The Presidente Perón Airport is 8 kilometres (5 miles) west of the city center near the boundary to Plottier and serves regular flights to Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Salta, Mendoza, Comodoro Rivadavia and San Martín de los Andes.

The Tren del Valle commuter rail service links Neuquén with neighbouring Cipolletti and Plottier.

Local transport consists of 30 bus lines, connecting most areas of the city, including Plottier and Las Perlas.

[7] The first inhabitants of the area were very mobile and moved according to the seasons of the year, climatic conditions, and the abundance of food and game.

Shortly after the Conquest of the Desert campaign conducted by the military over Patagonia, the Tehuelche and Pehuenche tribes that inhabited the province of Neuquén were either killed or pushed out of these lands.

Since there was no defined border with Chile, the Argentine government reached an agreement with the British-owned Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway company that was constructing a railway network, mainly in Buenos Aires Province, to build an extension to the town in exchange for lands, in order to populate it.

In 1899, the railroad reached Cipolletti in Río Negro province, and three years later, after the construction of the bridge, arrived at Neuquén.

Neuquén was officially founded on 12 September 1904, and the capital of the territory was transferred from Chos Malal to the young town.

The name "Neuquén" derives from the Mapudungun word nehuenken, meaning drafty, which the native people used in reference to this river.

[13] Being located far away from any major bodies of water, the thermal amplitude is high along with a large diurnal range, which indicates continental characteristics of the climate of the city.

[14] There are cultural spaces housed in former railroad buildings from the early 20th century, such as the Gregorio Álvarez and the Paraje Confluencia museums and the Emilio Saraco Art Gallery.

The more recently-built Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, designed by Mario Roberto Alvarez, opened in 2004.

A variety of historical monuments dating from the 20th century, such as the Fotheringham Crossing Pyramid in the Sapere neighborhood, can be found throughout the city.