page_title: San Juan, Argentina
section_title: Main sights
hierarchical_section_title: San Juan, Argentina / Main sights
caption_attribution_description: Fotografía de la Peatonal Tucumán en la Ciudad de San Juan
context_page_description: San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at 650 m above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the 2001 census [INDEC].
  It is a modern city with wide streets and well-drawn avenues with wide sidewalks and vegetation of different species of trees irrigated by canals, from which it derives its nickname oasis town.
  It has an important accommodation infrastructure and transportation. It highlights modern buildings and the surroundings, the reservoir and Ullum dam, spas, museums, large plantations of vines, and various types of agriculture, with wine being the most important.
context_section_description: The old cathedral, an 18th-century Jesuit style building, was destroyed in the 1944 earthquake, but has been replaced by a modern-Tuscan-romanesque building with a campanile. San Juan is the seat of a Roman Catholic metropolitan Archbishop and a Catholic University. San Juan possesses the Juan Victoria Auditorium, one of the most modern and active concert halls in Argentina, as well as many leafy parks and squares, including Parque de Mayo with its vast artificial lake.
  In October 2016, the Teatro del Bicentenario opened in downtown San Juan, which allows for 1129 spectators, the largest in the Province and has become one of its main tourist attractions.
  Tourism to San Juan is centered around wine production and dégustation as well as the  rock formations in places like the Ischigualasto National Park (which includes the Valle de la Luna), 330 km north of the city, and the Quebrada de Ullum Dam (18 km from the city).
  An integral attraction to the province is its large Triassic period fossil record, believed to be one of the largest in the world.
  There is also the Mariano Gambier Archeology museum at La Laja, Albardón county, some 25 km from the center of the city. It concerns itself with the many cultures that inhabited San Juan from Pre-History till the arrival of the Spaniards in 1560. It has a priceless collection of Indian artifacts, cave paintings and other elements of agriculture and life in the Tulum valley from the last 8500 years.
  The city also hosts the Fiesta Nacional del Sol, a festival that celebrates nature over five days in February.
  Museums in the city include:
  Casa Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, located at the intersection of Libertador General San Martín Avenue and Sarmiento street. Made a National Historic Monument in 1910, this was the first site so designated in Argentina. The local educator and President of the Republic from 1868 to 1874, Domingo Sarmiento, was born here in 1811 and raised here, as well.
  San Martin's Monastic Cell, in the Santo DOmingo Convent, where Jose de San Martin, a military leader who led independence campaigns in Argentina, Chile and Peru, stayed during a 1815 visit to the city to raise support for the revolutionary wars. It maintains its simple furniture from the time of his visit.
  Franklin Rawson Museum of Fine Arts/Agustín Gnecco Historical Provincial Museum, named after the local painter Benjamin Franklin Rawson (1819–1871). It houses a  patrimony of paintings and sculptures, engravings and drawings from national artists. The Gnecco Museum features elements related to fashion in the 18th and 19th centuries, Creole silverwork, as well as historic numismatics and philately collections.
  Amid Read Museum/Carlos Gardel House of Tango provides displays and videos outlining the development of Argentine Tango, and its evolution in the 20th century. Conferences, discussions, and violin and bandoneón classes are among the activities hosted here.
  Natural Sciences Museum. This facility, housed in a former railway station is known for its dinosaur fossil collections, found mainly in the nearby Ischigualasto Valley.
caption: View of one of the pedestrian streets
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