°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Around 600m west of the frenzy of República sits another sublimely beautiful square, one less visited than the central plazas. It's backed on the eastern…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Around 600m west of the frenzy of República sits another sublimely beautiful square, one less visited than the central plazas. It's backed on the eastern…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â is home to two of Cuba's most creative and prodigious contemporary painters, Joel Jover and his wife Ileana Sánchez. Their magnificent home in…
Museo Provincial Ignacio Agramonte
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Named (like half of °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â) after the exalted local War of Independence hero, this cavernous museum, just north of the train station, is in a Spanish…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
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…
Museo Casa Natal de Ignacio Agramonte
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
The birthplace of independence hero Ignacio Agramonte (1841–73), the cattle rancher who led the °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â area's revolt against Spain. The house – an…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
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…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Looking more Mexican than Cuban (Mexico was capital of New Spain so the colonial architecture was often superior), Plaza San Juan de Dios is °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â's…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â's most dazzling square in the heart of the city invites relaxation with rings of marble benches and an equestrian statue (c 1950) of °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â's…
Necropolis de °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
This sea of elaborate, lop-sided, bleached-white Gothic tombs makes up Cuba's most underrated cemetery, secreting the resting place of °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â-born…
Mercado Agropecuario Hatibonico
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
If you visit just one market in Cuba, make it this muddy one. Beside the murky RÃo Hatibonico just off the Carretera Central, and characterized by its…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Cuba's largest urban park sits across the RÃo Hatibonico from the old town, and was laid out in 1860. There are shaded benches, a baseball stadium,…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
The so-called 'lake of dreams' is as an out-of-town escape from °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â's urban maze. It uses the same inventive (if slightly kitschy) methodology…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Housed in a former hospital administered by Father José Olallo, the friar who became Cuba’s first saint, the museum chronicles °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â’s history and…
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Merced
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Dating from 1748, this is arguably °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â’s most impressive colonial church. Its history is imbued with legend. Local myth tells of a miraculous figure…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Impossible to miss thanks to its eclectic facade (a mix of Moorish and neoclassical elements), this museum's best exhibit is the building itself. Four…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
The Iglesia de San Lazaro is a beautiful (if diminutive) cream-coloured church dating from 1700. Just as interesting is the nearby cloistered hospital…
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Any exploration of °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â's religious history should begin at its most important church, named for the city's patron saint. Rebuilt in the 19th century…
Iglesia de Nuestra Corazón de Sagrado Jesús
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
One of Cuba’s rare neo-Gothic churches beautifies Parque MartÃ, a few blocks east of Parque Ignacio Agramonte. The triple-spired Iglesia de Nuestra…
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Gleaming after a much-lauded 2007 renovation, this massive baroque structure dates from 1779. Its picturesque cream-and-terracotta tower actually predates…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
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 de Nuestra Señora del Carmen
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
This twin-towered baroque beauty dates from 1825. Its former convent, Monasterio de las Ursalinas, is a sturdy arched colonial building with a pretty…
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
A shopping complex, Cuban-style, with all its engaging foibles and interpretations of commerce. Hit this pink colonial building, spruced up for the city's…
Monument to Mariano Baberán & JoaquÃn Collar
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
On a traffic island near the Casino Campestre entrance is a monument dedicated to Mariano Barberán and JoaquÃn Collar, Spaniards who made the first…
Casa Natal de Nicolás Guillén
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
This modest house gives visitors a small insight into Cuba's late national poet and his books. It doubles as the Instituto Superior de Arte, where local…
Centro de Interpretacion de la Ciudad
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Cuba loves its maquetas (scale models), and °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â is no exception. This one offers a good overview of the twisting streets of the city.
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Dr Carlos J Finlay (1833–1915), °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â's other hero, made medical breakthroughs in discovering how mosquitoes transmit yellow fever. Calling this place …
Iglesia de San Cristo del Buen Viaje
°ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â
Next door to Necropolis de °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â and overlooking a quiet square, this church is probably the least visited of °ä²¹³¾²¹²µÃ¼±ð²â’s ecclesial octet, but it is…