Cuba

White sand and turquoise-blue water as far as the eye can see characterize Varadero. The most famous... Cuban lido stretches over about 20 km on the Hicacos peninsula east of Havana. Varadero offers anything that can be expected from a Caribbean all-inclusive holiday: pleasantly warm water, clean beaches and a plentitude of leisure activities such as jet skiing, deep-sea fishing and scuba-diving; even parachuting is possible. Until the revolution, Varadero had been the refuge of rich Americans, whereas today mainly European and Canadian package tourists enjoy the service of the many resort hotels. In the midst of the hurly-burly, the Parque Retiro Josone at the Avenida Primera seems like an oasis of silence. Little boat trips are offered on its man-made lake, which is surrounded by pink flamingos. Anyone who intends to go scuba diving in Varadero will be enthralled by the Cuban underwater world. More than 25 dive sites wait to be discovered; the most famous of them is Ojo de Mégano, an underwater grotto of 70 m (229.6 ft) depth in the riff of the Cádiz Bay. more

Santiago is Cuba’s metropolis of music. The thriving nightlife is almost as exciting as in Havana,... and when it comes to sights Santiago is hardly inferior to the capital. Strolling through the alleys of the historical core of the city is a unique experience. Some of the most beautiful buildings can be found around the Parque Céspedes in the heart of the city: the massive cathedral, the famous Hotel Casa Granda (with rooftop restaurant) and the historical town house of Don Diego Velázquez, the first governor of Cuba. In the Museo del Carnaval in Calle Heredia, photos, costumes and masks tell about the heyday of the Santiago carnival in the 1930s and 1950s. Calle Heredia is also a focal point of Cuban music; in the legendary Casa de la Trova the sound of live bands fascinate the crowd. El Cobre, the only place of pilgrimage on Cuba, is located 20 km (12.4 mi) northwest of Santiago. On September 9, the saint’s day of the Madonna, to whom the three-towered El Cobre Basilica was dedicated, many Cubans make a pilgrimage to this very place. The annual spectacle has the character of a folk festival rather than a strict religious celebration. more

Even if the suburbs with their industrial character seem less inviting, the port city Cienfuegos is nevertheless... worth a visit. Under Fidel Castro Cienfuegos became an important center of the Cuban sugar cane industry. Anyone who enters the historical core of the city, which has been a UNESCO world culture heritage since 2005, will be surprised by the French flair of the ancient times. Elegant squares, spacious parks and promenades characterize the cityscape. Again and again you walk past fairy-tale private palaces, which rich city dwellers had had built once. The atmospheric Parque Martí, named after the omnipresent Cuban freedom fighter José Martí, is the green heart of the city. A triumphal arc from 1902 reminds of the time of birth of the republic. The Parque Martí is lined with some of the most beautiful buildings of Cienfuegos: on the east side there is the Catedral de la Purísima Concepción with its asymmetrical towers; diagonally opposite, the Teatro Tomás Terry, which was officially opened in 1895, is worth seeing for the splendid ceiling fresco alone. more