north or Neuquén. The lake lies about 15 km outside of the town and has good beaches, it is perhaps not as beautiful as El Chocón, but with good infrastructure at the shoreline (although there is no accommodation directly at the lake). Crowded at summer weekends. The city of Cinco Saltos has an acceptable infrastructure, but is not really worth visiting; from Cinco Saltos to the lake there is no public transportation (besides taxis).
 * General Roca (90,000 inhabitants), the second-largest city of Río Negro province, is located about 40 km east of Neuquén. Despite of having a reputation of being boring, it is a nice city with some historical architecture, a lively city center, pleasant and shady parks beside irrigation channels, several universities, a good Natural Sciences museum and a surprisingly rich cultural life with one of Argentina's largest art schools and several theaters and bars.
 * El Chocón, a large reservoir and dam about 100 km south of Neuquén, with the Villa El Chocón small town at its shoreline. The lake is embedded in a beautiful landscape with reddish rocks and has some beaches - those near the town are pretty stony, but there are also sandy beaches west and south of the town (you'll need at least a bicycle to reach them). Several daily buses connect the lake with Neuquén. Villa El Chocón also has a Paleontological Museum showing fossils of large dinosaurs found in the area.

Neuquén is also a gateway to the southern Andes region with towns like San Martín de los Andes, Aluminé and Villa Pehuenia.