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Playas del Este
City/Region: Havana
Twenty-five minutes east of Havana are the Playas del Este, a chain of sandy beaches stretching for six miles (10km) between Bacuranao and Guanabo. At weekends they are generally packed with Cubans escaping the city. There are a few tourist hotels lining the coast, but other than that there are limited facilities. If needing an escape from the city the beaches make a good day trip, however those expecting pristine tropical island beaches might be disappointed.

Museo de la Ciudad (Museum of the City)
City/Region: Havana
The stately Baroque residence of Cuba's colonial governors and former Presidential Palace, the Palace of the Captains General built in 1791, stands as an impressive sight on the Plaza de Armas and is now the repository for the city's museum collections. The museum's displays and exhibits tell the tale of Havana, from its founding to the present day, including rooms devoted to the Cuban wars for national independence. The colorful Hall of Flags contains the original Cuban flag as well as a number of others used by the Spanish colonial government. There are also exhibits relating to archaeology, folklore and weaponry, and an art collection that includes porcelain, paintings and furniture of historic value and great beauty.
Address: Calle Tacón, Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja
Hours: Daily 9am to 6pm
Admission: CUC 3 (excluding historical room sets), CUC 4 (including a guide and all exhibition areas). Cameras: CUC 2

Cigar factories
City/Region: Havana
Even non-smokers have to agree that a visit to Cuba would not be complete without investigating the island's most famous export, cigars. The art of cigar-making in Cuba is old and traditional, and three main factories in Havana offer tours for visitors to see cigars still rolled by hand. In the oldest factory, Partagas founded in 1827, traditionally a reader is employed to keep workers entertained while they fashion the famous cigars. Havana's other cigar factories are La Corona and the lesser-visited Romeo y Julieta. There are shops attached to the factories where cigars can be purchased. Visitors are advised not to buy cigars from people off the street as these are usually rolled banana leaves fashioned into cigar look-alikes and the sellers are persistent hustlers.
Address: Partagas Factory: Calle Industria 520, Centro Habana
Phone Number: Partagas: (0)7 862 4604
Hours: Partagas tours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 2pm
Admission: CUC 10

Plaza de la Revolución
City/Region: Havana
Dominated by the imposing José Martí Memorial, the gigantic square has seen numerous political rallies, and the podium in front of the memorial is where important political figures like Fidel Castro have addressed more than a million Cubans on important occasions, such as 1 May and 26 July each year. At the foot of the memorial is a museum dedicated to José Martí, a national hero who would certainly have become Cuba's first president had he survived the Second War of Independence in 1895. It is possible to take the elevator to the top of the 138ft (42m) memorial, the highest structure in the city. Located behind the memorial are the closely guarded offices of Castro. Opposite the memorial on the far side of the square is the much-photographed Che Guevara image with the slogan Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Forever Onwards Towards Victory) that identifies the Ministry of the Interior building.
Hours: Memorial: Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5pm
Admission: Memorial: CUC 5

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
City/Region: Havana
The modern Bellas Artes Museum is split into two buildings housing International and Cuban art. The Colección de Arte Universal covers everything from ancient Greek artifacts and Latin American pieces to art by French, Dutch and Italian painters. The Colección de Arte Cubano is also outstanding and covers works from the 16th to the 20th centuries by prominent Cuban artists.
Address: Arte Cubano: Calle Trocadero between Agramonte and Av de las Misiones; Arte Universal: Centro Asturiano, Centro Habana
Phone Number: (0)7 861 3858
Hours: Arte Cubano: Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 2pm; Arte Universal closed on Tuesdays
Admission: CUC 5 per building, CUC 8 for both buildings; guided tour CUC 2

Museo de la Revolución
City/Region: Havana
Formerly the Presidential Palace and headquarters of the Cuban government, the impressive building now houses documents, photographs and artifacts pertaining to the Cuban Revolution and provides an excellent introduction to, and understanding of, Cuba's history and its struggle for independence. Prepare to spend a few hours wandering from room to room as the story unfolds from Spanish colonial times to the present day. In front of the museum entrance stands a watchtower that was part of the old city walls, as well as a tank used by Fidel Castro during the battle of the Bay of Pigs in 1961. Behind the museum is the glass-encased yacht, the 'Granma', which brought 82 revolutionaries, including Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, from Mexico to set the 1956 Revolution in motion.
Address: Calle Refugio, between Calle Agramonte and Av de las Misiones, Centro Habana
Phone Number: (0)7 624 091
Hours: Daily 10am to 5pm
Admission: CUC 5

Montemar Natural Park
City/Region: Havana
Cuba is developing its eco-tourism potential, and one of the prime spots for getting back to nature is at the Montemar Natural Park on the Zapata Peninsula in the province of Matanzas (about 75 miles/120km from Havana). The peninsula is one of the largest swamps in the Caribbean, and its vast area includes forests, marshes, crystal clear lagoons and canals. Its exuberant flora, including more than 900 species of plants (115 of them endemic to Cuba) is complemented by its rich fauna, consisting of 160 bird species and 12 types of animal, including crocodiles. One of the park's many features is the Laguna del Tesoro (Treasure Lagoon), a fresh water reservoir inhabited by golden trout. In the midst of the lagoon is a reproduction Taino village with its houses built on pillars. There are nature trails, a bird watching center, and the largest flooded cave in Cuba. There is also a scuba center, crocodile farm and several restaurants.

Capitolio Nacional
City/Region: Havana
One of Havana's grandest pieces of architecture, the Capitolio is an important landmark and one of Centro Habana's major sights. Resembling the US Capitol in Washington, DC, the monumental stone stairway leads to the vast domed hall from where tours will take visitors beyond the doors to elaborately decorated chambers that once housed the seat of Cuban Congress. Today it is home to the National Library and Academy of Sciences, and many of its rooms are still used for state events. Directly beneath the dome lies an imitation 24-carat diamond set into the marble floor, from where all highway distances between Havana and all sites in Cuba are measured.
Address: Paseo de Marti, Centro Habana
Phone Number: (0)7 863 7861
Hours: Daily 9am to 6pm
Admission: CUC 3; guided tour CUC 4

Baconao Park
City/Region: Santiago de Cuba
The large park region, which is a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve, is filled with attractions other than wildlife refuges and coffee plantations. It is possible to climb 459 stone steps to the summit of the huge rock, La Gran Piedra, and stand 4,049ft (1,234m) above sea level for a beautiful view. It is said that on a dark night one can see the lights of Jamaica. In the Valle de la Prehistoria visitors are awed by dozens of life-size model dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures lurking in lush vegetation. There is also a magnificent 45-hectare (111-acre) garden, the Jardin Ave de Paraiso, dating from 1860, that was laid out on a former coffee plantation and features a series of color-coded gardens with unique scents and displays in each. An artist community consisting of 10 families have formed a fieldstone hamlet offering artwork of high standard at Comunidad Artistas Oasis, and then there is also an Auto Museum featuring gleaming old model cars.

Castillo de San Pedro del Morro (Morro Castle)
City/Region: Santiago de Cuba
Santiago's most impressive structure is poised ominously atop the cliffs at the narrow entrance to Santiago Bay, about nine miles (14km) south of Santiago. This enormous piece of military architecture - a maze of stairways and dungeons - was begun in 1640. The Morro was rebuilt in 1664 after the English pirate, Henry Morgan, reduced it to rubble. The castle now houses the Museum of Piracy, featuring excellent displays on piracy, colonialism, and slavery. There are old blunderbusses, muskets, cutlasses and Toldeo blades in glass cases.
Phone Number: 226 691 569
Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 4pm
Admission: CUC 3; extra for cameras

Bacardi Museum
City/Region: Santiago de Cuba
Bacardi, the world's largest privately held, family-owned spirits company, started producing rum in Santiago way back in 1862. The family fled Cuba after the revolution in 1959 although the company's current production sales exceed 240 million bottles a year in 170 countries. Emilio Bacardi's private art and antique collection is still in Santiago as is the original family rum distillery. It was the fruit bats that nested in the rafters of the original rum factory that gave Bacardi rum its world-famous bat logo.
Address: Calle Pio Rosado No. 552 e/Aguilera y Heredia
Phone Number: 226 62 8402

Santa Ifigenia Cemetery
City/Region: Santiago de Cuba
The gateway to this cemetery is dominated by a memorial to Cuban soldiers who died fighting in Angola. From here the visitor is led to the impressive tomb of Cuban national hero, revolutionary and writer Jose Marti. The tomb is in the form of a crenulated hexagonal tower with each side representing one of Cuba's six original provinces. The round mausoleum is designed so that the sun will always shine on Marti's casket, which is draped with the Cuban flag. The cemetery also contains a shrine to the Virgin of Charity, Cuba's patron saint, in the form of the Basilica del Cobre. This little church is said to be the scene of miracles performed by the saint.
Address: Av Crombet
Hours: Daily 7am to 6pm
Admission: CUC 1; extra for cameras

Habana Vieja
City/Region: Havana
This historic section of Cuba's capital was founded in 1519 and for centuries was an important naval port of colonial Spain. Being in such a strategic position the city was targeted by pirates and was fought over on numerous occasions and the ruins of the defensive walls that surrounded the city can still be seen. The Old City now also contains museums, hotels, restaurants and shops lining the original cobble-stoned streets. Surrounding the picturesque squares (plazas) are beautiful restored colonial buildings with grand facades, and striking churches that form a magnificent setting for the late afternoon chess and domino games and salsa music. Plaza de Armas was the seat of power in Cuba for 400 years, from where the Spanish Captain's General, US military governors and Cuban president were based, and today is home to an interesting book market. During the years of Prohibition in the United States, Habana Vieja turned into a playground for Americans who flocked here for the cheap liquor, gambling, prostitution and flamboyant lifestyle. One of the district's most famous bars is La Bodeguita Del Medio, which was the favored haunt of legendary US writer, Ernest Hemingway.

Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás
City/Region: Vinales Valley
Cuba's largest cave system with more than 29 miles (46km) of underground galleries spanning eight different levels, the Santo Tomás caves are situated about 10 miles (16km) west of Vinales. Very informative 90-minute guided tours take visitors 138ft (42m) above the valley floor into the sixth gallery where fantastic limestone formations, glittering stalactites and stalagmites, underground lakes and vast caverns are revealed by the light of headlamps. The cave system has been kept in its natural state, avoiding the tourist traps of electrical lighting and souvenir stands.
Address: El Moncada
Hours: Daily 8.30am to 5pm
Admission: CUC 8

Museo Romántico
City/Region: Trinidad
Trinidad has a number of museums in colonial mansions, but one of the best is the beautifully renovated Museo Romántico overlooking the main square, Plaza Mayor, which has an excellent exhibition of the paintings, decorative furniture and porcelain that belonged to the wealthy Brunet family in the 1830s.
Address: Calle Echerri 52
Phone Number: 419 4363
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 4.45pm
Admission: CUC 2; extra for cameras

Museo Histórico Municipal
City/Region: Trinidad
A former palace belonging to German sugarcane plantation owner Justo Cantero, the museum displays examples of his wealth in the cool, stylish rooms as well as some exhibits relating to the sugar industry and history of Trinidad. A stairway leads to a tower from which a superb view of Trinidad and the Escambray mountains can be seen.
Address: Calle Simón Bolívar 423
Phone Number: 419 4460
Hours: Saturday to Thursday 9am to 5pm
Admission: CUC 2

Playa Ancon
City/Region: Trinidad
The soft sand and still, warm waters backed by palm trees make the beach at Playa Ancon a popular trip from Trinidad. Situated at the end of the peninsula, seven miles (12km) south of Trinidad, Playa Ancon also offers watersports and some good offshore snorkeling and diving sites.

Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills)
City/Region: Trinidad
The picturesque emerald valley was once the center of the sugar trade industry, and home to the plantations that brought wealth and prosperity to Trinidad in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today the ruins of estates, sugar mills and other remnants are visited by tourists who are attracted by the history of slavery and the beauty of the valley. The main site is the Manaca Iznaga, a striking 144ft (44m) high tower that was used by plantation owner and one of the wealthiest men in Cuba, Pedro Iznaga, to keep watch over his slaves working in the fields. Visitors can climb the tower (1 CUC) for impressive views over the countryside. Horse riding tours to the valley are a popular way to see the sights from Trinidad.

Santa Clara
City/Region: Trinidad
Located 55 miles (88km) north of Trinidad, the city of Santa Clara is best known for its Che Memorial at the Plaza de la Revolución and monuments relating to the Cuban Revolution. The train monument (Monumento a la Toma del Tren Blindado) marks the spot where Che attacked the train carrying Batista's troops to Santiago de Cuba to counter attack the revolutionaries and the battle was the final decisive factor in the victory of the revolution. There is a museum inside the wagons. The Ernesto Che Guevara Monument was built to pay homage to the memory of Che and his comrades who fought with him in Bolivia, and the enormous monument incorporates a huge statue of Che with his famous phrase Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Forever Onwards Towards Victory), as well as representations of many aspects of his revolutionary life. To one side of the statue a huge stone block has been inscribed in full with his farewell letter to Fidel Castro. The monument also includes a chilled mausoleum where the remains of Che and his comrades have been interred, and a museum with displays about his life and involvement in the revolution.
Address: Train monument: Calle Indepencia; Che monument: Av de los Desfiles
Hours: Train monument: Tuesday to Saturday 8am to 6pm (until 12pm on Sundays); Che monument: daily 8am to 9pm (until 6pm on Sundays)
Admission: Train monument: CUC 1; Che monument: free

Sancti Spiritus
City/Region: Trinidad
The beautiful colonial city of Sancti Spiritus, with its gracious people, delightful architecture and maze of narrow winding cobblestone streets remains almost completely unassuming and detached from tourism. Located in the center of Cuba and 43 miles (70km) east of Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus lies on the banks of the Yayabo River, exuding charm, affability and authenticity. The old town has been declared a National Monument, filled with picturesque, colorful little houses with uneven red tiled roofs and weathered colonial homes. Streets are crammed with horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, scooters and pedestrians licking at guava ice-creams, a fruit which grows along the banks of the river. Spanning the river is the Puente Yayabo, an arched brick bridge built by the Spanish in 1815, and the city's most famous sight.

Moncada Barracks
City/Region: Santiago de Cuba
The bullet-ridden barracks and adjacent Parque Historico Abel Santamaria were part of important events in Cuba's history. In 1953 a group led by Fidel Castro attacked the barracks in an attempt to steal weapons and launch the revolution, but the plan failed and 61 of them were killed. The rest were captured and many tortured to death by Batista's army. Fidel was later tried in the Escuela de Enfermeras for leading the attack and is where he made his famous 'History Will Absolve Me' speech.
Phone Number: 226 620 157
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm (until 1pm on Sundays)
Admission: CUC 2, CUC 3 for a guided tour; cameras extra


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