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 into the unique category: there is no other construction of its kind in Cuba. Dedicated to Cuban independence, the Francophile monument ushers you through its gilded gateway toward a marble statue of revolutionary and philosopher José Martí.
Arco de Triunfo
Cienfuegos
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.08 MILES
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…
1.7 MILES
Just when you thought Cienfuegos' eclectic architecture couldn't get any more eclectic, you reach the southern end of Punta Gorda where, with a sharp…
Palacio Ferrer – Museo de las Artes
0.03 MILES
On the western side of Parque José Martí, this riveting neoclassical building (1918) was lovingly restored in time for Cienfuegos' 200th anniversary in…
22.22 MILES
El Nicho, an outlying segment of the Topes de Collantes Natural Park, is the name of a beautiful waterfall on the Río Hanabanilla and the protected zone…
0.73 MILES
Keep heading south on Paseo del Prado and the street becomes the Malecón as it cuts alongside one of the world's finest natural bays, offering exquisite…
8.39 MILES
The 94-hectare botanic garden, 17km east of Cienfuegos, is Cuba's oldest, established in 1901. (Decades later the botanical garden in Havana used its…
Castillo de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Jagua
5.66 MILES
Predating the city of Cienfuegos by nearly a century, this fort, to the west of the mouth of Bahía de Cienfuegos, was designed by José Tontete in 1738 and…
6.36 MILES
Laguna Guanaroca is a mangrove-rimmed saline lake southeast of Cienfuegos. It's second only to Las Salinas on the Península de Zapata as a bird magnet,…
Nearby Cienfuegos attractions
1. Palacio Ferrer – Museo de las Artes
0.03 MILES
On the western side of Parque José Martí, this riveting neoclassical building (1918) was lovingly restored in time for Cienfuegos' 200th anniversary in…
0.07 MILES
Poorly presented, slightly grubby museum on the south side of Parque José Martí that proffers a microcosm of Cienfuegos' history including a few…
0.08 MILES
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…
0.08 MILES
Most of Parque José Martí's south side is dominated by this grandiose, silvery-gray building where the provincial government (Poder Popular Provincial)…
0.1 MILES
On the east side of Teatro Café Tomás, this building with its striking colonnaded facade was constructed during the 1920s with funds left by wealthy city…
0.1 MILES
On the southeastern corner of Parque José Martí stands the city's oldest building, once the residence of city founder Louis D'Clouet and now a souvenir…
7. Catedral de la Purísima Concepción Church
0.11 MILES
On the eastern side of Parque José Martí, Cienfuegos' cathedral dates from 1869 and is distinguished by its French stained-glass windows in an otherwise…
8. Museo Histórico Naval Nacional
0.26 MILES
Close to the railway tracks, five blocks northwest of Parque José Martí, is this crenelated blue and white museum, dating from 1933. It's housed in the…