Santiago de Cuba Travel Guide

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Santiago de Cuba

Santiago at dusk © USA Cuba Travel

Santiago, the original capital of the island of Cuba, was founded in 1514 and is today the centre of the province of Santiago de Cuba in the south east of the island, 485 miles (780km) from the present capital, Havana.

It is a hilly city with sloping streets, surrounded by the Sierra Maestra mountain range, and boasts some monuments and museums associated with Cuba’s long struggle for national independence. Santiago also claims to have the oldest home in the Americas, the Case de Diego Velazquez, residence of the Spanish governor of old, which is a highlight of the city’s historic quarter.

Santiago is also known for its annual carnival and its closely situated natural areas, including the 80,000-hectare (197,684-acre) Baconao Park, which begins in the city and ends in the lagoon of the same name. It is climatically the hottest part of Cuba with average temperatures of 90°F (32°C).

Attractions

Bacardi © Caitlinator

Bacardi Museum

Bacardi, the world’s largest privately held, family-owned spirits company, started producing rum in Santiago way back in 1862. The family fled Cuba after the revolution in 1959 although the company's current production sales exceed 240 million bottles a year in 170 countries. Emilio Bacardi’s private art and antique collection is still in Santiago as... see full details

Castillo de San Pedro del Morro © Petrusbarbygere

Castillo de San Pedro del Morro (Morro Castle)

Santiago's most impressive structure is poised ominously atop the cliffs at the narrow entrance to Santiago Bay, about nine miles (14km) south of Santiago. This enormous piece of military architecture - a maze of stairways and dungeons - was begun in 1640. The Morro... see full details

Moncada Barracks © Mark Scott Johnson

Moncada Barracks

The bullet-ridden barracks and adjacent Parque Historico Abel Santamaria were part of important events in Cuba's history. In 1953 a group led by Fidel Castro attacked the barracks in an attempt to steal weapons and launch the revolution, but the plan failed and... see full details

Santa Ifigenia Cemetery

The gateway to this cemetery is dominated by a memorial to Cuban soldiers who died fighting in Angola. From here the visitor is led to the impressive tomb of Cuban national hero, revolutionary and writer Jose Marti. The tomb is in the form of a crenulated hexagonal tower... see full details

Excursions

Baconao Park

The large park region, which is a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve, is filled with attractions other than wildlife refuges and coffee plantations. It is possible to climb 459 stone steps to the summit of the huge rock, La Gran Piedra, and stand 4,049ft... see full details

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