49 Best Sights in Eastern Cuba, Cuba

The museum has one of Cuba's largest collections of such indigenous artifacts (20,000 of them) as pottery, jewelry, and tools. There are also murals depicting indigenous life.

This eclectic museum is housed in the birthplace of composer and violinist Manuel Muñoz Cedeño (1813–95). There are exhibits on the region's colonial history and its geography.

Cuba's oldest museum was founded in 1899 by Emilio Bacardí Moreau, the former Santiago mayor whose rum-making family fled to Puerto Rico after the Revolution. Although the Neoclassical structure's interior was horrendously remodeled in 1968—destroying many elegant details and cutting off air circulation—the collection it contains is fantastic. The basement, which you enter from the side of the building, has artifacts—including mummies and a shrunken head—from indigenous cultures throughout the Americas. In the first-floor displays of colonial objects, the antique weapons and brutal relics of the slave trade are especially thought-provoking. Step outside a door to a cobblestone alley, along which are houses from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Around the corner is a traditional colonial patio. The second-floor art gallery has works from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Although the museum bears the Bacardí name, this is not Santiago's rum museum. That's the Museo del Ron, two blocks away.

The main plaza, Parque Céspedes, is the best place to experience Manzanillo's unique sense of style. It's dominated by a central bandstand, with colorful, intricately painted tiles and a domed top. Many of the fine buildings surrounding the plaza are Moorish-inspired. You'll also find a café, an art gallery, shops, and the Casa de la Cultura, which has art exhibits, live-music shows, and other cultural events.

At times it seems that Santiago's main activity is the curious stare-down that takes place in Parque Céspedes between mojito-sipping tourists at the Hotel Casa Granda's café and white-hatted locals, who sit across the way. Long the central meeting place for santiagueros, this large plaza buzzes with sound and movement day and night. Musicians wander past and around its shady benches, which are occupied from early in the morning to late in the evening. At the park's center is a large bronze statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, whose Grito de Yara declared Cuba's independence from Spain in 1868 and began the Ten Years' War. Hurricane Sandy uprooted most of the park's trees in 2012; residents here patiently wait for the vegetation to grow back.

Bayamo's central park is a charming square with large trees and long marble benches. It's still the center of local life, and a good place to drink in the rhythms of a quiet Cuban town. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available from here.

At the square's center is the granite-and-bronze statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the hero of the Ten Years' War. He wrote the famous "Grito de Yara" ("Shout of Yara")—the declaration of independence from Spain—which he read aloud on October 10, 1868, after freeing his slaves. Look also for the statue of Perucho Figueredo, who wrote Cuba's national anthem; its words describe the valor of the local townspeople: Run to the battle, Bayamenses / Let the motherland proudly watch you / Don't fear death / To die for the motherland is to live. On the east side of the square is the Ayuntamiento, the old town hall where Céspedes abolished slavery after founding an independent republic briefly in 1868.

Wandering the bay-side malecón and exploring its adjacent Parque de Recreación Bartolomé Masó is a great way to spend an afternoon. This small park features rides and snack vendors in a shady clearing on the shore. It's lit up at night and is particularly lively on weekends.

This park forms Baracoa's historic heart; local people refer to the triangle-shaped park as "Parque Central." Note the large bust of indigenous leader Hatuey—Cuba's first rebel—who fought against the Spanish and was burned at the stake for his audacity in 1512.

It's a steep 5-km (3-mile) ascent from Santo Domingo village to the Alto del Naranjo—a parking lot with beautiful views—which marks the entrance to the park. If you haven't hired a guide in Santo Domingo, you can do so at the visitor center here.

The Comandancia de la Plata, the headquarters of the Revolution, is just 3 km (2 miles) west of the entrance to the park. A relaxing, one-hour walk on a clearly marked trail along a ridge brings you to a remote forest clearing. Here you'll find Castro's command post, hospital, and residence—built with an escape route into an adjacent creek. This is the perfect trek if you have limited time: you can get a taste of the region in the morning and return to the lowlands by early afternoon.

If you’re feeling truly intrepid, the summit of Pico Turquino, Cuba's highest peak at 1,974 meters (6,476 feet), beckons, some 13 km (8 miles) from the Comandancia de la Plata. A journey here involves a night of camping, typically at a tent camp at the mountain's base. Cooks are sometimes available, but you have to bring your own food. Showers and fog alternate with sun and daytime heat, and humidity alternates with chilly windy nights, so in addition to good hiking boots, you need clothing that you can layer and a lightweight rain jacket.

East of town lies Playa Baragua, one of the area's few light-sand beaches. Not far from here, the road passes beneath a natural arch called the Túnel de los Alemanes (Germans' Tunnel) before ending 25 km (16 miles) east of Baracoa, at the Río Yumurí and the adjacent village of the same name. The river tumbles out of a steep canyon. Boats ferry passengers across the river and up into the canyon for nominal fees. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunrise; walking.

West of town, you'll find the lovely, dark-sand Playa Maguana, site of the Gaviota Villa Maguana hotel. Amenities: food and drink; parking; water sports. Best for: sunrise; swimming; walking.

West of Playa Esmeralda, along the Carretera Holguín–Guardalavaca (Holguín–Guardalavaca Highway) and enough to be outside the Guardalavaca orbit, is Playa Pesquero. This cove, whose shallow, clear waters and white sands are surrounded by greenery, is often referred to as the Costa Verde (Green Coast). If you stay in one of the resorts here, such as the Hotel Brisas Guardalavaca, consider renting a car for a day trip into the interior. Amenities: food and drink; parking; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; sunrise; swimming; walking.

Holguín's small historic district hugs this square, which is graced by large trees and a marble bust of Calixto García, a local general in the Ten Years' War (1868–78) for independence from Spain. It's lined with colonial buildings containing residences, small shops, the requisite Casa de la Trova (with frequent music performances), the Teatro Comandante Eddy Sunoi, and the Centro de Arte Salón Moncada, with its occasional painting and photography exhibits.

Four blocks from Parque Céspedes, this long plaza—the city's former marketplace—is ringed with cafés, open-air restaurants, and 18th-century homes with noteworthy wooden balconies. It takes its name from the church overlooking its eastern end, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, which was renovated and turned into a concert hall. Several of the trees here were felled by Hurricane Sandy in 2012; it will be several years before the new plantings grow back.

The square has a marble bust of local hero General Calixto García and his marble mausoleum. This broad socialist expanse is used for political rallies and other events. Look for the white colonial building containing the provincial Communist Party headquarters.

For a memorable photo, visit this park, Santiago's third largest, at the edge of the Old City. Children ride in colorful carts pulled by goats—a pleasure formerly enjoyed in Parque Céspedes. This relaxed square, filled with families and sweets vendors, captures the rhythm of Santiago life. Most of the trees here were uprooted by 2012's Hurricane Sandy. Replanting has begun, but it will be some time before the park achieves its cool shadiness once again.

One of Bayamo's most peaceful spots is the Plaza del Himno, northwest of Parque Céspedes. The so-called anthem square is dominated by the Iglesia de San Salvador. First built in 1613 and rebuilt several times starting in 1740, the church is famous as the first place "La Bayamesa," Cuba's eventual national anthem, was sung in 1868. Its stone-and-wood interior has been restored, and it's open to visitors late in the afternoon, before the 5 pm mass.

The plaza is also the home of Casa de la Nacionalidad Cubana, the town's archives. It's not officially open to the public, but you can ask questions of the staff and maybe have a peek at the antique furniture and interior courtyard. A list of cultural events happening around town is usually posted here.

Southeast of the plaza is the Iglesia de San Juan Evangelista, a church that was partially destroyed in the 1869 fire but whose tower remains intact. The Retablo de los Héroes is a monument to Cuban independence fighters, from Céspedes to Celia Sánchez (who, in addition to being a revolutionary, was also Castro's lover and confidante).

This elegant neighborhood of mansions is a place of historical splendor. French-inspired plantation homes, stately Spanish-colonial mansions, even Art Deco gems are beautifully decaying amid riotous vegetation under the clear Caribbean sun. Chevy Bel Airs and Cadillacs from the late 1950s roll down the wide, quiet streets where time seems to have frozen four decades ago, just before the Revolution. The district, framed in bougainvillea and hibiscus, resembles Havana's Vedado and older residential neighborhoods in Miami.

Right outside the east end of town you'll cross the Río Miel. Legend has it that after swimming in these waters you'll fall in love in Baracoa and stay here forever.