Cuba Guide
27 things not to miss
It's not possible to see everything that Cuba has to offer in one visit, and we don't suggest you try. What follows is a selective taste of the country's highlights, from lively festivals and delicious local cuisine to natural wonders and stunning architecture, arranged in five colour-coded categories. All highlights have a page reference to take you straight into the text, where you can find out more.
1 Varadero beach • Spend time lazing about the most archetypal Caribbean destination in Cuba, its golden sand backed by palm trees and fronted by unruffled blue-and-green waters.
2 Baracoa's countryside • Jewel of the eastern coast, tiny Baracoa makes an ideal base for exploring the verdant rainforest, mountain peaks and tranquil rivers dotted about the eastern coastal region.
3 Necrópolis de Colón • Wander through the quiet splendour of this extensive cemetery in Havana's Vedado district to simply admire the grandiose mausoleums of the dead.
4 Habana Vieja • Visit one of the most well-preserved colonial centres in the Americas, with postcard-perfect buildings dotted throughout its narrow streets and historic plazas.
5 Santiago in July
• This is the best time to visit Cuba's second city, when its vibrant music scene boils over and carnival drenches the town in fabulous costumes, excitement and song.
6 Viñales • Particularly enchanting in the morning when mist rises from the valley floor, Viñales is unforgettable.
7 Fábrica de Tobaco Partagas • Tour the famous Havana cigar factory, for a fascinating look into cigar-making and some idiosyncratic Cuban working practices, too.
8 Museo Emilio Bacardí Moreau • Take in all manner of art here, from colonial antiquities and Egyptian artefacts to an excellent assortment of contemporary works.
9 Valle de los Ingenios • In the heart of the oceans of sugar cane that make up the Valle de los Ingenios, a colonial estate comes complete with museum and watchtower from which you can take it all in.
10 Che memorial • Revolutionary devotees should make the pilgrimage to the provincial town of Santa Clara, where the rebel is lovingly commemorated and his remains now lie.
11 Downtown Trinidad • This sixteenth-century town is brimful of colonial mansions and churches, threaded together by cobbled streets and compact plazas.
12 YumurÍ Valley, Matanzas • This lush, overgrown valley looks spectacular from the hillsides which form its borders. A trip down into its verdant depths reveals a splendidly unspoilt landscape, mottled with tiny villages.
13 Birdwatching on the Península de Zapata • Venture around the peninsula's virtually undisturbed tracts of swamp and forest to gawk at flocks of flamingoes and other birds above.
14 La Guarida restaurant • Dine in style in Havana's most atmospheric paladar, where the excellent food is matched by Baroque surroundings, guttering candlelight and the aura of a bygone era of romance.
15 The Tropicana • Be ready to be dazzled, as frills, feathers and sequins are the order of the day at the world's most lavish and sensual cabaret.
16 Museo de Presidio Modelo • Tour the eerie and isolated prison on the Isla de la Juventud to get a vivid feel for the incarceration of Fidel Castro and his cohorts following their 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago.
17 Hotel Nacional • Perhaps the finest way to sink into the stately bygone glamour of 1930s Havana's showcase hotel is with a cooling cocktail on one of its elegant terraces.