Visit the city of Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba is one of the most exotic Cuban cities, which a tourist can watch out for with music, history, and culture. Home to a lot of ethnic groups this is one of the most famous Cuban cities with a rich history of the Cuban revolution, specially the revolt against dictatorship of Batista.

A great place to enjoy vacations, the city offers warm hospitality and excellent facilities to the tourists. Along with comfort, there are many surprises that will make the trip more exciting. The capital of the Santiago de Cuba’s province, this city boasts of many old museums and palaces with rich architectural styles. Its vicinity to the Caribbean Sea and tall mountains make it a great place for tourists.

Accommodation is also easy to find as the city has some great hotels both within the city and near the beaches with polished natural surroundings that provide the ultimate relaxation. If you take a walk down the narrow lanes of the city you can spot balconies with a lot of flowers, and buildings with large windows, something, which speaks a lot about the Cuban way of life.

The Sierra Maestra Mountains provides a great backdrop to the city, the sight of which is simply majestic. Through its narrow, winding lanes, the city has lot of Cuban music genres associated with it. Streets that have steps cut in them, and roads that travel up and down provide uniqueness to the city.

To get a complete feel of the city tourists should visit Tivoli, a neighborhood with local people of French-Haiti origins. It has the San Juan Hill Military Park which has a great relevance in history with the last battles of Cuban-American-Spanish war being fought here in 1898. This Place also witnessed the first scenes of the Cuban revolution when Moncada Garrison got attacked by a young Fidel Castro and his associates.

The city also has some UNESCO world cultural heritage sites like Ruins of the French coffee plantation and fortress of San Pedro de la Roca del Morro. Some other interesting places to visit in the city are the Rum Museum, Troubadours' House, Sanctuary Caridad del Cobre, La Gran Piedra, and Loma de San Juan.

For nature lovers, 20 kms away from the city, is the Boconao Park. UNESCO has recognized this park as a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve. The park got its name from the mythical Boconao tree. The tourists can find a lot of attractions besides coffee plantations in this region. There is a Prehistoric valley that has life-sized statues of dinosaurs and other creatures of that era sculpted out of stone.

The park has a farm called Granjita Siboney where young Fidel Castro and his associates spent the night before attacking Moncada Garrison. There is also a botanical garden dating back to 1860, called Jardin Ave de Paraiso with beautiful, color-coded and aromatic gardens. The Boconao Lagoon, a replica of Cuban village has a restaurant with special sea food delicacies.

Santiago de Cuba is also famous for its carnival that is held during the last two weeks of July and is a major attraction for tourists. When the Carnival de Santiago begins the whole city gets together for one big party. Along with popular orchestras, contagious drum beats get everyone into dancing mood. Popular Cuban delicacies, music, and lot of beer make it one grand party that cannot be missed out.

Some other major events are Festival of Caribbean Culture, Bolero de Oro (Song festival), Expo Caribe Theatro Heredia, and Fiesta de San Juan. For all tourists who love music and dance the city offers great destinations like Casa de la Musica, Patio de los dos abuelos, and Casa de la Trova for a great night out.