Finca Raúl Reyes

Viñales

　　Finca Raúl Reyes, 1km north of the town center, is a tobacco plantation where you can enjoy fruit, coffee, puros (cigars) and a dose of throat-warming rum. From here, you can also hike up to Cueva de la Vaca, a cave that carves a tunnel through the mogotes (limestone monoliths);...

Finca Agroecológica El Olivo

Viñales

　　Go directly to the source. Viñales' celebrated farm-to-table restaurant, Olivo, gets most of its ingredients from this farm in nearby Valle del Silencio. Run by the same family as the restaurant, the farm uses goats to make cheese, has a lake stocked with fresh fish (including tilapia), and copious fields...

El Jardín Botanico de las Hermanas Caridad y Carmen Miranda

Viñales

　　Just opposite the Servi-Cupet gas station as Cisneros swings north out of town, you'll spot an outlandish, vine-choked gate beckoning you in. This is the entrance to a sprawling garden, work on which began in 1918. Cascades of orchids bloom alongside plastic doll heads, thickets of orange lilies grow in...

Gran Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra

Las Tunas

　　Comprising a sublime mountainscape of verdant peaks and humid cloud forest, and home to honest, hardworking campesinos (country folk), Gran Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra is an alluring natural sanctuary that still echoes with the gunshots of Castro's guerrilla campaign of the late 1950s. Guides are required to travel within the...

Comandancia de la Plata

Las Tunas

　　Topping a crenelated mountain ridge amid thick cloud forest, this pioneering camp was established by Fidel Castro in 1958 after a year on the run in the Sierra Maestra. Well-camouflaged and remote, the rebel HQ was chosen for its inaccessibility, and it served its purpose well – Batista's soldiers never...

Museo de la Revolución

Las Tunas

　　This emblematic museum is set in the former Presidential Palace, constructed between 1913 and 1920 and used by a string of Cuban presidents, culminating in Fulgencio Batista. The world-famous Tiffany's of New York decorated the interior, and the shimmering Salón de los Espejos (Hall of Mirrors) was designed to resemble...

Museo Conjunto Histórico de Birán

Las Tunas

　　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 father Ángel in 1915, includes its own workers' village (a cluster of small thatched huts for the mainly Haitian laborers), a cockfighting...

Parque Libertad

Matanzas

　　A few blocks directly west of Plaza de la Vigía is Parque Libertad, the anchor of Matanzas' cultural life and home to several of the city's most stimulating sights, including a 'liberty' statue depicting an open-armed woman, her wrists bearing broken chains, and a bronze statue (1909) of José Martí....

Galería-Taller El Garabato

Matanzas

　　The workspace and gallery of local painter Adrián Socorro is fortuitously located next to Taller-Galería Lolo, inviting you to witness a double-whammy of chin-scratching art. You can watch, chat with the artist, and purchase Socorro’s work right from the source. Some of his more affordable creations are painted onto old...

Plaza de la Vigía

Matanzas

　　The original Plaza de Armas still remains as Plaza de la Vigía (literally 'lookout place'), a reference to the threat from piracy and smuggling that Matanzas' first settlers faced. This diminutive square was where Matanzas was founded in the late 17th century and numerous iconic historical buildings still stand guard....

Puente Calixto García

Matanzas

　　If you've only got time to see one bridge (there are 21 in total) in Cuba's celebrated 'city of bridges,' gravitate toward this impressive steel structure built in 1899, spanning the Río San Juan with its kayaks floating lazily by. Just south is a distinctive Che Mural while the northern...

Catedral de San Carlos Borromeo

Matanzas

　　Standing back from the disorganized melee of Calle 83 behind shady Plaza de la Iglesia is Matanzas' main church, a neoclassical structure with two unequal towers founded in 1693 (although the existing building dates from the 1730s). Despite being made a cathedral in 1912, the church suffered terribly from years...

Teatro Sauto

Matanzas

　　The defining symbol of the city according to Mexican painter (and admirer) Diego Rivera, the Teatro Sauto (1863) on Plaza de la Vigía's south side is one of Cuba's finest theaters and famous for its superb acoustics. The lobby is graced by marble Greek goddesses and the ceiling in the...

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 industrious artist's collective down by the river, guarded by epic surreal sculptures seemingly made out of bits of a salvaged ship. Inside you plunge, for plenty...

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 to this renovated church dating from 1875. The lofty bastion perched high above the city was built by colonists from Catalonia in...

Teatro la Caridad

Santa Clara

　　Many are deceived by the relatively austere neoclassical facade, but toss CUC$1 to whoever is manning the door and you'll serendipitously discover why the 1885 Teatro la Caridad is one of the three great provincial theaters of the colonial era. 　　The ornate interior is almost identical to the Tomás Terry...

Catedral de las Santas Hermanas de Santa Clara de Asís

Santa Clara

　　Three blocks west of Parque Vidal, Santa Clara's cathedral was constructed amid huge controversy in 1923 after the demolition of the city's original church in the main park. It contains a fantastic collection of stained-glass windows, some notable art deco influences and a mythical white statue of Mother Mary known...

Museo Provincial Abel Santamaría

Santa Clara

　　Not actually a memorial to Señor Santamaría (Fidel's right-hand man at Moncada), but rather a small provincial museum quartered in former military barracks where Batista's troops surrendered to Che Guevara on January 1, 1959. The comprehensive and well-labeled displays (Spanish only) make good use of photos and cover the full...

Fábrica de Tabacos Constantino Pérez Carrodegua

Santa Clara

　　Santa Clara's tobacco factory, one of Cuba's best, makes a quality range of Montecristos, Partagás and Romeo y Julieta cigars. Tours here are lo-fi compared to those in Havana, and so the experience is a lot more interesting and less rushed. Buy tickets in advance at the Cubatur office. Beware,...

Sitio-Museo Acción Contra El Tren Blindado

Santa Clara

　　History was made at the site of this small boxcar museum on December 29, 1958, when Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of 18 rifle-wielding revolutionaries barely out of their teens derailed an armored train using a borrowed bulldozer and homemade Molotov cocktails. 　　The battle lasted 90 minutes and improbably...

Melaíto Murals

Santa Clara

　　Santa Clara is peppered with comic book–style murals, the work of a local graphic artists' collective called Melaíto, which produces a monthly supplement to the local Vanguardia newspaper. The cartoons change regularly, but there are usually a good selection splattered on the walls around the Vanguardia office near Parque Vidal....

Parque Vidal

Santa Clara

　　A veritable alfresco theater named for Colonel Leoncio Vidal y Caro, who was killed here on March 23, 1896, Parque Vidal was encircled by twin sidewalks during the colonial era, with a fence separating blacks and whites. Scars of more recent division are evident on the facade of mint-green Hotel...

Conjunto Escultórico Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara

Santa Clara

　　The end point of many a Che pilgrimage, this monument, mausoleum and museum complex is 2km west of Parque Vidal (via Rafael Tristá on Av de los Desfiles), near the Víazul bus station. Even if you don't care for the Argentine guerrilla for whom many reserve an almost religious reverence,...

Plaza de la Patria

Bayamo

　　This square is where Fidel Castro gave his final, rousing public speech in July 2006 before being taken ill and stepping down as president. The monument to the Cuban greats here features Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Antonio Maceo, Máximo Gómez, Perucho Figueredo and, subtly placed left of center, Fidel: it's...

Catedral de San Salvador de Bayamo

Bayamo

　　There's been a church on this site since 1514. The current edifice dates from 1740 but was devastated in the 1869 fire, so much of what you see results from building work in 1919. One original section surviving the fire is the Capilla de la Dolorosa with its gilded wooden...

Museo de Cera

Bayamo

　　The tiny Museo de Cera, Bayamo’s diminutive version of Madame Tussauds, has convincing waxworks of Cuban personalities such as Polo Montañez, Benny Moré and local hero Carlos Puebla. On a more internationalist note, you'll also find Gabriel García Márquez and Hugo Chávez. ...

Paseo Bayamés

Bayamo

　　Bayamo's main shopping street was pedestrianized in the 1990s and reconfigured with benches and funky artwork. At its southern end you'll find wax museum Museo de Cera; centrally, there are various public utilities and Cuban-style commerce, including food stalls at night. ...

Fabrica de los Coches

Bayamo

　　It's worth the jaunt to observe the goings-on at Cuba's only handcrafted coche (horse cart) production line. Most horse carts you'll see in Cuba are metal, but these are fashioned in wood and take far longer to produce (up to three months per cart). 　　You'll see horse carts in various...

Jardín Botánico de Cupaynicu

Bayamo

　　For a floral appreciation of Bayamo's evergreen hinterland, head to this botanic garden about 16km outside the city off the Guisa road. It's on very few itineraries, so you can have the serene, serendipitous 104 hectares more or less to yourself. There are 74 types of palms, scores of cacti,...

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 memorabilia is complemented by a collection of spectacularly preserved period furniture. It's notable architecturally as Bayamo's only remaining two-story colonial house, one of the...

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 to its friendly airs and role as the city's best outdoor music venue (orchestras regularly play here), the square is loaded with historical significance. 　　In 1868 Céspedes...

Fuerte de la Punta

Baracoa

　　This Spanish fort has watched over the harbor entrance at the northwestern end of town since 1803. The super thick, hurricane-resistant walls now hide a restaurant. ...

Playa Duaba

Baracoa

　　Heading north on the Moa road, take the Hotel Porto Santo/airport turnoff and continue for 2km past the airport runway to a black-sand beach at the river mouth where Antonio Maceo, Flor Crombet and others landed in 1895 to start the Second War of Independence. There's a campismo (cheap rustic...

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

Baracoa

　　After years of neglect, Baracoa's hurricane-battered historic cathedral has been lovingly restored using primarily Italian funding. There's been a building on this site since the 16th century, though this present, much-altered, incarnation dates from 1833. 　　The church's most famous artifact is the priceless Cruz de la Parra, the only survivor...

Castillo de Seboruco

Baracoa

　　Baracoa's highest fort was begun by the Spanish in 1739 and finished by the Americans in 1900. Barely recognizable as a fort these days, it serves as Hotel El Castillo. There's an excellent view of El Yunque's flat top over the shimmering swimming pool. A steep stairway at the southwest...

Casa del Cacao

Baracoa

　　Baracoa, you will quickly ascertain (via your nose), is the center of Cuba's chocolate industry; cacao is grown hereabouts and subsequently chocolate-ized in a local factory. Thus this museum with cafe chronicles the history of cacao and its importance in eastern Cuba as well as offering cups full of the...

Fuerte Matachín

Baracoa

　　Baracoa is protected by a trio of muscular Spanish forts. This one, built in 1802 at the southern entrance to town, houses the Museo Municipal. The small but beautiful building showcases an engaging chronology of Cuba's oldest settlement, including polymita snail shells, the story of Che Guevara and the chocolate...

Parque Natural Majayara

Baracoa

　　Southeast of town in the Parque Natural Majayara are a couple of magical hikes and swimming opportunities plus an archaeological trail in the grounds of a lush family farm. It's a very low-key, DIY diversion. Alternatively, Ecotur leads trips here (CUC$20). 　　Passing the Fuerte Matachín, hike southeast past the baseball...

Museo Arqueológico 'La Cueva del Paraíso'

Baracoa

　　Baracoa's most impressive museum, La Cueva del Paraíso is a series of caves that were once Taíno burial chambers. Among nearly 2000 authentic Taíno pieces are unearthed skeletons, ceramics, 3000-year-old petroglyphs and a replica of the Ídolo de Tabaco, a sculpture found in Maisí in 1903 and considered to be...

Parque Ignacio Agramonte

Camagüey

　　Camagüey's most dazzling square in the heart of the city invites relaxation with rings of marble benches and an equestrian statue (c 1950) of Camagüey's precocious War of Independence hero, Agramonte. Stop by at 6pm to watch local youth in white campesino garb solemnly lowering the flag with great pomp,...

Plaza San Juan de Dios

Camagüey

　　Looking more Mexican than Cuban (Mexico was capital of New Spain so the colonial architecture was often superior), Plaza San Juan de Dios is Camagüey's most picturesque and beautifully preserved corner. Its eastern aspect is dominated by the Museo de San Juan de Dios, formerly a hospital. Worthwhile restaurants lurk...

Estudio-Galería Jover

Camagüey

　　The working studio of Joel Jover, a noted Cuban artist with exhibits in New York, Vienna and Italy. By comparison, his works here are a bargain (though still not pocket change). Multimedia works and paintings deal with themes of identity related to Cuba's complicated heritage and relationship with the diaspora....

Museo Casa Natal de Ignacio Agramonte

Camagüey

　　The birthplace of independence hero Ignacio Agramonte (1841–73), the cattle rancher who led the Camagüey area's revolt against Spain. The house – an elegant colonial building in its own right – tells of the oft-overlooked role of Camagüey and Agramonte in the First War of Independence. The hero's gun is...

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 to paintings being produced here. The studio overlooks Pérez' magnum opus, Plaza del Carmen's alfresco statue of three gossiping women entitled Chismosas (gossipers). The chismosas also...

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 cavalry barracks dating from 1848. There's some impressive artwork upstairs, including much by Camagüey locals, as well as antique furniture and old family heirlooms....