Cuba Guide
Cienfuegos and Villa Clara
Museo Memorial al Che
Address: Plaza de la Revolución 
42/20-8846 & 20-5878
Opening time: Tues– Sat 8am–9pm, Sun 8am–5pm
Price: Free
The statue of Guevara and the mural on the Plaza de la Revolución are classic photo opportunities, but for a more emotive experience and some detailed insights into the revolutionary's life, the best place to spend time here is in the Museo Memorial al Che, underneath the monument
You'll be ushered first through a door marked "Memorial", which leads into a softly lit chamber where the mood of reverence and respect is quite affecting. Resembling a kind of tomb with an eternally flickering flame, this is a dedication to the Peruvians, Bolivians and Cubans who died with Guevara in Bolivia, each of whom is commemorated by a simple stone portrait set into the wall. The mood lightens in the museum opposite the memorial door, where Guevara's life is succinctly told through neatly presented photos, maps, quotes and other paraphernalia, including his beret, jacket and camera. There are some memorable photographs, and it's these that hold the interest in the face of the usual technical information and array of weapons. Besides those of his early childhood, there are pictures of him alongside his rugby team-mates, on his contraption of a motorbike about to set off on a tour of his native Argentina in January 1950, and on a raft on the Amazon. Some of the now classic photographs taken during the Sierra Maestra campaign, depicting Guevara, Castro and their rebel companions in the thick forests of the eastern mountains, are also on display. Near the end, you will find the most famous photograph of them all, taken on March 5, 1960, at the burial of a group of sabotage victims; this portrait of Guevara, complete with beret, staring sternly beyond the camera, is arguably one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century.