Must-see attractions in Cuba

  • Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Cuba; Cementerio Santa Ifigenia

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    Cementerio Santa Ifigenia

    Santiago de Cuba

    Nestled peacefully on the city's western extremity, the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia is second only to Havana's Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón in its importance…

  • In the courtyard area of the Museum of the Revolution in Old Havana, Cuba...Cuba, February 2015 before changes in U.S.-Cuba relations began. Trip via UCLA Alumni Travel

    Museo de la Revolución

    Havana

    This emblematic museum is set in the former Presidential Palace, constructed between 1913 and 1920 and used by a string of Cuban presidents, culminating…

  • Calle Mercaderes wall mural.

    Calle Mercaderes

    Habana Vieja

    Cobbled, car-free Calle Mercaderes (Merchant's Street) has been extensively restored by the Office of the City Historian and is an almost complete replica…

  • Cuba, Santiago de Cuba Province, Santiago de Cuba, Lighthouse at Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca del Morro

    Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca del Morro

    Santiago de Cuba

    A Unesco World Heritage site since 1997, the San Pedro fort sits impregnably atop a 60m-high promontory at the entrance to Santiago harbor, 10km southwest…

  • Vintage car passing modern bar nestled between dilapidated Art Nouveau buildings along the Av de Malecon.

    Malecón

    Havana

    The Malecón, Havana's evocative 7km-long sea drive, is one of the city's most soulful and quintessentially Cuban thoroughfares, and long a favored meeting…

  • Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso

    Havana

    The neobaroque Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso, erected as a Galician social club between 1907 and 1914, features highly ornate and even exuberant…

  • Capitolio Nacional

    Havana

    The incomparable Capitolio Nacional is Havana's most ambitious and grandiose building, constructed after the post-WWI boom ('Dance of the Millions')…

  • Plaza de la Catedral

    Habana Vieja

    Habana Vieja's most uniform square is a museum to Cuban baroque, with all the surrounding buildings, including the city's beguiling asymmetrical cathedral…

  • Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana in Plaza de la Catedral.

    Catedral de la Habana

    Habana Vieja

    Described by novelist Alejo Carpentier as 'music set in stone,' Havana's incredible cathedral, dominated by two unequal towers and framed by a theatrical…

  • Fusterlandia

    Havana

    Where does art go after Antoni Gaudí? For a hint, head west from central Havana to the seemingly low-key district of Jaimanitas, where artist José Fuster…

  • Museo Conjunto Histórico de Birán

    Holguín Province

    Fidel Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926, at the Finca Las Manacas near the village of Birán, south of Cueto. The sprawling ranch, bought by Fidel's…

  • Plaza Vieja, bustling with restaurants and cafes in evening.

    Plaza Vieja

    Habana Vieja

    Laid out in 1559, Plaza Vieja is Havana's most architecturally eclectic square, where Cuban baroque nestles seamlessly next to Gaudí-inspired art nouveau…

  • Statue of Perucho Figueredo at the Cespedes Park at the Bayamo, Cuba. Perucho Figueredo was a poet, musician and revolutionary in the 19th century. He wrote the cuban national anthem in 1867.

    Parque Céspedes

    Bayamo

    One of Cuba's leafiest squares, Bayamo's central meeting point is surrounded by pedestrian-only streets, making it a rare and peaceful spot. In addition…

  • Museo Historico Municipal and rooftops.

    Museo Histórico Municipal

    Trinidad

    Just off Plaza Mayor, this grandiose mansion, Trinidad's main museum, belonged to the Borrell family from 1827 to 1830. Later it passed to a German…

  • Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

    Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

    Santiago de Cuba

    Santiago's most important church is stunning both inside and out. There has been a cathedral on this site since the city's inception in the 1520s, though…

  • Interior of Teatro Tomas Terry, shot with fisheye lens, Parque Jose Marti, Cienfuegos, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cuba, West Indies, Central America

    Teatro Tomás Terry

    Cienfuegos

    Sharing French and Italian influences, this theater on the northern side of Parque José Martí is grand from the outside (look for the gold-leafed mosaics…

  • Cuba, Camaguey, Camaguey Province, Plaza Del Carmen, Iglesia de Nuestra Senora del Carmen and Unique life-sized sculptures of camagueyanos going about their daily life
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    Plaza del Carmen

    Camagüey

    Around 600m west of the frenzy of República sits another sublimely beautiful square, one less visited than the central plazas. It's backed on the eastern…

  • Courtyard in National Museum of Fine Art (El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes).

    Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

    Havana

    Spread over two campuses, the Bellas Artes is arguably the finest art gallery in the Caribbean. The Arte Cubano building contains the most comprehensive…

  • Loma de la Cruz or Hill of the Cross in Holguin, capital city of the province of Holguin, Cuba.

    Loma de la Cruz

    Holguín

    At the northern end of Maceo, a stairway built in 1950 ascends 465 steps to top a hill (275m) with panoramic views, a restaurant and a 24-hour bar. It's a…

  • Cuartel Moncada

    Santiago de Cuba

    Santiago's famous Moncada Barracks, a crenelated art deco building completed in 1938, is now synonymous with one of history's greatest failed putsches…

  • Museo de la Ciudad

    Habana Vieja

    Even with no artifacts, Havana's city museum would be a tour de force, courtesy of the opulent palace in which it resides. Filling the whole western side…

  • Playa Caletones

    Holguín Province

    A lovely little beach 17km northwest of Gibara, this stretch of white sand and azure sea is a favorite of Holguín vacationers. The town is ramshackle,…

  • Museo de Ambiente Histórico Cubano

    Santiago de Cuba

    The oldest house still standing in Cuba, this arresting early colonial abode dating from 1522 was the official residence of the island's first governor,…

  • Cafetal La Isabelica

    Santiago de Cuba Province

    The hub of the Unesco World Heritage site bestowed in 2000 upon the First Coffee Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba is this impressive two-story stone…

  • Museo de Historia Provincial

    Holguín

    Now a national monument, the building on the northern side of Parque Calixto García was constructed between 1860 and 1868 and was used as a Spanish army…

  • Iglesia de Monserrate

    Matanzas

    For a mappable view of mildewed Matanzas on one side and the broccoli-green Valle de Yumurí on the other, climb 1.5km northeast of the center up Calle 306…

  • Museo Municipal Emilio Bacardí Moreau

    Santiago de Cuba

    Narrow Pío Rosado links Calle Heredia to Calle Aguilera and the fabulous Grecian facade of the Bacardí Museum. Founded in 1899 by the rum-magnate war hero…

  • Taller-Galería Lolo

    Matanzas

    Imagine. You're tramping through Matanzas' tatty streets wondering whether the 'Athens of Cuba' moniker is just a local joke when you stumble upon this…

  • Museo Indocubano Bani

    Holguín Province

    This museum's small but rich collection of indigenous artifacts is one of the best on the island. Don't miss the tiny golden fertility idol unearthed near…

  • Museo Provincial Ignacio Agramonte

    Camagüey

    Named (like half of Camagüey) after the exalted local War of Independence hero, this cavernous museum, just north of the train station, is in a Spanish…

  • Casa de Arte Jover

    Camagüey

    Camagüey is home to two of Cuba's most creative and prodigious contemporary painters, Joel Jover and his wife Ileana Sánchez. Their magnificent home in…

  • Martha Jiménez Pérez

    Camagüey

    In Cuba's ceramics capital, the studio-gallery of Martha Jiménez Pérez shows the work of one of Cuba's greatest living artists. See everything from pots…

  • Museo de la Lucha Clandestina

    Santiago de Cuba

    This gorgeous yellow colonial-style building houses a museum detailing the underground struggle against Batista in the 1950s. It's a fascinating, if…

  • Playa de Morales

    Holguín Province

    One day in the not-too-distant future (after it's been Cancun-ized), we'll all wax nostalgic about this precious strip of sand situated 13km east of Banes…

  • La Gran Piedra

    Santiago de Cuba Province

    It's worth huffing and puffing the 459 stone steps to the summit of La Gran Piedra at 1234m. The huge rock on top measures 51m long and 25m high and…

  • Museo Chorro de Maita

    Holguín Province

    This archaeological-site-based museum protects the remains of an excavated indigenous village and cemetery, including the well-preserved remains of 62…

  • Casa Natal de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

    Bayamo

    Birthplace of the 'father of the motherland,' this museum is where Céspedes was born (on April 18, 1819) and spent his first 12 years. Inside, Céspedes…

  • Catedral de San Isidoro

    Holguín

    Dazzling white and characterized by its twin domed towers, the Catedral de San Isidoro, one of the town’s original constructions, dates from 1720. Added…

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