Spanish in Cuba · Tourism in Cuba

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Tourism in Cuba

Cuba, the greater of the Antilles islands, evokes images of sandy beaches and blue calm waters. Cuba is also the perfect surrounding to savor the Rum cocktails, to smell the aroma of an original Havana cigar, and to travel through time to see how an old 50´s American classic car cross you by in an avenue. The history, the architectonic rechness and cultural traditions of Cuba, as well as its people and its unmistakable music and dance, make this Caribbean magical country, a place with infinite attractions to enjoy. If you want to find out more about tourism in Cuba, please click here.

Havana
The villa of San Cristóbal of Havana, founded on 1519, owes its survival to its geographic location, since it was the obligatory scale in the sea lanes of the New World. It was baptized by Alejo Carpentier as "the city of the columns". In fact, the capital of Cuba displays an impressive architectonic diversity: pre baroque, baroque, neogothic, neoclassicism, eclecticism, art noveau and art decó, modernism, etc... Its old settlement, known as Old Havana, has been declared Patrimony of the Humanity by the UNESCO. It has buildings constructed around squares and small squares next to a group of fortresses. Havana has a solid hotel infrastructure. Its 14 km of coastline has magnificent beaches. Cultural place par excellence, its green belt protects it guaranteeing its environmental health. If you want to find out more about tourism in Havana, please click here.

Pinar del Rio
Pinar del Rio, known as the Garden of Cuba, produces the best tobacco of the world. The Viñales Valley is a National Monument and has been declared Cultural Landscape of the Humanity by the UNESCO. It has numerous caves, created by the hydro erosion, some of them navigable, and conform one of the more extensive speleological systems of Latin America. Pinar del Rio is plenty of hotels with all the comforts. Key Levisa has good options to enjoy the sun and the beach and to practice diving, hunting and fishing. In Pinar del Rio, is worth the trouble to visit the Guayabita Del Pinar; the Guarch Palace, the Milanese Theater, the Rumayor Nightclub and the factory of a traditional drink made in a crafty way. In the historical center of the city, the architecture is eclectic. The houses of low prop and smooth colors are charming. If you want to find out more about tourism in Pinar del Rio, please click here.

Matanzas
Matanzas is only few minutes away of the famous Varadero beach and near the Zapata Peninsula. The Pan of Matanzas and the Yumurí Valley are two beautiful landscapes that can be found on the city outskirts. Among the places of tourist interest stands out the Sauto Theater, the Triolet Pharmacy and the Church of San Carlos. Matanzas is a cradle of painters, writers and musicians.

Varadero
Varadero has been developed as a resort center since the 40´s. But it was in the last decade that has remarkably grown their hotel network and its tourist options. The beach, the attractive caves and escarpments, the keys, their landscaping and cultural richness are just some of the marvels of the city. It has a Convention center, the Plaza America. The visitors can practice diving and deep-sea fishing, among other nautical activities.

Zapata Peninsula
Located on the south of Matanzas, the Zapata peninsula is an important Cuban ecosystem and the greater reserve of wetlands of the Antilles. There is the Great Montemar Natural Park, where the tourist can be in touch with beaches, forests, mangrove swamps, rivers, lakes, caverns, natural swimming pools and beautiful seascapes. There, the tourist can practice diving, speleo diving, trekking, cycling, hiking, horse riding and boat strolls. Places like Guamá, the Treasure Lagoon, the Zoo-Crocodile Farm and the Girón Beach Museum are just some of the places to visit.

Isla de la Juventud
It’s also known as "the island of the thousand names". Its pre-Columbian inhabitants called it Camargo, Guanaja or Siguanea, Columbus named it as The Evangelist, and Diego Velázquez called it Santiago. It’s also called the Treasure Island, since Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired by it to write his famous novel; the Parrot Island (by the abundance of these species); or Pines Island. In the 70´s, due to the enormous amount of schools that were builded there, it was officially named Isla de la Juventud, Youth Island. Among the places to visit are the Punta Frances National Marine Park, the Bibijagua beach, the San Felipe-The Indian Natural Reserve, the native pictography’s in the Punta del Este caves, El Colony or historical sites, as the El Abra ranch and the Presidio Modelo.

Key Largo del Sur
Key Largo del Sur is a long and narrow small barren island part of the Canarreos Archipelago, that borders the southwestern coast of Cuba. Its main tourist attraction is the state of conservation and the diverse resources it has, like its 27 km of paradisiacal beaches. It is worth the trouble to practice diving -- there are 33 points in its neighborhoods -- to verify that the sea depths of the region are very well preserved. In the Puertosol Marina (international free port) it can be practiced fishing, sailing or tourists can make a trip around the small barren island or to the neighboring keys of Rosary, Rico, Cantiles and Iguana and to the Isla de la Juventud. Key Largo del Sur has at the moment more than 1000 rooms, grouped in cozy hotels and villas.

Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos is the most beautiful exponent of the Cuban architecture of the 19th century. Their perfectly drawn streets and the refined constructions of the Historical Center made the city being declared as National Monument. Among its most important buildings are the Founder House, the Our Lady of the Purest Conception Cathedral, the Tomás Terry Theater and the Ferrer Palace, as well as the Jose Martí Park, the stroll known as Paseo del Prado, the Valle Palace, the Naval History museum and Provincial museum, the Queen Cemetery and the Jai-Alai Fronton.
Near Cienfuegos it can be practiced diving, water sports, nature tourism and thermal baths. If you want to find out more about tourism in Cienfuegos, please click here.

Sancti Spiritus
Cradle of troubadours, Sancti Spiritus is one of the Cuban cities where the nature has the leading role. It’s located in the center of the island, near the Zaza Lake, a tobacco growers and mountainous zone. The bridge over the Yayabo river is the symbol of the city. There’re also beautiful colonial mansions, and the Mayo Parochial Church.

Trinidad de Cuba
Trinidad de Cuba, founded on 1515, has many interesting places to visit: the Plaza Mayor, the Mayor Church, its museums, the Plaza de los Artesanos (Craftsmen Square), or the Santa Ana Square. In the Villa outskirts are arousing places like the Manaca-Iznaga Tower, the Ingenios Valley, the Maria Aguilar beach, or the Escambray mountains, with places like Topes de Collantes, the Salto (waterfall) del Caburní, or the Calavera Cave, as also the fishing in the Zaza lake or the hunting preserve.

Villa Clara
Villa Clara is in the center of the island. A long time tourist center -mainly because of the Ernesto “Che” Guevara Memorial-, that now, thanks to the freeway by the sea, is more and more visited. Among its attractions are its beaches, its terrestrial and marine fauna and flora, and the diving possibilities.

Jardines del Rey
Jardines del Rey (King’s Gardens) is located on the north of the Ciego de Ávila province and is part of the Sabana-Camagüey islands. The modern world comforts complement the natural enchantment of this carefully preserved place. The main attraction is the variety of birds (there are more than 200 species living in the zone).

Camagüey
Camagüey is the greatest Cuban province. The historical center is the biggest in Cuba. Its asymmetric layout imitates a spider web. The city has a very well conserved colonial architecture. It resembles an Andalusian city with its Christian-Muslim mix and narrow and crooked streets. All of the extensive local geography offers to the tourist attractive landscapes as the Santa Lucia beach, the Queen Archipelago, with the paradisiacal Key Caguama, and the Cubitas mountain range, places where the tourist will be able to know the local flora and fauna, and practice water sports, hunting and fishing.

Santa Lucia de Cuba
Santa Lucia displays a perfect combination of sun, sand, and transparent waters. This great natural swimming pool is 21 km long, bordered by the most extensive and uninterrupted coral barriers of Cuba, very appropriate for diving and other water sports. Here is the main pink flamenco colony of the Caribbean and there are many interesting species as well. The American writer Ernest Hemingway loved this place. From Santa Lucia it is possible to take excursions to the Cubitas mountain range, where concentrates an exuberant flora of more than 300 species, or to the harbor and industrial city of Nuevitas, the closest urban settlement to the beach.

Las Tunas
The Atlantic on the north and the Gulf of Guacanayabo on the south bath the coasts of the Tunas, the Cuban capital of the sculpture. It has more than 30 virgin beaches. International tourists are received only in Covarrubias.

Holguín
The capital of the province of Holguín, also known as Parks City, has a strong Hispanic influence. It has more than 40 km of coastline with exceptional characteristics. The Holguín north coast has 41 beaches for the visitor, with Guardalavaca and Playa Emerald among them, beaches that have gained the preference of the foreign visitors.

Granma
Much of the attractiveness of Granma is based on its natural beauty. Some of the most spectacular places are the Turquino and Desembarco de Granma national parks. This last one has been declared Cultural Place of the Humanity by the UNESCO, because of its marine terraces system, the values of the local flora and fauna, more than 40 native culture archaeological places, the historical events related to the independence wars of the 19th and 20th centuries and more than 60 km of caves to explore. Granma, and specially the City of Bayamo, has been one of the fundamental stages of the Cuban history and culture, since the 19th century independence wars to the liberation war of the 50´s that culminated with the triumph of the Revolution on January 1st, 1959.

Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the most Caribbean city of the Island and a place where important popular festivities are celebrated. Here, some of the most important events in Cuban history took place and it’s here where the Saint Patron of Cuba, the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Virgin of the Copper Charity) is most venerated. Santiago has the necessary infrastructure to encourage events and congress tourism. It also has in its surroundings all the conditions to develop nature and adventures tourism, nautical activities, sailing and health tourism. Santiago is also where the bolero, the conga and the Cuban song were born. The mixing of races here is more visible than in the rest of the country and the black influence is an inescapable element. It has about 15 museums and many more places of folkloric interest. If you want to find out more about tourism in Santiago de Cuba, please click here.

Baracoa
Baracoa is the main tourist pole in Guantánamo. The natural attractiveness of Baracoa is born of the confluence of several elements: the sea, the mountains covered with dense foliage and the abundant fluvial channels. There’re also historical and cultural aspects that call the tourist attention. Baracoa is identified by coconuts and cacao. Here is still conserved the Cross of the Parra planted by admiral Christopher Columbus in 1492. The tourist can visit the Alexander de Humboldt National Park (placed within the Cuchillos del Toa Biosphere Reserve); the Paso de los Alemanes (Passage of the Germans); the Yumurí river gulf, the Boma and Mata bays, and the attractive landscape that can be seen from the top of the terraces of the La Máquina municipality.

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