Varadero Sights

  1. Artisan Market

    If art and history are your thing you've come to the wrong place. Varadero's reputation as a font of cultural interaction is not exactly legendary. Nevertheless there are a few sights worth pondering over if the beach banality starts to wear a bit thin.

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  2. Cueva de Ambrosio

    East on Autopista Sur and 500m beyond the Club Amigo Varadero is the Cueva de Ambrosio. In 1961 some 47 pre-Columbian drawings were discovered in this 300m cave. The black and red drawings feature the same concentric circles seen in similar paintings on the Isla de la Juventud, perhaps a form of solar calendar. The cave was also used as a refuge by escaped slaves.

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  3. Delfinario

    Beyond Marina Chapelín, 5km northeast of the Dupont Mansion along Autopista Sur, is Varadero's Delfinario. Dolphin shows happen here daily at 11:00, 14:30 and 16:30. Swimming with the dolphins is an option for a fee. You're allowed to grab the dolphin's fin and let it drag you around. Ride of a lifetime or cruel aqua-zoo? You decide.

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  4. Iglesia de Santa Elvira

    Just east of Parque Central is the colonial-style Iglesia de Santa Elvira and there's a monument to fallen revolutionary heroes across the street.

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  5. Mansión Xanadu

    Everything east of the stone gate on Av Las Américas, near Hotel Las Morlas, once belonged to the Dupont family. Here they built a three-story mansion called Xanadu overlooking the coast and laid out a nine-hole golf course. Today the Mansión Xanadu is a B&B abreast Varadero's 18-hole golf course, with a restaurant downstairs and a bar on the top floor; a choice spot for sunset cocktails.

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  7. Museo Municipal de Varadero

    The friendly Museo Municipal de Varadero displays period furniture and Varadero history in a large, two-story mansion erected in 1921. Don't miss the two-headed baby shark and the fine beach view from the upstairs balcony.

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  8. Parque Josone

    Parque Josone is Varadero's Central Park. The expansive, shady grounds feature an attractive lake with quaint bridges and geese flitting about, lots of lovely trees and a tranquil vibe. Girls celebrating their quinciñeras (15th birthdays) often hold their photo shoots here.

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  9. Playa Las Calaveras

    Playa Las Calaveras, 800m of beach promoted as 'virgin' by tourist brochures is dotted with massage shacks and drink stands.

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  10. Plaza América

    Near Mansión Xanadu, Plaza América is Varadero's (and Cuba's) top shopping mall.

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  11. Reserva Ecológica Varahicacos

    A few hundred meters beyond the Cueva de Ambrosio is the entrance to the Varadero's nominal green space and a wildlife reserve that's about as 'wild' as New York's Central Park. Bulldozers have been chomping away at its edges for years. There are three short trails, the highlight of which are a couple of caves and a giant cactus tree nicknamed 'El Patriarca' (patriarch).

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