2 Best Sights in Cuba

You can sightsee in one of the horse-drawn carriages (less than CUC$10) that wait for hire in the plaza facing the town's central park, which also has the oldest statue of Columbus in the New World (erected in 1858). Overlooking the statue, the mid-19th-century Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción is oddly framed by two conical towers and is in desperate need of repair. However, the Neoclassical cathedral is known for its stained glass windows, best admired from inside. To enter, walk around the church to the back door at No. 359. Don't miss the tiny chapel in the conical tower at the northeast corner.

Originally the city's central square, or Plaza de las Armas, this didn't become a proper park until 1912. Note the bronze statue of Agramonte on his steed at its center. In the park's southwestern corner is a 19th-century house that's now the Casa de la Trova, whose courtyard hosts performances by local musicians every day but Monday. The Neoclassical building to the north is the biblioteca (library); a few doors farther north is the Palacio Municipal (town hall), which was originally erected in 1730 but almost completely rebuilt in 1906; local artists often exhibit in its foyer. The royal palms that stand at each corner of the park were planted as surreptitious monuments to four freedom fighters executed by Spain during the War of Independence. You'll find the requisite tinajones here too.