2 Best Sights in Cuba

Just east of the etching of Che Guevara and around the corner from Ministerio de Comunicaciones (Communications Ministry), you'll find this museum dedicated to the Cuban postal service. As well as documenting the history of the country's postal service, it also displays hundreds of stamps from all over the world, old Roman and Greek tablets dating as far back as the year 2300 BC, letters, and old seals. Keep a look out for Cuba's postal rocket, a unique experiment which was carried out in 1939.

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.