Must-see attractions in Cuba

  • 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…

  • Fábrica de Órganos

    Holguín

    Visitors can tour the only mechanical music-organ factory in Cuba. This small factory produces about six organs a year, as well as guitars and other…

  • 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…

  • Monumento a Antonio Maceo

    Havana

    Lying in the shadow of Hospital Nacional Hermanos Ameijeiras, a 24-story Soviet-era hospital built in 1980, is this bronze representation of the mulato …

  • La Casa del Veguero

    Viñales

    To learn about the local tobacco-growing process, stop by this tobacco plantation just outside Viñales on the road south to Pinar del Río and see a fully…

  • Palacio de Gobierno

    Cienfuegos

    Most of Parque José Martí's south side is dominated by this grandiose, silvery-gray building where the provincial government (Poder Popular Provincial)…

  • Palacio de los Matrimonios

    Havana

    In largely secular Cuba, this is where many habaneros come to get married and – appropriately – the building is no less lavish than an average church…

  • Palacio de los Condes de Jaruco

    Habana Vieja

    This muscular mansion on Plaza Vieja's southwestern corner is one of the square's oldest, constructed in 1738 from local limestone in a transitional…

  • Museo Provincial

    Cienfuegos

    Poorly presented, slightly grubby museum on the south side of Parque José Martí that proffers a microcosm of Cienfuegos' history including a few…

  • Necrópolis Tomás Acea

    Cienfuegos

    Perhaps the finest Cuban cemetery outside Havana and Santiago, the Acea is classed as a 'garden cemetery' and is entered through a huge neoclassical…

  • 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…

  • Vitrina de Valonia

    Habana Vieja

    Housed in a restored colonial mansion, this library and comic-book museum highlights the relationship between Belgium and Cuba, hosting Belgium Culture…

  • Arco de Triunfo

    Cienfuegos

    Prepare yourself: it's smaller than the one in Paris, but the Arch of Triumph on the western edge of Cienfuegos' serene central park catapults the plaza…

  • 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…

  • Casa Museo de Frank y Josué País

    Santiago de Cuba

    Integral to the success of the revolution, the young País brothers organized the underground section of the M-26-7 (26th of July Movement) in Santiago de…

  • Museo Romántico

    Trinidad

    The ground floor of the glittering Palacio Brunet was built in 1740, and the upstairs was added in 1808. In 1974 the mansion was converted into a museum…

  • Convento & Iglesia del Carmen

    Havana

    This little-visited church’s bell tower dominates the Centro Habana skyline and is topped by a huge statue of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, but the real…

  • Fototeca de Cuba

    Habana Vieja

    This photographic archive of Old Havana from the early 20th century onward was started by former City Historian Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring in 1937. There…

  • 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…

  • Statue of General Máximo Gómez

    Habana Vieja

    On a large traffic island overlooking the mouth of the harbor is a rather grand depiction of Máximo Gómez, a war hero from the Dominican Republic who…

  • Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús

    Havana

    A little out of the way but well worth the walk is this inspiring marble creation with a distinctive white steeple – it's one of Cuba's few Gothic…

  • Museo El Templete

    Habana Vieja

    This museum is housed in the tiny neoclassical Doric chapel on the eastern side of Plaza de Armas, and was erected in 1828 at the point where Havana's…

  • 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…

  • Parque Peralta

    Holguín

    This square is named for General Julio Grave de Peralta (1834–72), who led an uprising against Spain from Holguín in October 1868. His marble statue (1916…

  • 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…

  • Calle José A Saco

    Santiago de Cuba

    A pedestrian-only street stretching from Plaza de Marte to the Paseo Alameda on the waterfront. Heaps of locals browse the shops and restaurants. For…

  • 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…

  • Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad

    Camagüey

    Gleaming after a much-lauded 2007 renovation, this massive baroque structure dates from 1779. Its picturesque cream-and-terracotta tower actually predates…

  • Museo de Arte Colonial

    Habana Vieja

    The resplendent Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona in Plaza de la Catedral, built in 1720, today functions as the Museo de Arte Colonial, a small museum…

  • Casa de la Cultura Miguel Matamoros

    Santiago de Cuba

    The Casa de la Cultura Miguel Matamoros, on Parque Céspedes' eastern aspect, is the former San Carlos Club, a social center for wealthy santiagüeros until…

  • Iglesia de la Caridad

    Camagüey

    On the southeastern edge of the city, this church was originally constructed as a chapel in the 18th century. It got a couple of 20th-century renovations …

  • Iglesia Jesús de Miramar

    Havana

    Despite its modernity, Playa cradles Cuba's second-largest church, an aesthetically pleasing neo-Romanesque structure topped by a giant dome. Built in…

  • Museo de Historia Natural

    Holguín

    You'll find more stuffed animals here than in a New York toy store – everything from the world's smallest frog to the world's tiniest hummingbird. There's…

  • Parque Chapuzón

    Bayamo

    Greenery beckons about a kilometer from Bayamo's center where the Bayamo River has carved a lush belt through the urban grid. Locals come to this blissful…

  • Maqueta de la Ciudad

    Santiago de Cuba

    Cuba is obsessed with scale city models, and Santiago, with this incredibly detailed maqueta, is no exception. Interesting historical and architectural…

  • Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam

    Habana Vieja

    At the corner of Plaza de la Catedral, this cultural center named after the island's most celebrated painter is hit or miss depending on what is or isn't…

  • Cuartel de Bomberos

    Matanzas

    This unique firefighting museum occupies a still-working fire station and is staffed by friendly volunteers who’ll show you around lovingly polished…