Cienfuegos Cuba
Frequently Asked Questions
At a simple quay a few streets from the centre. There is no large terminal. Most passengers walk to Parque José Martí in about fifteen minutes; taxis and horse carriages wait near the port exit.
Parque José Martí with the cathedral and the Teatro Tomás Terry, a walk down the Paseo del Prado, then Punta Gorda and the Palacio de Valle. The Jagua castle, 22 kilometres away, needs a longer call.
Because it was founded in 1819 by families from Bordeaux and Louisiana. It kept from them a regular grid laid out with a straight edge, neoclassical facades and a definite taste for elegance. Its historic centre has been UNESCO listed since 2005.
An Italian-style hall decorated with frescoes and gilding, hidden behind a plain facade on Parque José Martí. Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt performed here. The visit is short and well worth it.
The longest arcaded avenue of its kind in Cuba, running due south from the main square. Pastel facades, ice cream parlours, shaded benches and a statue of Benny Moré, local son and legendary voice of Cuban son. Toward the sea it becomes the malecón.
An extravagant 1917 mansion mixing Moorish, Gothic and Venetian inspirations, in Punta Gorda. It is the most photographed surprise of the call. Climb to its terrace for a coffee facing the bay.
A few minutes by taxi, or a pleasant walk of about three kilometres along the water. This residential district, once the domain of the sugar bourgeoisie, lines the point with century-old wooden houses.
An 18th-century fortress built to protect the entrance to the bay from pirates, long before the city was founded. It stands at the mouth of the channel, about 22 kilometres from the centre; you reach it by taxi then ferry.
The Cuban peso and Spanish. Bring cash in small notes: card terminals remain scarce and cards issued by US banks do not work in Cuba.
Yes, it is one of the easiest calls in Cuba. The grid is regular, the ground flat and the quay fifteen minutes from the centre. Only midday heat forces a slower pace: the Prado arcades provide shade.
