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),…
Must-see attractions in Villa Clara Province
Parroquia de San Juan Bautista de Remedios
Villa Clara Province
One of the island's most interesting and oldest ecclesiastical buildings, Remedios' main church dates from around 1550, although much of the current…
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…
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…
Museo de Agroindustria Azucarero Marcelo Salado
Villa Clara Province
Towards Remedios, 3km past the crab statue, lies this former sugar mill (decommissioned in 1998), which is now a museum. Of the four preserved sugar mills…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Museo de las Parrandas Remedianas
Villa Clara Province
Visiting this museum two blocks off Parque Martí is no substitute for the real-life revelry of Remedios' firework-driven Las Parrandas, but what the hell?…
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…
Santa Clara
Something of a sleeping beauty on Parque Vidal, this 18th-century mansion turned museum is packed with period furniture from a whole gamut of styles that…
Refugio de Fauna Cayo Santa María
Villa Clara Province
You can forge your own way into what's left of Cayo Santa María's natural habitat in this fauna refuge. A small booth (sometimes unmanned) with various…
Villa Clara Province
One of the area's oldest and oddest curiosities is this San Diego tanker, built in 1920 and wrecked in 1933 on the far side of Cayo Francés, just west of…
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen
Santa Clara
The city's oldest church is five blocks north of Parque Vidal. It was built in 1748, with a tower added in 1846. During the War of Independence it stood…
Villa Clara Province
One of the few beaches left on Cayo Santa María not connected to a resort, Playa Las Gaviotas is located inside a nature reserve at the far east of the…
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje
Villa Clara Province
On Parque Martí (the only plaza in Cuba with two Catholic churches), the 18th-century Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje is in the middle of a long…
Villa Clara Province
The entrance to Caibarién is guarded by a giant crustacean, the town's symbol, designed by Florencio Gelabert Pérez and erected in 1983.
Santa Clara
Far more intimate and intricate a monument than its big brother on the other side of town, this statue in front of the Oficina de la Provincia (PCC) four…
Santa Clara
Two blocks east of the Estatua Che y niño, a road to the right leads to Santa Clara's best lookout, the distinctive Loma del Capiro. The crest is marked…
Museo de Música Alejandro García Caturla
Villa Clara Province
Between the churches in the main square is the former house of Alejandro García Caturla, a Cuban composer and musician who lived here from 1920 until his…
Galería del Arte Carlos Enríquez
Villa Clara Province
Overlooking the main plaza, this small gallery is named for the gifted painter who hailed from the small Villa Clara town of Zulueta. It displays works by…
Santa Clara
The eastern side of Parque Vidal is guarded by the thick columns of the neoclassical Palacio Provincial (1902), today home to the Martí library (9am to…
Museo Municipal María Escobar Laredo
Villa Clara Province
Even humble Caibarién had a heyday (although it was a while ago): find out more about it here in one of the city's most elegant buildings, the former…
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje
Santa Clara
East of the center, the Buen Viaje (1707) is Santa Clara's third-oldest church. The current structure is an interesting mix of Gothic, Romanesque and…
Villa Clara Province
Small street corner gallery displaying local art in the town that spawned Cuba’s greatest painter, Wifredo Lam, born here in 1902.
