10 best places to visit in Cuba for first-time visitors

Havana is a great place to start when you visit Cuba. The capital of the island, this city is best explored in an oldtimer (vintage car) alongside a local guide. Head to Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with cobbled streets, brightly coloured Baroque buildings, arcades and forts like Castillo de la Real Fuerza. Of course, no visit to Havana is complete without strolling (and people watching) along the iconic Malecón sea wall promenade. 

After enjoying iconic landmarks like the Gran Teatro de la Habana and Capitolio Nacional, sip a mojito at La Bodeguita del Medio, long hailed as the cocktail’s original home, then head to El Floridita for a classic daiquiri in the footsteps of Hemingway. For those seeking a more authentic experience in Havana, head to the small town of Guanaboca on the outskirts of the city. This town offers a deep dive into Afro-Cuban culture and Santería traditions as well as panoramic views across the area from the Cristo de Havana lookout point. 

If you are looking for unusual things to do in Cuba, before you leave the capital’s orbit, detour west to Jaimanitas, where one artist’s vision can be felt across an entire neighbourhood in mosaics and colour. This seaside village, home to José Fuster since 1975, is one of the most Instagrammable places outside Havana and has affectionately been renamed Fusterlandia as a homage to the artist and his creative vision. 40 years in the making, this mosaic town contains colourful references to Cuban culture, with art critics comparing his work to the Catalán artist Gaudí. Pay a visit to this colourful town, then, with Havana in your rear-view mirror, you head for open country.

Leave the bustle of city life behind you and two hours later, you are in Viñales, where limestone mogotes rise from the red, earthy tobacco fields. The slow pace of life here is balm for your nervous system. While it is most famous for being cigar country, its landscape is also shaped by sugar cane and coffee plantations. The best way to explore the Jurassic Park-style surroundings is either by bike or on horseback. Venture to the Mirador de los Jazmines for panoramic views of the tobacco fields and a refreshing beverage in the shade. 

Explore the Indian Cave and sail along the subterranean rivers, admiring the stalactite and stalagmites hanging from the cave, home to ​​cave paintings and pre-Columbian Cuban archaeological remains. Of course, don’t leave the valley before admiring the Prehistory Mural, which offers an insight into the theory of evolution from a terrifying and psychedelic perspective. 

From Viñales, there are so many places to visit in Cuba, but the north coast offers a quick hit of turquoise. Catch a small boat to Cayo Levisa, an uninhabited island, for sugar-white sand beaches, water that looks digitally enhanced and boat rides around this coconut palm-fringed shoreline. When it comes to Cuba’s tourism and attractions, Cayo Levisa is a popular dive site. Adventurous travellers will enjoy scuba diving or snorkelling in its pristine waters to explore tropical reefs home to a kaleidoscope of fish and 18th-century shipwrecks. Be sure to add this to your Cuba bucket list.

Back on the mainland, you will fall in love with the paradisical surroundings of Varadero, Cuba’s resort town, east of Havana. Varadero offers all the conveniences that first-time travellers on holiday in Cuba crave. Textbook-perfect beaches, easy swims, tasty cocktails and an all-inclusive ease that makes it easy to press pause on daily life. It is easy to see why many people consider this town one of the best places to go in Cuba.

If you have been running on city energy and the countryside early starts, a few days lounging in the shade of palm trees in this corner of the island is the perfect plan. It may be tempting to rest and relax in the comfort of a beachfront hotel here, but if your curiosity does get the better of you, Matanzas, the region’s capital, is a great day trip. The city of bridges, as it is known, Matanzas is famous for its poets, music and Afro-Cuban folklore and is quickly becoming a new cultural hub on the island. 

Around three hours from Havana and an easy onward hop after recharging your batteries in Varadero, Cienfuegos is a must-see. Different from other places to visit in Cuba, Cienfuegos boasts a French elegance and seaside setting that makes even a simple city stroll feel cinematic. The tidiness of the city, with its wide boulevards and graceful façades, offers a contrast to the baroque, time capsule beauty of cities like Havana and Trinidad. Visit the José Martí park, take your photo alongside the iconic Benny More Statue or explore local history at the Cienfuegos Regional Museum. 

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Trinidad is a honeyed grid of cobbled lanes where pastel façades peel prettily in the heat and music drifts on the balmy breeze. It is one of the must-see places to visit in Cuba and to get your head around it, start in the historic centre. Linger on the grand steps of Plaza Mayor, duck into old mansions turned into museums to catch a glimpse of the town’s sugar-era swagger.

Then, climb up to the Convento de San Francisco tower for skyline views that tumble towards the Sierra del Escambray. If you want a beach day, Playa Ancón offers a beautiful spot. Come nightfall, Trinidad is best enjoyed, rum in hand, at a local bar with a live band serenading visitors or at the Casa de la Música as the light begins to fade and the dancing starts in the open air. This is Cuban nightlife for tourists and locals alike.

If you are fascinated by Cuba’s revolutionary history, Santa Clara is one of the best places to go in Cuba. While it doesn’t seduce in the same way Havana or Trinidad do, its attractions and cultural significance have put this place on the map. Begin at Parque Leoncio Vidal and absorb the ebb and flow of daily life before popping into the old-world Teatro La Caridad with fantastic gilt finishes and faded grandeur. From here, pick up the revolutionary thread and head over to the Tren Blindado site, where Che’s forces derailed an armoured train in 1958. To finish the pilgrimage, the Che Guevara Mausoleum and Memorial on the edge of the town, watched over by that iconic bronze silhouette, is a must-see in Cuba. 

Known as the City of Clay Pots, Camagüey was one of the first seven cities established by the Spaniards. Its old town, recognised by UNESCO, is a beguiling tangle of narrow lanes and sudden plazas, designed, as legend has it, to confuse pirates. So, the best way to see this city is to simply wander, letting church towers and friendly family-run cafés become your landmarks. Pause in the Plaza del Carmen, known for its charming, colourful buildings and artistic vibe, admire the cathedral from the Plaza del Catedral and visit the equestrian statue of revolutionary Cuban hero, Ignacio Agramonte, in the park named after him. Look out for the tinajones, the big clay jars that have become the city’s emblem and don’t forget to explore the local art scene by visiting the galleries and museums. 

Of all the places to visit in Cuba, music fans will flock to Santiago de Cuba. Here, the vibrant African and Caribbean influences merged to create Son Cubano, the foundations of salsa music and the soundtrack to the city’s July carnival. Here, the vibe is hotter and louder than cities like Havana and unmistakably Afro-Caribbean. Begin exploring in the heart of the city, at the Parque Céspedes, where you can admire the colonial balconies before heading to the Casa de Diego Velázquez, one of the oldest surviving houses in Cuba, to trace the island’s early Spanish history.

There is also a revolutionary history to be uncovered in Santiago and the Cuartel Moncada tells the opening chapter with stark clarity. Meanwhile, San Pedro de la Roca (El Morro) is a colonial fortress, used to guard the entrance to the bay and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also in Santiago that you can pay respects to Fidel Castro and José Martí, who are buried in the Saint Ifigenia Cemetery alongside other Cuban heroes.