Cienfuegos

In the Jose Martí Park the only Arch of Triumph rises from 1902 in Cuba and in its environment there are, among other constructions of high value, the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Purisima Concepcion (1819); the Tomás Terry theater, the most important one of the three of the Island in the XIX century; and the Palatino, considered the oldest building in the square.

The native ones, also, are proud of having the most extensive Paseo del Prado of the country, which extends from the entrance of the city to the pier and it allows an express and easy access to Punta Gorda and La Punta, lively residential area of the south end where it is located, also, the more symbolic building of Cienfuegos: the Palace of the Valley, luxurious mansion that constitutes the most eloquent expression in the eclecticism from Cienfuegos and in whose construction the Mudejar and the Gothic prevail in harmony with the Byzantine one, the Venetian one and the Baroque.

But still before D'Clouet founded San Fernandina de Jagua, the Nuestra Señora de Jagua Fortress had been erected (1743-1745), only construction of this existent type in the central region , and they were conceived to protect of intruders the access to a great bay of bag of soaked deep and calmed waters , become today excellent hint for the -included practice of nautical sports the careers of speedy boats - and one of the biggest natural dwellings in the shad, species very coveted by professionals and fond of the fishing.

To the feet of the popularly well-known as Castle of Jagua arose, and the picturesque town of fishermen The Perché was developed, of unquestionable French and so attractive origin for the tourist, as the near Carenas Key (in the south center of the bay), an island that before was place of vacation of the wealthy families of the prosperous seafaring town.

The Naval District of the South located in Loco Key and transformed into Naval Historical Museum; the Provincial Museum of Cienfuegos; the formerly City Council of the city; and the Benny More Club, they also constitute places of interest for who Cienfuegos, a city visits which attractiveness surpass in a lot the limits of its traditional center.

Small beaches bathed by the Caribbean Sea, as Rancho Luna and The English, skirt the urbanized area, they constitute ideal places for the practice of the contemplative diving, fundamentally, in the tract understood among the entrance channel to the Bay of Jagua and Boca Ambuila, where besides being located the famous coral column Notre Dame (of six meters high and baptized this way by their extraordinary structural likeness with the famous Parisian cathedral) exist more than 50 immersion points to even dive in sunken ships. In address east, the centennial Botanical Garden (National Monument) offers the visitor an enormous collection of plants integrated for around a thousand 450 species, 80% of which are exotic, and stores a collection of palms considered among 10 of the most important in the world.

Two cemeteries: Those of Reina and the Tomás Acea are also part of the places of interest of Cienfuegos. In the first one, located in the vicinity of Punta Majagua -place of foundation of the village - vertical niches, characteristic burials of the XIX century are conserved. Of marked American influence, the necropolis Tomás Acea, built in the decade of 1920, stands out for its monumental facade, very similar to the Athenian Parthenon, and to have been conceived by way of garden, that which allows to achieve a harmonious integration between the funeral enclosures and the environment.

The Laguna de Guanaroca, located to the southeast of the bay and a privileged place for the observation of diverse species of the fauna, is also part of the group of tourist attractiveness of the province of Cienfuegos; a relationship that augment the fame of The Cave of Martin Infierno -where a stalagmite 67 meters high considered among those biggest of the planet, exists - and the Yaguanabo Valley.
The Mal Tiempo National Park, in the town of Cruces that used for the most important battles in the Cuban War of Independence, remembers liberating fights against the Spanish crown (December 15 1895), and the monument to the brigadier of the Cuban Army Liberator Henry Reeve, the Little English Man, located very near the area of Horquitas. There are other two places of a lot of interest in the scenario of Cienfuegos:

The cascades of the jump of water of El Niche, in the solid mountainous Sierra de Trinidad, are an ideal place, on the other hand for the lovers of the nature tourism and adventures, the known as the area of Guajimico, also adapted for the practice of the diving. While, to only 23 kilometers of the city, the miner-medicinal waters of Ciego Montero, with more than a century of successful use and proven effectiveness, are very appropriate for bathing-therapeutic ends in an atmosphere of tranquility and rest.