Fodor's Expert Review Parque Vidal

Most of the museums and monuments surround Santa Clara's central plaza. The streets that border it are closed to traffic, and locals gather here evenings and weekends, when concerts are often held in the kiosk or on the street in front of the Casa de la Cultura. On the park's northeast end stands the stately Palacio Provincial, built in 1912 to house the provincial government but now the city's library. Across the park from the library is the Palacio Municipal, or town hall, a structure dating from 1922. The Neoclassical building next to the Palacio Municipal was originally an elite social club but is now a government cultural center, the Casa de la Cultura; climb its marble staircase to the old ballroom, which is still lovely despite decades of neglect.