Things to do Cuba

Havana, lying on the northern coast of the Cuban Island, is the capital city, most important port and major commercial centre of the country. With 600 000 citizens, it is the largest urban area in Cuba and the second largest city in the Caribbean region after Santo Domingo.

Founded by Spanish Conquistadors in 1519 and settled by them for over 400 years this seaside Caribbean city is full of charm and contradictions. Its economy initially developed thanks to its location south of the Florida Keys.  Havana became one of the first great trade centers of the New World. The sugar and slave trades first brought riches to the city. Boasting one of the most beautiful bays of the world, Havana became a renowned resort after Cuba won its independence. Its location makes it the most important resort on the island as well as one of the most important tourist destinations in the world.

Featuring a rich history, architecture, and culture, Havana boasts infinite tourist attractions, including wide avenues, over 50 museums, wonderful public squares, Century forts, along with spectacular churches. In addition, restoration projects have returned some of the finest colonial buildings in the Caribbean to their original splendor. It was thanks to these projects that Old Havana and its Fortifications became a World Heritage Site in 1982.

However, the real asset of the city is its friendly and outgoing people, who are very proud of their great city, their genuine culture and exceptional heritage.

The National Capitol Building

El Capitolio, located in Havana, is an emblematic edifice of the city of Havana. The seat of the Cuban government until the Revolution in 1959, today it hosts the Cuban Academy of Sciences.

This building, inaugurated in 1929 under the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado, is a masterpiece of the architects Raúl Otero and Eugenio Raynieri. El Capitolio, recalling the United States' Capitol and the Pantheon of Paris, was the tallest building in Havana until the 1950s.

This neoclassical construction houses a colossal sculpture representing the Republic, which is the third biggest indoor sculpture in the world after the Daibutsu in Japan and the Statue of Abraham Lincoln in the USA.

Decorated with fine marble throughout, the dome-shaped roof of the Capitol is 30 meters high. Visitors can see it from almost everywhere in downtown Havana.

Old Havana

Old Havana is the ancient city founded by the Spanish in 1519 in the Bay of Havana. It became a stopping point for the treasure-laden Spanish Galleons during the crossing between the New World and the Old World. In the XVIIth century the old city was one of the world's main shipbuilding centers.

Today, this fascinating site houses the most beautiful and important squares, buildings, historical monuments, museums and forts of the colonial period, in addition to some of the country's most famous restaurants and hotels.

Built in a baroque and neoclassical style, it is the richest colonial settlement in the Caribbean and in the whole of Latin America. Its port, its official center and the Plaza de Armas were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982.

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales

The Palacio de los Capitanes Generales is the former official residence of the governors of Havana. It is located on the eastern side of the Plaza de Armas in Old Havana. This Cuban baroque-style building served as the Presidential Palace during the Constitution of the Republic from 1902 until 1920, then as City Hall and finally as the Museum of the City of Havana.

Relating the history of the city from its foundation until the Revolution, the museum exhibits various objects, including weapons, colonial furniture, old carriages, costumes and letters. It also features a fine art collection, including the Giraldilla, the oldest forged statue in Cuba and the emblem of the city, and the statue of Christopher Columbus located in the pleasant courtyard inside the building.

Plaza de Cathedral

The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana is a museum dedicated to Cuban art collections ranging in age from the colonial period until the present day. Established in 1913, it moved frequently until it was finally brought to the block once home to the Old Colons Market.
The new building which houses it is the work of architect Rodriguez Pichardo, and was built in 1954.

Today’s museum comprises two impressive buildings. The first, located in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, is entirely dedicated to Cuban Arts, while the second, housed by the Palacio del Centro Asturiano, is dedicated to the Universal Arts.

The Colección de Arte Universal encompasses everything from ancient Greek artifacts and Latin American pieces to the masterpieces of French, Dutch and Italian painters. The Colección de Arte Cubano features Cuban artists’ works dating from the XVIth to the XXth centuries.

Santiago de Cuba lies on the southeastern coast of Cuba, 944 kilometers southeast of the capital Havana. With its 500 000 inhabitants, it is the second largest city in the country after Havana.

Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1514, it enjoys a rich history stretching back to colonial days when it was the capital of the Spanish colony of Cuba, a position it held until Havana gained prominence in the XVIth century.
Connected to the Caribbean Sea, Santiago de Cuba is an important seaport and a major tourist destination. Its numerous colonial buildings, including the merchant house of the city’s founder, Diego Velazquez, and the elegant governor’s mansion, are must-see stops on any tour of Cuba.

This exceptional destination also boasts some UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the citadel of San Pedro de la Roca, believed to be the “the most complete and best-preserved example of Spanish-American military architecture”, and The Baconao Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Biosphere Reserve Site since 1987.

Furthermore, enjoying a strong and vibrant Afro-Caribbean atmosphere which is missing in other Cuban cities, Santiago de Cuba remains the country's most ethnically diverse city. The hometown of many of the most famous Cuban musicians, it is famous for its cultural activity, traditional dances and Carnival. This event, celebrated during the month of July with colorful strange costume and lively folk music, attracts visitors from all over the world, and make the city a pleasant destination for discovery.

The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca

The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca is an imposing fortress located roughly 10 kilometres southwest of downtown Santiago de Cuba. Its origins date back to the Spanish conquest and colonization of the country.

This site is the work of the Italian military engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli. Overlooking the sea and controlling the entry and exit into the bay since the XVIth century, this fortress served as a defence against raiding pirates and other sea runners. Within its heavy walls and turrets, visitors will experience the influence of military architecture developed in Italy, Spain and Cuba between the XVIth and the XIXth century.

During the XXth century, the rock fell into ruin, but fortunately it was renovated by Francisco Prat Puig. Restored on several occasions, the Castillo has been a World Heritage since 1997, it was awarded this status by UNESCO because of its particularly special architecture and its ingenious defending system. UNESCO's committee described it as the best-preserved and most complete example of Spanish-American military architecture in existence.

The Santiago de Cuba's Morro Castle is an architectural crown jewel of great aesthetic and historic value that attracts thousands of tourists who visit the city every year. The impressive citadel adds to the traditions of eastern Cuba a tribute to military combatants, who fought for the Island's independence.

The Baconao Park

The Park Baconao’s territory begins within the city of Santiago de Cuba and spreads out over 848,57 square kilometers of beaches, lagoons, mountains, cliffs, elevations such as the enormous Gran Piedra, which holds a Guinness world record for its weight, ruins of old French plantations and unusual sites such as the Prehistoric Valley.

It took its name from a legend that describes how a magical tree, called Bacona, allowed a little native of the south of Cuba to play music from the lagoon's snails. The site features a wide range of attractions, meaning that it is not just a wildlife sanctuary protecting varied animals species and rare birds, but also a museum and recreation centre.

During dark nights, lights from Jamaica are visible from the huge rock of La Gran Piedra, creating a breathtaking view.  In the lush vegetation of the Valle de la Prehistoria, dozens of life-sized model dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures impress visitors. The magnificent Jardin Ave de Paraiso, spanning an area of over 45 hectares, features a series of colour-coded gardens with unique scents and displays. These gardens, which date back to the XVIIIth century, occupy the site of an old coffee plantation.

The Museo Del Carnival

Santiago's Carnival is the most famous in Cuba. The Museo Del Carnival, housed on the ground floor of a dimly lit colonial house, retraces the history of this celebration through a rich, bright and colorful collection of documents, atmospheric photographs, newspaper clippings, models, psychedelic costumes, banners, Cabezón and carnival memorabilia.

This exhibition captures the variety of diverse influences on the festivities, which include African, Afro-Caribbean, Franco-Haitian and Spanish tradtions. Santiago de Cuba, which boasts the highest African-Cuban population in the country, has in parts a strongly African feel, to which this performance very much contributes.

The tour begins with scene-setting photographs of the city in the early XXth century, then moves on to photographs, newspaper cuttings and costumes from to the pre-revolutionary carnivals.

The percussion instruments displayed here show just how popular the festival is, and include drums, tumba, chacha, maracas, and even old car parts and simple wood instruments. Pictures of extravagant floats are jumbled together with minutely hand-painted and embroidered mamarrachos garlanded with flowers, harlequin outfits and giant, head-shaped, papier-mâché masks. In a separate room, visitors will find photographs of some of the musicians who have played at the carnival.

A final room exhibits costumes made for post-Revolution carnivals and includes a couple of the most recent winners of the costume contests.

To round off the visit, folklore events are held in the courtyard of the museum featuring music and dance shows.

Trinidad is one of the island's foremost tourist cities. Frozen in time, it offers its guests the magical opportunity to experience a real outdoors museum, tucked between the mountains and the sea. Combining  all the necessary modern facilities with infinite cultural wealth, its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site has ensured that its exceptional architecture remains unaffected.

Spanish conquistadors founded Trinidad in the early XVIth century. Its old town, constructed during this period, is undoubtedly one of the colonial architectural jewels of the Caribbean. The city's downtown is renowned for its attractive landscapes, paved traffic-free streets, red-tiled rooftops and jumble of colonial mansions setting it apart. Its hotels, restaurants, shops and other facilities have been integrated into the area without damaging its exceptional heritage.

Trinidad’s economy is mainly based on tourism. It offers, beyond the cobbled-street centre, few other specific sights. Visitors cannot miss the tower which dominates the Valle de los Ingenios and symbolises Manaca-Iznaga, the beaches of Ancon and María Aguilar, the cascade of Caburn, the cave of Calaveras and the nearby islands among which is to be found Cayo Blanco de Casilda.

The natural attractions of the mountainous area of Escambray, its beaches and the splendour of its seabed, as well as the hospitality of its inhabitants, make it an exceptional tourist destination.

Museo Romántico

The beautifully renovated Romantic Museum of Trinidad is hosted by one of the most beautiful colonial houses of the city.

This Colonial Mansion, dating back from the early XIXth Century, was owned by wealthy sugar mill owner Conde de Brunet between 1830 and 1860. The building was constructed in two phases, the ground floor in 1740 and the first floor in 1808.

With an architectural style typical of colonial Cuba, the palace is characterized by a balcony which offers a breathtaking view of the city.

The museum exhibits various artefacts including many porcelain pieces, as well as a wide variety of furniture which belonged to the Cuban bourgeoisie of the XIXth century.

Museo Histórico Municipal

The beautiful former Neo-Classical Palacio Cantero, located close to the Plaza Mayor, houses the Museo Historico Municipal of Trinidad. Initially the property of the Borrell family, and then owned by a wealthy German sugarcane plantation owner, this mansion is a typical neoclassical building with three towers which offer a breathtaking view on Trinidad and the Escambray Mountains.

Built in the early XIXth century, the mansions's large, stylish neoclassical rooms retrace the story of the city and the surrounding areas through the museum's vast, rich collection. On display are documents, maps, and exhibits on the Valle de los Ingenios, the industry of slave trading, and the wars of independence.

Playa Ancón

The Playa Ancon is located on Peninsula de Ancon around 15 kilometers from the centerof Trinidad.

This attractive white sandy beach is one of the country's most beautiful. Visitors will enjoy its crystal-clear water, ultra-warm and particularly calm atmosphere, expansive green sea and the beach, dotted with trees and bushes.

The site also offers them the unique opportunity to see local people singing and dancing after drinking some rum.

In addition, the beach is surrounded by numerous tourist facilities, including hotels, restaurants and bars, making it one of the city's most beautiful and accessible attractions.