Insight Guides Cuba (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides

Description

Insight Guide to Cuba is a pictorial travel guide in a magazine style providing answers to the key questions before or during your trip: deciding when to go to Cuba, choosing what to see, from exploring old Havana to discovering Valle de Vinales or creating a travel plan to cover key places like Santiago, Santa Clara. This is an ideal travel guide for travellers seeking inspiration, in-depth cultural and historical information about Cuba as well as a great selection of places to see during your trip.

The Insight Guide CUBA covers: Old Havana, Centro Habana and Vedado, Vinales and the west, Varadero and Matanzas, the Zapata Peninsular, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos and Trinidad, eastern lowlands, Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa and the far east and the southern islands.

In this travel guide you will find:

IN-DEPTH CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL FEATURES  

Created to explore the culture and the history of Cuba to get a greater understanding of its modern-day life, people and politics.

BEST OF

The top attractions and Editor's Choice highlighting the most special places to visit around Cuba.

CURATED PLACES, HIGH-QUALITY MAPS

Geographically organised text cross-referenced against full-colour, high-quality travel maps for quick orientation in Havana, Trinidad and many more locations in Cuba.

COLOUR-CODED CHAPTERS

Every part of Cuba, from Old Havana to the southern islands has its own colour assigned for easy navigation.

TIPS AND FACTS

Up-to-date historical timeline and in-depth cultural background to Santiago de Cuba as well as an introduction to Cuba's food and drink and fun destination-specific features.   

PRACTICAL TRAVEL INFORMATION

A-Z of useful advice on everything from when to go to Cuba, how to get there and how to get around, as well as Cuba's climate, advice on tipping, etiquette and more.   

STRIKING PICTURES

Features inspirational colour photography, including the stunning Bay of Pigs and the spectacular Playa Esmeralda.

Sujets

• Points of Interest
• Museums
• West Indies
• Old Havana
• Point of interest
• Vedado
• Travel
• Museum
• Centro Habana
• Varadero
• Cuba
• Caribbean
• Granma
• Cienfuegos
• Santiago de Cuba
• Holguín
• Trinidad
• Santa Clara
• Matanzas
• Tours

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 15 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781839053511
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 18 Mo

Extrait

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book
This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Cuba, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editor’s Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Cuba. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Cuba are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
You’ll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Cuba. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
© 2022 Apa Digital AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents
Cuba’s Top 10 Attractions
Editor’s Choice
Introduction: The Isolated Island
The Cubans
Decisive Dates
Conquistadores and Pirates
The Struggle Against Colonialism
The Age of Decadence
The Revolution
Socialism or Death
Cuba in the 21st Century
Beliefs and Religions
Dreaming of Miami
Insight: Cuba’s Transportation System
Tourism: salvation or sellout?
Cuba’s Sizzling Sound
The Arts
The Essence of Cuban Food
Sport
Introduction: Places
Old Havana
Insight: Cuba’s Colonial Architecture
Centro Habana and Vedado
Around Havana
Viñales and the West
Insight: Secrets of the Cuban Cigar
Varadero and Matanzas
The Zapata Peninsula
Insight: Bird bonanza
Santa Clara to Sancti Spíritus
Cienfuegos and Trinidad
Eastern Lowlands
Insight: Dream diving
Holguín and Granma
Santiago De Cuba
Around Santiago
Baracoa and the Far East
Southern Islands
Transportation
A-Z: A Handy Summary of Practical Information
Language
Further Reading
CUBA TOP 10 ATTRACTIONS

Top Attraction 1

Old Havana, the historic core of the Spanish Colonial City, is bursting with life, new bars, cafés, stores and restaurants found in the restored and unrestored streets of balconied homes, and squares of mansions, churches, museums and fountains . For more information, click here .
Shutterstock

Top Attraction 2

Trinidad . A Unesco World Heritage Site, this is one of the most beguiling towns in Cuba, a place of great architectural interest, full of atmosphere and color and throbbing with music. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 3

Museo Nacional Palacio de Bellas Artes (Arte Cubano), Havana . A magnificent collection of 17th-20th-century Cuban art is on display here, including pre- to post-revolutionary paintings and sculpture. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 4

Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás, Havana . Even for non-smokers, a visit to this famous cigar factory is an experience, both aromatic and educational. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 5

Valle de Viñales . When the mists hover over the tobacco fields leaving only the tops of the palm trees and the sheer-sided limestone mogotes on view this is one of the most beautiful places on earth. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 6

Santiago de Cuba - the former capital has a historic Spanish colonial heart, great museums and a tremendous musical and dance culture . For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 7

Cementerio Santa Ifigenia, Santiago . Most of Cuba’s famous sons and daughters, including Fidel Castro and José Martí, are buried here. There is an eclectic mix of mausoleums and graves. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 8

Callejón de Hamel, Havana . Where exuberant art and music mix – this is the place to be on a Sunday afternoon. For more information, click here .
AWL Images

Top Attraction 9

Baracoa . Surrounded by mountains of coconut palms, coffee and cacao, Baracoa is Cuba’s adventure and foodie hotspot with a great little music scene, too. Its setting across two Atlantic bays is beautiful. For more information, click here .
iStock

Top Attraction 10

Monumento Che Guevara, Santa Clara . Fans of revolutionary history should make the pilgrimage to this giant monument, with its dramatic statue, the bas-relief of Che’s letter to Fidel on leaving Cuba for Bolivia, and the mausoleum where the eternal flame burns for Che and his comrades interred there. For more information, click here .
iStock
EDITOR’S CHOICE

The palm-fringed shores of Cayo Levisa.
Dreamstime

Best unspoilt beaches

Cayo Levisa . On the north coast of Pinar del Río province, Cayo Levisa is a small dive resort reached by a short boat trip. For more information, click here .
Cayo Sabinal . A wildlife reserve with deserted, pristine white-sand beaches north of Camagüey. For more information, click here .
Playas del Este . Very close to Havana, this series of white sand, palm-flecked beaches with a few deck chairs are very accessible. For more information, click here .
Cayo Jutías . A small cay off the north coast of Pinar del Río, a beautiful stretch of white sand and calm, shallow water. For more information, click here .
Playa Los Cocos . Some 8km (5 miles) from the beach resort of Playa Santa Lucía, this is a broad sweep of beach with a fishing village at one end and a few beach bars at the other. For more information, click here .
Playa Maguana . Not far from Baracoa, the trees come down to the sweep of white sand in a curved bay where there is one hotel and beach bars. For more information, click here .

Statue of Antonio Maceo, in the Plaza de la Revolución,Santiago.
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

Best heroic sites

Monument to Che, Santa Clara . A dramatic statue overlooks the Plaza de la Revolución, while underneath is a museum and a mausoleum where the remains of Che Guevara and some of his fellow fighters are interred. For more information, click here .
Monument to Antonio Maceo , Santiago . The impressive monument to the great 19th-century independence fighter dominates the Plaza de la Revolución at the entrance to the town. For more information, click here .
Playa Girón . The site of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 is commemorated as ‘The First Imperialist Defeat in Latin America.’ For more information, click here .
Mausoleum of José Martí and Castro’s tomb, Santiago . José Martí, the Father of the Nation, lies in a splendid marble mausoleum, where an armed guard is changed every half hour, accompanied by martial music. Nearby is a boulder encasing the ashes of Cuba’s totemic former leader, Fidel Castro. For more information, click here .
Moncada Barracks , Santiago . The unsuccessful attack on Moncada in 1953 launched the Revolution. A museum is on site. For more information, click here .
Parque Nacional Desembarco de Granma , Niquero . On the edge of the Sierra Maestra, this is where the guerrilla war began, in 1956. There is a walkway through the mangroves to the sea. For more information, click here .

Best places to hear music

For more information on music in Cuba, click here .
Fábrica de Arte Cubano . Eclectic performances in a multi-arts converted peanut oil factory.
Casa de la Música Habana . Matinées and late-night performances of salsa, Son Cubano, swing, and rock.
La Zorra y el Cuervo , Havana . Famous jazz club on La Rampa.
Casa de la Trova, Santiago . This cultural center is one of the most famous casas in the whole of Cuba.
Club Mejunje, Santa Clara . An intimate local venue where you will hear local and national musicians.
Casa de la Música, Trinidad . On La Escalinata, there’s music and dancing until the early hours.

Best Havana plazas

Plaza de Armas . Havana’s oldest square is lit at night by antique lamps, and is a center of activity at all hours. For more information, click here .
Plaza de la Catedral . The baroque cathedral and handsome colonial buildings surround the square, where café tables invite you to sit and enjoy a mojito . For more information, click here .
Plaza Vieja . The square has been renovated with great care and is now one of the most gracious in the city. For more information, click here .
Plaza de la Revolución . The site of the stark memorial to José Martí