If You Like…
Architecture
Habana Vieja Like an old attic full of dusty relics, Havana is a treasure chest of eclectic architecture.
Cienfuegos Cuba’s most architecturally homogenous city is a love letter to French neoclassicism, full of elegant columns.
Camagüey An unusual street plan of labyrinthine lanes and baroque spires that hide a devout Catholic soul.
Trinidad One of the most beguiling and best-preserved towns in the Caribbean, tranquil Trinidad is a riot of colonial baroque.
Nightlife & Dancing
Santa Clara Where the ‘next big thing’ happens first; drag shows, rock ‘n’ roll music and everything in between.
Cabarets Cuba's flamboyant kitschy cabarets, like Havana's Tropicana, are something from opulent pre-revolutionary life that refused to die.
Casas de la Trova ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Heredia No 208) Cuba’s old-fashioned spit-and-sawdust music houses are determined to keep the essence of traditional Cuban music alive.
Uneac Provincial free cultural centers full of latent artistic talent where everyone greets you like a long-lost friend. Leader of the pack is El Hurón Azul in Havana.
Subcultures
Baseball Fanatics A national obsession; the hotspot for fans is Havana’s esquina caliente in Parque Central.
Gay Culture GLBT life is beginning to flower in Cuba with new bars such as Humboldt 52 in Havana.
Roqueros Once frowned on by the authorities, rock 'n' rollers display their individuality in Havana's Submarino Amarillo.
Abakuâ One of a handful of religions of African origin, the secrets of the Abakuâ fraternity are best searched for in Matanzas.
Santería Discover live drumming and religious shrines at Havana's Afro-Cuban-tinged Callejón de Hamel.
Palo Monte Rare syncretized Afro-Cuba religion that worships dead spirits; evident in Matanzas and Santiago de Cuba.
Under the Radar
Gibara The home of the ‘poor man’s film festival’ is rich in wild, ocean-side scenery and creeping Holguín magic.
Marea del Portillo Coastal resort close to magnificent mountains, untouched since the Granma yacht ran aground in 1956.
Matanzas Varadero’s outcast sibling lacks sunlounges and stuff-yourself-silly buffets, but it has soul asere.
Las Tunas Cuba’s least-visited provincial capital defies its ‘boring’ stereotype on Saturday night when there’s a rodeo in town.
Holguín Jinetero-free streets, an underrated baseball team nicknamed ‘the dogs’ and a beer-drinking donkey named Pancho.
Wildlife-Watching
Ciénaga de Zapata Take a boat trip to see a microcosm of Cuban wildlife, including the critically endangered Cuban crocodile.
Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt Sky-high levels of endemism make Humboldt, home to the world’s smallest frog, an ecological rarity.
Sierra del Chorrillo Nonindigenous exotic animals, including zebra and deer, in a quintessentially Cuban grassland setting.
Río Máximo Behold the largest colony of nesting flamingos in the world on Camagüey’s north coast.
Guanahacabibes Crabs and iguanas do battle with jeep traffic on the excursion to Cuba’s western wilderness.
Diving & Snorkeling
Isla de la Juventud La Isla is famed for its clear water and hosts an underwater photography competition.
Jardines de la Reina Heavily protected archipelago with zero infrastructure boasts the most unspoiled reefs in the Caribbean.
María la Gorda Over 50 easily accessible dive sites off Cuba’s western tip make this small resort ‘diver’s central’.
Bahia de los Cochinos Once infamous for another reason, the Bay of Pigs has rediscovered its raison d’être – damn good diving.
Playa Santa Lucía It’s worth braving this rather tacky resort strip to experience the best diving on Cuba’s north coast.
Relaxing at a Resort
Varadero The biggest resort in Cuba isn’t to everyone’s taste, but it’s still insanely popular.
Cayo Coco An island getaway linked to the mainland by a causeway, Cayo Coco is low-rise and more subtle than Varadero.
Guardalavaca Three separate enclaves on Holguín’s north coast offer three different price brackets from posh to bargain basement.
Cayerías del Norte The still-developing cayos of Villa Clara province retain a refreshingly tranquil feel.
Cayo Largo del Sur Cuba's most isolated resort island isn't very Cuban, but its beaches are among the best in the nation.
Playa Santa Lucía Old and a little neglected, Camagüey's northern beach resort still offers the best bargains and excellent diving.
White-Sand Beaches
Playa Pilar Hemingway’s favorite is much-decorated in travel mags and backed by big dunes but, as yet, no hotels.
Varadero Twenty kilometers of unbroken beach – there's a reason why Varadero is the largest resort in the Caribbean.
Playa Maguana Wind-whipped waves and bruised clouds all add to the ethereal ambience of Baracoa’s finest beach.
Playa Pesquero Walk for 200m through clear bathwater-temperature ocean and still only be up to your waist.
Playa Sirena Huge football-field-sized beach on what is essentially a private tourist island where the dress code is ‘bare all’.
Playa Los Pinos Just you, some driftwood, a good book and perhaps the odd local offering cooked lobster for lunch.
Revolutionary History
Santa Clara ‘Che City’ is the home of Guevara’s mausoleum, myriad statues and a fascinating open-air museum.
Bayamo The understated capital of Granma province, where Cuba’s first revolution was ignited in 1868.
Sierra Maestra Flecked with historical significance, including Castro's mountain ridge HQ during the revolutionary war.
Santiago de Cuba The self-proclaimed ‘City of Revolutionaries’ was where Castro staged his first insurrection at Moncada Barracks.
Museo de la Revolución Cuba’s most comprehensive museum is a one-stop immersion in all things revolutionary.
Indigenous Culture
Chorro de Maita The most important archaeological site in Cuba; all pre-Columbian investigations should start here.
Museo Indocubano Bani Modest but enthusisatically curated museum in Cuba's archaeological 'capital' Banes.
El Guafe Short trail in western Granma province to a cave where a Taíno water deity is carved in bare rock.
Museo Arqueológico 'La Cueva del Paraíso' Innovative museum in a cave close to some of Cuba's oldest pre-Columbian remains.
Boca de Guamá Slightly kitschy attempt to recreate a Taíno village and pass it off as a tourist hotel.
Cueva de Punta del Este Large collection of cave paintings rightly dubbed the 'Sistine Chapel of the Caribbean'.
Pirates & Forts
Havana’s Forts Four of the finest examples of 16th-century military architecture in the Americas.
Camagüey Moved twice to avoid the attentions of pirates, Camagüey redesigned its streets in a labyrinthine pattern to prevent repeat attacks.
La Roca Two hundred years in the making, Santiago’s La Roca is today a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Baracoa Cuba's ‘first city’ has three stalwart forts that today serve as a museum, a hotel and a restaurant.
Matanzas Once breached by the British, Matanzas' little-visited Castillo de San Severino now harbors an interesting slave museum.
Live Music
La Casa de la Música Mixes live music with late-night dancing and pulls in big names like Los Van Van.
Casas de la Trova Son and boleros give an old-fashioned lilt to these cultural houses in every Cuban provincial town. Our top pick is the wild trova house in Baracoa.
La Tumba Francesa Mysterious folklórico dance troupes in Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba perform musical rites with a Haitian influence.
Street Rumba Salt-of-the-earth Havana and Matanzas specialize in mesmerizing drumming and dance rituals.
Jazz Cuba's best jazz venues are both in Havana's Vedado district: the Jazz Café and Jazz Club la Zorra y El Cuervo.