What to see in Cuba in 7 days, itinerary including the main places of interest, including the capital Havana.
Itinerary 7 days
We could start from Baracoa, the oldest city in Cuba which remained fairly isolated until the 1960s, before the construction of the Farola road, due to the forest that separates it from Guantánamo.
The meaning of the name Baracoa indicates the place of the waters and derives from the fact that nearby the mouths of some rivers, including Toa, Miel, Duaba and Yumuri.
The economy of the area is mainly agricultural with the cultivation mainly of coffee, cocoa, coconut and bananas.
Havana is the capital of Cuba, a city characterized by tropical climate, with many rains in the summer.
Among the things to see in this city is the Malecón, an avenue very popular with Cubans that connects the districts of Old Havana, Havana Centro, Vedado and Miramar.
The Punta, which represents the starting point of the Paseo del Prado and the intersection point with the Malecón, is characterized by a huge presence of Casas Particulares.
The ancient University of Havana, with a history spanning more than one hundred years, was the centerpiece of revolutionary thought.
In Old Havana, where there are many Spanish colonial-style buildings, there are various palaces, including the Palacio de los Marquéses de Aguas Claras and the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, as well as the Museo de la Revolución.
In the historic center of the city are the Paseo del Prado, which is the central street of the city, the Capitolio Nacional, which housed the government before the revolution, the opera house, the Hotel Inglaterra and the Bacardi building.
What see
More important from a tourist point of view is the Vedado District, which includes the Habana Libre hotel and the Revolution square.
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Santiago de Cuba is the second largest Cuban city by population and one of the oldest on the island.
To see the Castle of San Pedro de la Roca or Castillo del Morro, an ancient fortress located to the south-west in a dominant position on the bay of the same name.
In addition to the castle, the Casa de Diego Velázquez, the Museo Bacardí and the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia, where many revolutionaries have been buried, including José Martí, are also worth a visit.
Continuing to visit Cuba, we arrive in Bayamo, a municipality in the province of Granma which represents the southernmost point of the island.
In the center of the town is the Parque Céspedes, a beautiful shaded garden with benches and statues by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and Perucho Figueredo.
Important historical sites are included in the area, including the place where José Martí was murdered.
The Isle of Youth, discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494 and where Fidel Castro was imprisoned after the assault on Moncada, has an economic activity based above all on agriculture, fishing, marble extraction and the production of artistic ceramics .
In the caves in Punta del Este there are Indian paintings, while on the Pirate coast, near Punta Frances, scuba diving is recommended for enthusiasts to admire the coral reef and the particular species of colored fish.
Camaguey is the largest of the provinces of Cuba, extending from the center of the island to the east.
The capital is Camaguey, while other locations are Florida and Nuevitas.
This province is largely flat, with sandy beaches on both coasts, tourism developed only on the beach of Santa Lucia in the north.
The economy of the province of Camaguey is mainly based on the breeding of cattle and chickens, as well as on the cultivation of sugar cane and rice.
The inhabitants have a cowboy culture, with periodical rodeos.
Ciego de Avila is located on the Carretera, the main central highway, while Moron is located further north.
Off the coast there are a series of cayos (islets), including Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo, booming from a tourist point of view.
The southern coast of this province is characterized by mangroves, while between Moron and the northern coast there are numerous lakes, including La Laguna de Leche (Milk Lake) which is the largest in Cuba.
Cattle are raised and sugar, pineapple and citrus are grown.
Cienfuegos is the smallest province of Cuba, with an economy almost entirely dedicated to the cultivation and processing of sugar.
In the capital Havana city, which represents one of the main symbols of Cuba, the Malecon is a meeting place for citizens and one of the main roads connecting the ends of the city.
Old Havana is the oldest district in Cuba with buildings dating back to the sixteenth century, which combine different architectural styles including baroque, art deco and art nouveau, very well preserved thanks to the restoration of the buildings carried out by hand.
Miramar is a residential neighborhood extended along the western coast of Havana, starting from the end of the Malecon up to the Marina Hemingway.
In this place there are numerous embassies, including the Russian embassy with its particular form of tower.
Vedado is the heart of Havana, located between the Almendares River and the center of Havana.
Here are concentrated offices, banks, luxury hotels, restaurants, shops, theaters and other places dedicated to leisure.
Granma is one of the provinces of Cuba with the capital of Bayamo.
Other centers are Manzanillo which is a port on the Gulf of Guacanayabo and Pilon.
Its name derives from the ship of the same name, used by Ernesto Che Guevara and Fidel Castro to land in Cuba with various guerrillas, for this reason there is a concentration of memories of the Cuban Revolution.
Guantanamo is the easternmost province of Cuba, which surrounds the important US naval base of Guantanamo Bay.
The number of immigrants from Jamaica is high and many buildings resemble those of the French quarter of New Orleans, located in the US state of Louisiana.
The north coast, beaten by prevailing winds, is the wettest part of the country, while the south, sheltered and dry, is the warmest.
The north is characterized by rain forests, while the south is arid and has many cacti.
Holguin is a province located in the southeast of the country and its main cities include Holguin, Banes, Antilla, Mayarí, and Moa.
The province has a population of just over one million people, with an economy based on the cultivation of sugar, corn and coffee.
In Moa there is a large cobalt processing plant built with the help of foreign citizens largely from Canada.
There are also deposits of chromium, nickel and iron as well as steel mills.
Tourism has started to develop recently and numerous hotels are located in the Guardalavaca area.
Youth Island is the largest island in Cuba, where agriculture and fishing are the main economic resources.
It is a popular tourist destination, with mild climate and numerous beaches in popular locations including Bibijagua Beach.
Las Tunas is one of the provinces of Cuba, with the southern coast, located on the Golfo de Guacanayabo, marshy and characterized by mangroves and sugar cane crops.
The province of Matanzas has several towns including Cardenas and Jovellanos as well as the capital Matanzas.
The territory is generally flat, with the exception of Pan de Matanzas which rises 380 meters above sea level, while the southern coast is a large swampy area.
Pinar del Río is a province that contains one of the three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guaniguanico, which makes the landscape characterized by steep limestone hills and fertile valleys.
The local economy is almost exclusively based on the cultivation of tobacco, used to produce the famous Cuban cigars appreciated all over the world whose factories are what to see in Cuba.
Sancti Spiritus is another important province of Cuba, with the capital of the same name and another important city Trinidad.
Here tourism is quite developed, especially around the old city of Trinidad, which has dozens of colonial buildings and dates back to the Spanish conquest in the 1500s.
Santiago de Cuba is the second most populated province on the island of Cuba.
Other major centers, besides its namesake capital, are Palma Soriano, Contramaestre, Mayarí, San Luis and Songo-La Maya.
In this province, although there are many mineral resources including iron and nickel, the economy is mainly based on agriculture, which sees among the major crops that of bananas, cocoa and coffee.
The whole province of Santiago de Cuba was the scene of many battles, during the war for independence and the Cuban Revolution of 1959.
Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba and its main inhabited centers to see are the capital Santa Clara, Sagua La Grande, Placetas, Camajuaní, Remedios and Caibarien.
Along the coast of Villa Clara there are many coral reefs and sandy beaches.
The highest point is Alturas, 464 meters above sea level.
In the area there are numerous lakes, mainly used for water sports and fishing.
