Havana
Founded on the western banks of a fabulous natural harbour, what was once the entire city of Havana now forms the most captivating part of Habana Vieja, the old city and the capital's tourist centre. This UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site is one of crumbling magnificence and restored beauty. Any sight seeing you do will fan out from here, taking in the fine museums, colonial buildings, elegant plazas, sweeping boulevards and narrow, atmospheric streets bristling with life.

Most visitors restrict themselves to Habana Vieja and Vedado, where many of the post-colonial mansions have been converted into public works and ministry offices or museums. The best way to appreciate Vedado's compact, quiet suburban streets is on foot. From here, you could walk the couple of kilometres to the famous Plaza de la Revolución, where giant monuments to the two most famous icons of the Cuban struggle for independence, Ché Guevara and José Martí, present unmissable photo opportunities. Beyond Vedado to the west, on the other side of the Río Almendares, Miramar -- modelled on mid-20th century Miami -- ushers in yet another change in the urban landscape. A commercial district is emerging on its western fringes, accompanied by a number of luxury hotels, whilst some of Havana's most sophisticated restaurants are scattered around Miramar's leafy streets.

Two kilometres inland along the Vía Monumental from the tunnel under the bay is the turn-off to Guanabacoa, a little town officially within the city limits but with a distinctly provincial feel. The site of a pre-Columbian community, and then one of the island's first Spanish settlements, it's the strong tradition here of Afro-Cuban religion which holds the most appeal for visitors, centred on a visit to the town's Museo Histórico de Guanabacoa (Monday, Wedesday to Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 6 .p.m; $2 (US)), at Martí no. 108 el Quintin Bandera y E.V.Valenzuela, two blocks from the understated main square, Parque Martí. The collection of cultish objects relating to the practices of Santería, Palo Monte and the Abakuá Secret Society give the museum its edge. One room is set up to reflect the mystic environment in which the babalao, the Santería equivalent of a priest, would perform divination rituals, surrounded by altars and African deities in the form of Catholic saints. There are also some interesting bits and pieces, including furniture and ceramics, relating to the town's history.

The most accessible and intact of the town's five churches is the run-down Iglesia Parroquial Mayor on Parque Martí, with its magnificent, though age-worn, altar. Otherwise, once you've checked out the Afro-Cuban-style knick-knacks in the Bazar de Reproducciones Artísticas, two blocks down from the museum at Martí no. 175, and eaten at El Palenque, the basic outdoor restaurant next door, you've done the town justice.

Las Terrazas
Eight kilometres beyond the signposted turn-off at km 51 of the autopista is Las Terrazas, a harmonious tourist resort and small working community forming the province's premier eco-tourism site. The motorway suddenly seems a long way behind as the road takes you into a thickly wooded landscape and up to a junction where, after a left turn, you'll reach a toll booth ($2 (US) per person; resort guests free) marking the beginning of the main through road for Las Terrazas. About 2 km beyond the toll booth, another left-hand turn leads several hundred metres down to a complex of red-roofed bungalows and apartment buildings, beautifully set into the grassy slopes of a valley, at the foot of which is a lake. The cabins belong to the resident population, which numbers around a thousand and has lived here since 1971 as part of a government-funded conservation and reforestation project, covering some 50 square kilometres of the Sierra del Rosario. A large proportion of the locals work in tourism, either directly or indirectly, many as employees at Moka (tel: 82-78-601 to 603, fax: 82-78-126, hmoka@teleda.get.cma.net; $75 to $100 (US), lakeside cabin $100 to $130 (US)), a resort hotel that blends perfectly with its surroundings.

There are several official hiking trails around Las Terrazas, none more than 6 km. There is no better way to experience the diversity of the Sierra del Rosario than along these routes, which collectively offer the most comprehensive insight available into the region's topography, history, flora and fauna. Whilst you are free to follow the trails independently, it's generally better to hire a guide from Rancho Curujey (tel: 82-78-555), the complex's visitor centre, as you'll learn a lot more and you won't get lost -- this is also where you can get hold of a map. Though the centre has no formal opening hours, it's generally a good idea to arrive at around 8:30 a.m. before staff disappear on hikes and excursions. To get to the restaurant and the one or two other buildings that make up Rancho Curujey, take the signposted right-hand turn off the main through road just before the left turn that leads down to the village and hotel. Guides cost between $15 and $35 (US) per person on a pre-booked excursion, depending on the size of the group and your specific requirements. It works out considerably cheaper if you're in a group of six or more; you may be able to join another visiting group if you call a day or so in advance, or if you arrive at or before 9 a.m.

Soroa
Sixteen kilometres southwest of Las Terrazas, the tiny village of Soroa nestles in a long narrow valley. It's very cosy, but as access into the hills is limited and the list of attractions brief, Soroa is best for a short stint rather than a protracted visit. Incidentally, you can get here from Las Terrazas without having to return to the autopista. Follow the main road through Las Terrazas until you reach a second toll booth, marking the other end of the resort, where you should turn left.

All of the official attractions are based around the Villa Soroa (tel: 85-21-22 or 20-41, fax: 85-78-218; $75 to $100 (US)), a well-kept hotel complex encircling a swimming pool. Most of what you'll want to see is within ten minutes' walk of the reception building, but if you've driven up from the autopista the first place you'll reach, 100 metres or so from the hotel, is the car park for El Salto (open during daylight hours; $2 (US)), a 20 metre waterfall and one of Soroa's best-known attractions.

Back at the car park, follow the sign pointing in the direction of the small bridge to El Mirador, the most easily accessible local viewpoint. A 30-minute hike scales an increasingly steep dirt track, though it's mercifully shady and a set of steps has been installed for the final stretch. There are a number of possible wrong turns on the way up; follow the track with the horse dung. At the summit, you'll find vultures circling the rocky, uneven platform. El Castillo de las Nubes is the more developed of Soroa's two hilltop viewpoints and the only one you can drive to. The road up to the summit, which you'll have to follow even if walking as there are no obvious trails through the woods, is between the car park for El Salto and the hotel. It shouldn't take you more than twenty minutes on foot to reach the hilltop restaurant, housed in a building resembling a toy fortress with a single turret (the castillo -- or castle -- in question). It's worth stopping for a meal in the restaurant (daily 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.), as the views are fantastic.

Varadero
Cuba's answer to the Costa del Sol in Spain or Cancún in Mexico, Varadero is dominated by tourism and almost nowhere are you out of sight of a hotel. However, anyone hoping for a polished, Disney-style, resort will be disappointed. With hotels, shops and nightclubs spread out across the peninsula, there are areas where activity is more concentrated, but nowhere is there the buzz you might expect from the major holiday resort on the largest Caribbean island. None of this detracts from what most people come here for, namely the beach: a seemingly endless runway of blinding white sand. This is also the best place in Cuba for watersports, scuba diving, fishing and boat trips, with three marinas and two diving clubs offering a wide range of activities.

Varadero is divided into three distinct sections, though all are united by the same stretch of beach. The bridge from the mainland takes you into the main town area, where all the Cubans live and where nightlife, eating and entertainment are most densely concentrated. The streets here are in blocks, with calles numbering 1 to 65 running the width of the peninsula; dissecting them is Avenida Primera, the only street running the five-kilometre length of the whole town. The two-kilometre section of the peninsula west of the town, separated from the mainland by the Laguna de Paso Malo, is the Reparto Kawama, largely the exclusive domain of hotel guests. The majority of the all-inclusive luxury hotels lie east of the town on a part of the peninsula wholly dedicated to tourism.

The Town, the beach and around
Varadero is low on sites of cultural or historic interest, and those that do exist are quickly exhausted. Central Varadero, specifically the area between calles 56 and 64, has the highest proportion of things to see, as well as the greatest concentration of shops and restaurants. Detailing the history of Varadero, with rooms on sport and wildlife thrown in for good measure, the Museo Municipal (daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $1 (US)), at the beach end of Calle 57, contains exhibits of varying degrees of interest, including some eye-catching photographs of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and their colleague, Camilo Cienfuegos, living it up in Varadero's hotels during the 1960s. Over the road from the grounds of the Museo Municipal is the entrance to Parque Josone (daily noon to midnight; free), sometimes referred to as Retiro Josone, the most tranquil and picturesque spot in central Varadero. The design is simple, with no intricately designed gardens, just sweeping well-kept lawns dotted with trees, and a small lake with its own palm-tree-studded island. There are three restaurants and a cafeteria to help prolong what would otherwise be a short visit.

To the east, about 2 km from central Varadero, is the Dupont Mansion (daily noon to midnight), next door to the Meliá Las Américas hotel. Built in 1926 by the American millionaire Irenée Dupont at a cost of over $700,000 (US), it has hardly changed since Dupont and his family fled the island in 1959, and stands testament to the wealth and decadence of the pre-revolutionary years in Varadero. It was once open to the public as a museum, but these days to appreciate the splendidly furnished rooms you have to eat at the restaurant (see "Eating") or sip a cocktail in the dignified bar, from where there are fine views of the coastline.

At the eastern extreme of the peninsula, three square kilometres of land have avoided development and been declared the Varahicacos Ecological Reserve. Billed by its founders as "the other Varadero", it's the only part of the peninsula where you can experience relatively unspoilt landscapes, with a chance of viewing the flora and fauna up close. The reserve's visitor centre (daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) is by the side of the road, about a kilometre past the Marina Chapelin. For individuals, the charge for being guided around any of the three set routes is $2.50 to $3.50 (US), but you can also arrange tailor-made excursions.

Of course, it's the beach which attracts most attention, a golden carpet of fine sand stretching from one end of Varadero to the other and bathed by placid, emerald-green waters. From the Dupont Mansion to the western tip of Varadero the beach is accessible to anyone, whether a hotel guest or not. There is actually very little to differentiate any one section of this ten-kilometre highway of sand from another, though there tends to be a livelier atmosphere on the stretch between calles 57 and 61, where the Albacora restaurant looks over the beach.

Trinidad
The historic centre of the city is the main attraction of Trinidad, and it's there that you'll spend most of your time. In general, if you're walking on cobbled stones you're in the UNESCO-protected part of the city, often referred to as the "old town". Beyond these streets there are a number of less feted but equally historic buildings, especially in the northern limits of Trinidad, where the absence of motor vehicles and the buzz of human activity lend the muddy streets a strong sense of the past.

Trinidad and around
Trinidad boasts the highest number of museums per capita in the country, three on the central Plaza Mayor, including the memorable Museo Romántico, with another two no more than a few minutes' walk away. However, simply wandering around the narrow streets in the shadows of the colonial houses, whose shuttered porticoes form a patchwork of blues, greens, reds and yellows, is one of the highlights of any tour of Trinidad and it's worth conserving enough time and energy to do just that, even if it means missing out some of the museums. If you're prepared to walk a little further, north of the Plaza Mayor, there are wide-reaching views from the hillside that overlooks Trinidad, marked by the ruined Ermita de Nuestra Señora church.

Guardalavaca
Despite being the province's main tourist resort, Guardalavaca, on the north coast 112 km from Holguín, retains a charmingly homespun air. Surrounded by hilly countryside and shining fields of sugarcane, it combines small-scale intimacy with a vibrancy lent by its youthful visitors. Four hotels are centred on the lively Playa Guardalavaca and there's a more exclusive satellite resort at Playa Esmeralda, about 5 km away. Guardalavaca town, which backs onto the resort, is little more than a clutch of houses, though the surrounding area has enough sights to keep you busy for a couple of days should you tire of sunning yourself on the beaches.

Guantánamo
Guantánamo town is only on the tourist map because of the proximity of the US Guantánamo naval station, 22 km southeast, but the base plays a very small part in the everyday life of the town itself. For the most part, this is a slow-paced provincial capital, marked by a few ornate buildings, attractive but largely featureless streets, and an easy-going populace. Many visitors come to see the US base and although you can get to the two lookout points, Mirador Malones and Caimanera, with a little groundwork, there really isn't a lot to see and you cannot enter the base itself.

Buses from Santiago, Baracoa, Havana and Holguín arrive at the Astro Terminal de Omnibus, Carretera Santiago, 2.5 km out of town. Daily trains from Santiago, Havana and Las Tunas pull in at the central train station, housed in a squat Art Deco folly on Pedro A. Pérez. The main hotel, Guantánamo, at Ahogados esq. 13 Norte, Reparto Caribe (tel: 2-38-10-15; $25 to $50 US)), 5 km from the centre, is a typical, hulking, old-style Cuban hotel. Much nicer is the intimate Casa de los Sueños, 500 metres further along the street, at Ahogados esq. 15 Norte (tel: 21-38-16-01; $25 to $50 (US)), with three double rooms. Casa de Elsye Castillo Osoria, Calixto García no. 766 el Prado y Jesús del Sol ($25 to $50 (US)), is a friendly casa particular with a sunny courtyard.

There are several restaurants in the centre, though few are well stocked with food. El Colonial and La Cubanita, neighbouring paladares on Martí esq. Crombet, both serve adequate portions of pork or chicken with rice and beans for around $5 (US), while the Guantánamo hotel restaurant, Guaso, boasts a more interesting menu than most, with a house speciality of chicken "Gordon Blue" -- stuffed with ham. The tastiest food, including fritters, milkshakes and hot rolls, comes from the street stands clustered at the south end of Pedro A. Pérez, while Coppelia, at Pedro A. Pérez esq. Varona, does bargain bowls of ice cream for a couple of pesos.

Caimanera
Bordered by salt flats that score the ground with deep cracks, Caimenera, 23 km south of Guantánamo, takes its name from the giant caiman lizards that used to roam here, although today it's far more notable as the last point in Cuba before you reach the US naval base. The village is a restricted area, with the ground between here and the base one of the most heavily mined areas in the world, although this hasn't stopped many disaffected Cubans from braving it in the hope of escaping to America. Until 1995, many who chanced it, along with those who were brought to the base after being rescued from makeshift rafts in the Florida Straits, were allowed into the US on humanitarian grounds, but illegal Cuban immigrants are now returned to Cuban territory. The village is entered via a checkpoint at which guards scrutinize your passport before waving you through. The lookout is within the grounds of the Hotel Caimanera (tel: 9-94-14-16; $25 to $50 (US)), which has a view over the bay and mountains to the base -- though even with binoculars ($1 (US)), you only see a sliver of it. You can use the lookout without being a guest of the hotel but you must phone ahead to let them know you are coming: staff then alert the checkpoint of your imminent arrival. A taxi from town costs $15 to $20 (US), and you will need a guide, which you can arrange through the Guantánamo hotel.

Baracoa
In the eyes of many who visit, Baracoa is quite simply the most beautiful place in Cuba. Set on the island's southeastern tip and protected by a deep curve of mountains, its isolation has so far managed to protect it from some of the more pernicious effects of tourism creeping into other areas of the island. Surrounded by awe-inspiring countryside -- whose abundance of cacao trees makes it the nation's chocolate manufacturer -- Baracoa is fast becoming an absolute must on the travellers' circuit.

On a spot christened Porto Santo by Christopher Columbus, who arrived here in 1492 and, as legend has it, planted a cross in the soil, Baracoa was the first town to be established in Cuba, founded by Diego de Velázquez in 1511. The early conquistadors never quite succeeded in exterminating the indigenous population and direct descendants of the Taíno population are alive today, with Baracoa the only place in Cuba where they survive. Their legacy is also present in several myths and legends that are habitually told to visitors.

Half the fun of a visit to Baracoa is getting there. Before the revolution, the town was only accessible by sea, but the opening of La Farola, a road through the mountains that provides a direct link with Guantánamo, 120 km away, changed all that and a flood of cars poured into town. Considered to be one of the triumphs of the revolution, the road was actually started during Batista's regime but was temporarily abandoned when he refused to pay a fair wage to the workers, and work was only resumed in the 1960s. Today, it makes for an amazing trip through the knife-sharp peaks of the Cuchillas de Baracoa mountains.

The Town
Although many will be happy simply to wander through the town, enjoying its easy charm, there are several tangible attractions. Baracoa's most notable exhibit is La Cruz de la Parra, the celebrated cross which is reputed to have been erected by Christopher Columbus himself. It is housed in the picturesque Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, on the edge of leafy Parque Independencia, a local gathering point. On the east side of town you'll find the Fuerte Matachín, one of a trio of forts built to protect colonial Baracoa, and now the site of the town museum (daily 8 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. $1 (US)). Further east is the main beach, Playa Boca de Miel, shingled in jade, grey and crimson stones, and a lively summertime hangout. Converted from the second of the town's fortifications, which overlook the town from the northern hills, the El Castillo hotel is a peaceful retreat, while on the western side of town, the third fort, Fuerte La Punta, is now a restaurant and overlooks the Playa La Punta -- the best bet for solitude seekers.

Baracoa has a strong tradition of local art, with reasonably priced originals sold at La Casa Yara, Maceo no. 120 (Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to noon), along with coconut-wood jewellery, hand-made boxes and other trinkets. Art is also available from the Casa de la Cultura, at Maceo no. 124 -- look out for paintings by Luís Eliades Rodríguez.

Santiago de Cuba
Nowhere outside Havana is there a Cuban city with such definite character or such determination to have a good time as Santiago de Cuba. Set on a deep-water bay and cradled by mountains, the city is credited with being the most Caribbean part of Cuba, a claim borne out by the laid-back lifestyle and rich mix of inhabitants. It was here that the first slaves arrived from West Africa, and today Santiago boasts a larger percentage of black people than anywhere else in Cuba. Afro-Cuban culture, with its music, myths and rituals, formed its roots here, with later layers added by French coffee-planters fleeing revolution in Haiti in the 18th century. Santiago's proximity to Jamaica has encouraged a natural crossover of ideas and it is one of the few places in Cuba to have a strong Rastafarian following, albeit a hybrid one -- devout Jamaican Rastas are teetotaler vegetarians who don't wolf down huge plates of fried pork with lashings of beer.

The leisurely pace of life doesn't make for a quiet city, however, and the higgledy-piggledy arrangement of narrow streets around the colonial quarter rings night and day with the beat of drums and the toot of horns. Music is a vital element of Santiaguero life, oozing from the most famous Casa de la Trova in the country, not to mention numerous impromptu gatherings. Although music and the July carnival are good enough reasons to visit, the city offers a host of other attractions too. Diego Velázquez's 16th century merchant house and the elegant governor's residence, both around Parque Céspedes, and the commanding El Morro castle at the entrance to the bay, reflect the city's prominent role in Cuban history. Added to this, the part played by townspeople in the revolutionary struggle, detailed in several fascinating museums, makes Santiago an important stop-off on the revolution trail.

Pilón
The tiny sugar town of Pilón, 175 km west from Santiago de Cuba, is a step back in time, with open-backed carts laden with sugarcane zigzagging across the roads and the smell of boiling molasses enveloping the town. There's little to do, but the two beaches, Playa Media Luna, with beautiful views over the Sierra Maestra and a rocky coastline good for snorkelling, and the narrow white-sand Playa Punta, are refreshingly different from those at the smart resorts. The small but engaging Casa Museo Ceila Sánchez Manduley (Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. $1 (US)), erstwhile home of revolutionary Ceila Sánchez, offers a rag-bag of exhibits, from Taíno ceramics to shrapnel from the wars of independence.

There's nowhere to stay or eat, though the local service station on the Marea de Portillo road sells sweets, snacks and cold drinks. Bus service from Santiago is erratic; if you don't have your own transport, the most dependable way to reach the town is to catch one of the colectivo trucks that leave from the Astro bus terminal on Avenida de los Libertadores.