Tour Highlights
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Founded in 1819, it is a maritime town with well-preserved historical buildings and one of the most captivating bays in the Caribbean Sea which helped the city earn the name “Pearl of the South”. The town was planned according to geometric layout typical of Neo Classicism, compact constructions and stylistic homogeneity. Martí Park and the surrounding buildings, Prado promenade, the city´s seafront, Valle´s Palace and Punta Gorda are a must for any visitor.
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This theater
was built in 1886-90 to fulfill the last will and testament of Tomás
Terry Adams, a sugar factory owner. World famous personalities such as
Italian Tenor Enrico Caruso, French actress Sarah Bernhardt performed
here in the early 1900´s. The austere well-proportioned façade shows
three ceramic masks “Three Graces” on the pediment made by Salvatti
workshops in Venice. -
It was built in the early 1900´s by the sugar magnate José Ferrer Sirés and houses today the Provincial Culture Center. Enrico Caruso is said to stay here when he performed at the theatre. It is distinguished by its cupola with blue mosaic decoration and the wrought iron spiral staircase. -
It was constructed 1833-1869 and features a Neo Classical façade with two bell towers of different heights and stained glass windows made in France depicting the Twelve Apostles. -
The most
amazing building in the area, located in Punta Gorda, was a wedding gift
of Acisclo del Valle Blanco, one of the wealthiest sugar merchants in
Cuba, to his wife. It was built in 1913-1917 at a cost of 1.5 million
pesos by French, Arab, Italian and Cuban architects. The facade has
three towers of different designs symbolizing power, religion and love. -
A large
nautical rose in the middle of the park marks the zero kilometer, the
central point of Cienfuegos city where it was founded in 1819 laying out
the city´s first 25 blocks. This park along with the surrounding
buildings, the historical center of the city, was declared World
Heritage Site in 2005. The only triumphal arch in Cuba and two lions on
marble pedestal flanking a monument of Jose Martí stand in the park. -
At the
southern tip of the bay of Cienfuegos lies Punta Gorda, the aristocratic
quarter of the city in the early 1900´s which affords a lovely
panoramic view of the bay. Several wooden Art Nouveau villas were
modelled here on the American pre-fabricated “balloon frame” homes that
were so much in vogue in the early 20th century. -
Founded by
Diego Velazquez in 1514, it was declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site
in 1988. This city flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries
thanks to sugar cane and slave trade, reflected in the buildings around
the Main Square. The original cobble stone streets and pastel colored
houses give the impression that time has scarcely moved on since
colonial times. Trinidad offers a wide variety of architectural details
such as red tile roofs, wooden beams, ornamental wrought iron grates and
high windows which set slightly above ground level having strong wooden
shutters. -
This 1892
built church with Neo Classical façade has four aisle interior and a Neo
Gothic altar dedicated to the Virgin of Mercy. But the real attraction
of this place is an 18th century wooden statue “Lord of the True Cross”
made in Spain for a church in Vera Cruz which left Barcelona´s port in
1731 but three times the ship was driven by strong winds to the port of
Casilda, 6 km from Trinidad. On its fourth attempt to reach Mexico the
ship´s captain decided to leave behind part of the cargo which included
the statue of Christ. Locals believed this was a signal from heaven
becoming an object of worship. -
This church
was built by Franciscan monks in the late 18th century. The authorities
transformed the monastery into a garrison for the Spanish army during
the 1890´s. The convent and part of the church were demolished because
of its deteriorated condition, only the bell tower and its clock are
still standing along with adjacent buildings, which were used as school.
The complex became the home of the Museum of the War against Bandits. -
This
building was commissioned by Mariano Borrell Padrón and bought later by
María de Monserrate who married Cantero, a landowner from the Sugar
Mills Valley, who transformed it into one of the most sumptuous Neo
Classical residences of Trinidad. It is now the Municipal Museum of
History where local history can be traced here through exhibits, maps
and monuments related to different themes: the Cantero family, piracy,
the plantations of the Sugar Mills Valley the slave trade and the wars
of independence. The tower has a commanding view of the historic center. -
This
building belonged to the sugar magnate Saturnino Sánchez Iznaga and is
now the home of the Museum of Colonial Architecture. It covers the
different architectural elements seen in Trinidad and illustrates the
building techniques used during the colonial period. There is a
collection of several locks, latches, doors, hinges, windows and grates. -
Built in
1812 as the residence of the wealthy Borrel family, it now houses the
Romantic Museum whose decoration blends in well with the objects on
display, most of which belonged to this family. It features precious
wood furniture, Sevres vases, Bohemian crystal ware and other decorative
objects from the 18th and 19th century. -
This small 18th century church on a hill north of the center is connected to the Main Square by a narrow steep street. The striking three arch bell tower loggia was added in 1812, when work was done to the church to repair the damage done by a cyclone. -
This 18th
century building is known for a local traditional cocktail
“Canchánchara”, made from rum, lemon, water and honey. This drink helped
Cuban rebels “Mambises” to bear the cold weather and different
respiratory diseases out in the fields during the independence wars in
the 19th century. . -
This is the
city´s foundational site where Bartolomé de las Casas celebrated the first ecclesiastic mass in Trinidad in 1514 and where a Jigue tree still stands. -
This nice looking house, built in the early 18th century, with a wooden balcony on the corner was the meeting place for local nationalist members of the Conspiracy “Mina de la Rosa Cubana” in 1848.
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