The main cities
COLORFUL HAVANNAI
Start your journey in colorful Havana, in the western capital where the pastel paint is peeling off the imposing colonial buildings and vintage cars and musicians adorn the streets. Overwhelming are the preserved fortresses and citadels and structures like Hotel Nacional. What was once an infamous pirate bastion is now the scene of Cabaret Parisien. Also visit one of the factories where artisan torcedoros roll the cigars named after the stories read by the lecturers .
CULTIVATED TRINIDAD
Southeast of Havana, sandwiched between the south coast and the Escambray Mountains, is Trinidad . It is Cuba 's most graceful and cultured city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a vibrant music scene. Isolated from the rest of the country for decades, this colonial treasure has sidestepped the 20th century and in its organic whole is one of the best-preserved Baroque works of art on the continent, with beautiful cobblestone streets, palaces and museums.
SMOKING SANTIAGO DE CUBA
The sultry second city and cultural capital Santiago de Cuba is located in the extreme southeast of Cuba. It is a frenetic, passionate and boisterous beauty closer to Haiti and the Dominican Republic than Havana and is drenched with Afro-Caribbean influences. It was in Santiago de Cuba that Fidel Castro made his first (failed) grab for power, where Don Facundo Bacardí established his first rum factory and it is the cradle of almost every Cuban genre of music. The city has an enchantingly beautiful colonial historic center where the town hall, Hotel Casa Granda and the Santiago Cathedral jostle for attention. Visit Santiago de Cuba in July and let yourself be carried away by the most exuberant carnival of your life.
