Museo Santiago Graffigna

The centre of the city, dating from 1871 is green and relatively quiet. Coffee shops. Statues of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Fray Santa Maria de Oro by Miguel Sugo Angel. See cathedral.

Built in 1979 after the 1944 earthquake seriously damaged the previous Jesuit church that had been erected as the Cathedral of San Juan. A work of prestigious architect Daniel Ramos Correas. The bell tower is 51 m high, covered with red ceramic brick and topped with an ornamental pyramid. An elevator goes up to a viewpoint at the top. It has a Big-Ben clock and a German carillon that rings every 15 minutes. The main nave is accessed through a bronze vestibule built in Faenza, Italy with bas-relief of Santa Rosa de Lima, San Luis, the Santiago apostle, Santa Ana and several other shields and emblems. In the basement of the church is a crypt, tombs of former bishops and a chapel of famous Argentine bishop and San Juan-born Justo de Santa María de Oro.

This square is clean, well-kept and in the center is a statue of Aberastain, a lawyer and governor of the province.

This green space was inaugurated in May 1910 to commemorate the centenary of the May Revolution. It has games for children, an artificial lake with an island, fish and aquatic birds, a cycling circuit, karting facilities, lots of statues and a dinosaur museum next door.

In the old railway station Ferrocarril General Belgrano, is the largest dinosaur museum in the region. Well presented. Although called a natural science museum, it is more a natural history museum, mostly focused on dinosaurs. The descriptions are only in Spanish, but it is surprising how much can be understood: many technical words are quite similar in English. Significant fossil finds in the north and east of San Juan province. Can see cleaning of fossils being done at the museum.

Birthplace of the illustrious educator and president of the republic, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento on 15 February 1811. 9 rooms with relics, photographs, medals, journals and books written by Sarmiento. In the central patio a sprout of a famous fig tree and replica of the historical loom of Doña Paula, his mother. The first historical monument declared in the country, in 1910. Almost all labelling only in Spanish.