• Population: 40 million
• Capital City: Buenos Aires (Greater Buenos Aires pop.13m)
• Time difference: -2 hours GMT
• Language: Spanish

Home of the tango, fine wines, Maradona and the gaucho, Argentina possesses a rich cultural heritage. Its capital, Buenos Aires has one of Latin America’s most cosmopolitan populations.

Over many generations, settlers have come to Argentina in search of wealth and new lives – Italians and Spanish, Scots and Slavs, Germans and Welsh.

This variety of European influences is well illustrated by the standing joke about porteños - the name given to the inhabitants of Buenos Aires: "They are Spaniards who talk like Italians, dress like Frenchmen and think they are British".

In recent years, travellers have been seduced by the country’s incredible geographical diversity, abundant wildlife and good value for money, especially since the country’s economic collapse of 2001 and the subsequent devaluation of the peso.

Visitors can take advantage of a good tourist infrastructure to experience what the country has to offer from the sub-tropical north down to Tierra del Fuego, where Patagonia meets the icy waters of Antarctica - a distance of around 3500 km.

From the comforts of elegant first-class hotels in the cosmopolitan sophistication of Buenos Aires to the simple refuges in the towering mountains of the Fitzroy range, there are places to stay to suit all tastes and interests.