Santiago de Cuba
Frequently Asked Questions
At the Guillermón Moncada port, about four kilometres from the centre, at the head of a deep bay the ship sails up slowly. Taxis, excursion coaches and vintage cars cover the distance to Parque Céspedes in about fifteen minutes.
Parque Céspedes with the cathedral and the Casa de Diego Velázquez, Heredia street and its Casa de la Trova, then El Morro castle for the view. Santa Ifigenia cemetery fits if the call allows.
The conquistador's residence, completed around 1530, reckoned one of the oldest houses still standing in the Americas. Its dark wooden lattice screens and Andalusian patio take half an hour to see, on Parque Céspedes.
The castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, which has sealed the bay entrance since the 17th century, about ten kilometres southwest of the centre. UNESCO listed in 1997 as the best-preserved example of Spanish-American military architecture, it tiers its batteries on a clifftop.
Because it claims to be the cradle of Cuban son. On Heredia street, the Casa de la Trova programmes musicians from morning to night: you go in for one set of boleros and come out an hour later. Carnival drums rehearse in the courtyards all year.
The national pantheon, northwest of the centre. José Martí's mausoleum, where a changing of the guard takes place every thirty minutes, stands beside the round stone holding Fidel Castro's ashes and the graves of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and Compay Segundo.
Yes. Riddled with bullets in 1953 during the assault led by Fidel Castro, it is now a school and museum. It is a short distance from Parque Céspedes, for passengers interested in the island's recent history.
Congrí, roast pork, coffee from the nearby mountains and local rum served without ceremony. The terraces around Parque Céspedes let you recover in the shade while watching the traffic of scooters and uniformed schoolchildren.
The Cuban peso and Spanish. Carry small notes to tip musicians: here, every meal comes with its own band. Cards issued by US banks do not work in Cuba.
They play different tunes. Havana offers colonial grandeur and a berth in the heart of the historic centre. Santiago, founded in 1515 and the island's first capital, asserts rather than charms: more musical, more Caribbean, backed by the Sierra Maestra, with the centre four kilometres from the quay.
