- Matanzas
Founded in 1690, it is known as the "Atenas de Cuba” (The Athens of Cuba,) because of the intense cultural life it had since its foundation; and as "La Ciudad de los Puentes” (The City of Bridges,) because it is crossed by 4 rivers and has 29 bridges, 4 of them are centenarians and still in operation. The province displays an attractive tourist product that combines beach, nature, and nautical, urban and cultural tourism.
Capital: Matanzas
Extension: 11 798,02 sq. km
Municipalities: Matanzas, Uniòn de Reyes, Martí, Pedro Betancourt, Jovellanos, Jagüey Grande, Los Arabos, Perico, Colón, Cárdenas, Limonar, Calimete and Ciénaga de Zapata
Denonym: matancero/a
Limits: It is bounded on the north by the Florida Straits, to the northeast with the province of Villa Clara, to the southeast with the province of Cienfuegos, to the south with the Caribbean Sea, and to the west with the province of Mayabeque.
Access: Its main accesses by land are the Vìa Blanca from Havana, the Autopista Nacional and the Carretera Central. It has an international airport, Juan Gualberto Gómez, and by sea it can be accessed through any of the marinas located there.
Places of interest
Plaza de la Libertad (Square)
Contreras and Santa Teresa streets, Matanzas
The former Plaza de Armas, is now the center of the social life of the city as a meeting place. At its front, it has a sculptural ensemble comprised by a representation of freedom personified by a woman breaking the chains in her hands, and crowned by a 4 m high bronze statue of Jose Marti.
Museo Farmacéutico (Pharmaceutical Museum)
49 and 51 Milanés, between Ayuntamiento and Santa Teresa streets, Matanzas. Tel 045 243179
Established as a pharmacy and inaugurated in 1882, it was the property of Dr. Ernesto Triolet until January 1964, the year in which it was reopened as the first pharmaceutical museum in Latin America. In its shelves are kept jars, books and original utensils. Its collection is enhanced by a wide sample of albarellos of different materials used to store medicines or their ingredients.
Plaza de la Vigía (Square)
Magdalena between Milanés and Río streets, Matanzas
It is the founding center of the city of Matanzas, from which the layout of the main roads of the city was made. Connected to the outskirts by the Concordia and Calixto García bridges, around it are important buildings.
Teatro Sauto (Theater)
Magdalena between Milanés and Medio streets, Plaza de la Vigía, Tel 045 242721
One of the most important theaters in the country, it was built thanks to the efforts of the prominent pharmacist Ambrosio de la Concepción Sauto y Noda. Built in neoclassical style, since its foundation in 1863, its stage has been the scene for the big names of the world scene such as Sarah Benhardt and Enrico Carusso.
Museo Provincial Palacio de Junco (Museum)
Milanés between Magdalena and Ayllon streets, Matanzas,
Tel 045 243195
Built in 1838, it belonged to one of the richest sugar owners in Matanzas, Vicente del Junco and Sardiñas. Since 1980, it has been a Provincial Museum and exhibits in its rooms valuable objects such as the oldest lapidary of the city, the crowbar with which the Caves of Bellamar were discovered, belongings of poet Bonifacio Byrne`s and the only Cuban mummy.
Castillo de San Severino and Museo de la Ruta del Esclavo (Castle and Museum)
Zona Industrial, Reparto Dubrocq, Matanzas, Tel 045 28 3259
It was the first and most important building of the city finished in 1745: a typical Renaissance military construction, which is an assimilation of the defensive system extended by the French and Italians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 1978, it was declared National Monument because of its historical and architectural values.
It is currently home to the Slave Route Museum inaugurated on June 16, 2009, which illustrates the history of slavery in the region as well as elements of the Afro-Cuban religion.
Cuevas de Bellamar (Caves)
Carretera de las Cuevas,
Tel 045 25 3190
It is a group of caves with more than 23 km of galleries, discovered accidentally in 1861 when a slave lost his jimmy while opening a hole in the ground to remove a limestone rock. It was originally named "Cuevas de Parga," in honor of Don Manuel Santos Parga, the owner of the farm where the discovery took place.
At the entrance is a 32-century-old stalactite, called the "Manto de Colón," the largest and oldest rock formation with 12 m of height and of a rare beauty due to its resplendent structure covered by a crystalline layer of great beauty. The Cuevas de Bellamar have great scientific importance because they have been the scene of diverse discoveries.
Museo el Morrillo (Museum)
Located at the entrance of the Bay of Matanzas, a few meters from the mouth of the Canímar River, it was part of the defensive system built by the Spaniards around Matanzas bay, with the purpose of defending the city from the attacks of privateers and pirates. Built in 1720, it initially had a horseshoe-shaped battery, a turret, and a loopholed fort. Today, it is a museum dedicated to display on the life of revolutionary leader Antonio Guiteras Holmes and Carlos Aponte who were assassinated in the fortress in 1935.
Ermita de Monserrat (Chapel)
Alturas de Simpson, Valle del Yumurí
Built with the collaboration of Catalans living in the city, its origins date back to the second half of the 19th century. In 1930, it was visited by the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, who was photographed there with local children.
Varadero
A town founded in 1887, today it has become a special territory, belonging to the municipality of Cárdenas. Recognized as one of the best spas in the world, it has 22 km of beaches of fine white sand. Known as a spa town, it has other added bonuses and natural attractions such as escarpments, caves, virgin cays and incredible landscapes on its western side. Among its rich features, the Peninsula of Hicacos has aboriginal pictographs located in the Cueva de Ambrosio and in the ruins of Salina La Calavera (saltworks), considered like the first one exploited by the Spaniards in America.
As a tourist destination for business, Varadero hosts congresses and fairs at the Centro de Convenciones Plaza América. It offers excellent conditions for the practice of nautical sports of all kinds and deep-sea fishing. Its rich seabed is ideal for diving and has numerous diving sites with more than 40 different types of coral, a great diversity of fish, crustaceans, turtles and mollusks. Among other sports in Varadero, skydiving in individual and tandem mode is practiced in Varadero.
Parque Retiro Josone
Ave. 1ra between 54th and 59th streets, Tel 045 66 7228
It is a magnificent garden designed by José Iturrioz and Onelia Méndez in 1942, who lived there until 1963. It is currently one of the most visited places in Varadero, it has several restaurants and bars, a beautiful lake with geese where you can take a ride on water bikes, and with a tunnel below 1st Avenue that leads directly to the beach.
Delfinario de Varadero (Dolphinarium)
Autopista km 11, Tel 045 66 8031
Located in a coral lagoon 400 m from the Chapelín Marina, it is an interesting attraction that offers two daily shows and where you can swim with the dolphins.
Museo de Varadero (Museum)
Calle 57 and Ave. de la Playa,
Tel 045 61 3189
It occupies a mansion type bungalow that was once the summer resort house of engineer Leopoldo Abreu. Opened on December 5, 1981, it treasures collections of history, natural sciences, numismatics, decorative arts and archeology. It exhibits more than 2,000 years old archaeological remains, personal objects of billionaire Dupont, pieces related to the literacy campaign and to the most important traditions of the locality such as rowboats regattas.
Mansión Xanadú
Carretera las Américas km 8 ½,
Tel 045 66 8482
Located on the rocks of San Bernardino, it was designed in 1927 by architects Evelio Govantes and Felix Covarrocas in classic Spanish style. Inspired by a poem describing the luxury of Kublai Khan's palace, its construction was financed by multimillionaire Alfred Irénée Dupont de Nemours, who between 1920 and 1950 bought almost the entire stretch of land of the Hicacos Peninsula. Currently, the Las Américas Restaurant is located in this place with an exquisite cuisine proposal and excellent views of the Varadero Golf Club.
Varadero Golf Club
Carretera las Américas km 8 ½,
Tel 045 66 7788
The only 18-hole 72 par golf course in the country, located in San Bernardino, where Alfred Dupont once installed a 9-hole golf course for his personal recreation in an exclusive area of 180 hectares and a few meters from the coastline. The center was designed by architect Le Furber, president of the Canadian company Golf Design Services, in a combination of styles among palms, ponds, and bridges. It regularly hosts several tournaments such as the classic “Torneo de Golf por el día de la Hispanidad.”
Centro de Convenciones Plaza América (Convention Center)
Autopista Sur km 11 ½, Las Américas, Tel 045 668509
The installation offers the visitor a high integration of facilities, services and technology. Modern and functional, the center has professional organizers of congresses, translators, room officers, technical teams and support staff. It has 10 meeting rooms with various capacities and a 500-seat plenary hall. It also stands as the largest shopping center in the area.
Reserva Ecológica Varahicacos (Ecological Reserve)
The reserve, which covers 450 hectares, is located on the eastern end of the peninsula and is characterized by cave dwellings such as the Cueva de Ambrosio, the Cueva de los Musulmanes, used as a burial site by the aborigines of the area, and the Cueva del Pirata (Autopista Sur km 11/Tel 045 667415), today turned into an interesting nightclub with a unique show of its kind in the country.
Cárdenas
A city founded in 1828, which was rapidly developed as a sugar port, it occupies an important place in the history of Cuba because it was the first site where the Flag of the Solitary Star was hoisted in 1850, on the initiative of the annexationist leader Narciso López.
Museo Oscar María de Rojas (Museum)
Ave. 4 East, between Echeverría and Martí, Tel 045 52 2417
Founded in 1900, it is an exquisite museum considered among the oldest on the Island. It has 14 rooms that show the history of Cuba from the pre-Columbian era to the present day. It has a room dedicated to José Martí and to the independency wars.
Parque Colón (Park)
Calle Céspedes between 8th and 9th
It is dominated by the Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción, a neoclassical building that has at its front a statue of Christopher Columbus with an orb at its feet. The church, built in 1856, is also marked by the beauty of its stained glass windows and the sobriety of the building.
Reserva de la Biosfera Ciénaga de Zapata (Biosphere Reserve)
Located in the south of the province of Matanzas, it is one of the most unique territories of the island, declared a Ramsar Site and Biosphere Reserve. It groups several types of marsh ecosystems that are moderately or slightly modified by human action. It is the largest wetland of the Insular Caribbean and therefore the habitat of a rich flora and fauna with a high level of endemism. With many natural places of interest, it has an important role in the history of Cuba.
Complejo Turístico Boca de Guamá (Tourist Resort)
One of the biggest attractions of Ciénaga de Zapata, it has a restaurant and a bar, as well as 47 independent cabins built of wood and guano on the inner islet of the Laguna del Tesoro. On its margins is the Aldea Taína, a sculptural ensemble made by the Cuban artist Rita Longa, with 32 pieces representing Cuban aborigines in their daily activities.
Another of the attractions of Guamá is the Crocodile Breeding Farm (Phone 045 91 5666), considered the most important of the Island. It has a population of above 4,000 specimens of Cuban and American crocodiles. Visitors may appreciate the creatures from a close distance and learn about their life cycles.
Playa Larga and Bahía de Cochinos
A small fishing community located at the end of the Bay of Pigs, it was one of the main mercenary landing sites during the attack on Playa Girón in 1961. It is considered one of the best beaches in this part of the Caribbean. It has the small hotel Villa Playa Larga with rental of kayaks, water bicycles and other equipment for water sports.
To the east of Playa Larga, there are beaches of white sand around the bay, beginning with Caleta del Rosario, a small cove with splendid waters for swimming. This route is characterized by the presence of cenotes of fresh and crystalline waters suitable for baths and dives like the Cueva de los Peces, one of the largest with 70 m depth.
Parque Nacional Ciénaga de Zapata (National Park)
With about 490 417 hectares, it protects the most important wetland of the Island, with its diverse ecosystems. Zapata has more than 900 species of Cuban flora, 171 species of birds, 31 of reptiles and 12 of mammals, including the dwarf hutia (Mesocapromys nanus), endemic to Zapata, and manatees. Mangroves, crocodiles and alligators inhabit their lagoons.
It is an exceptional place for birdwatching, such as the Zapata rail (Cyanolimnas cerverai), the “Zapata sparrow,” the ferminia (Ferminia cerverai) and the Cuban parrot, as well as migratory birds from North America. It also have controlled fishing sites.
Playa Girón (Beach)
Located on the east side of the Bay of Pigs, it is the last of the white sandy beaches ideal for fishing and diving. It is a site of great historical importance, worldwide known on account of the American invasion of 1961. What was all the route of the invasion is today signaled with pedestals and inscriptions that identify the places where a big battle took place on April 17, 18 and 19, 1961.
10 suggestions where to eat
Le Fettuccine
Calle Milanes No. 29018, e/ Zaragoza
y Santa Teresa
Telf.: +53 5 4122553
Amelia Del Mar
Calle 129 No. 22014, e/ 220 y 222, Playa
Telf.: +53 45 261653
El Bukan
Calle 110 e/127 y 129. Playa
Telf.: +53 5 2963126
Romantico San Severino
Calle 290 No. 7903, Matanzas
Telf.: +53 5 2443060
La Fondue Casa del Queso Cubano
Ave. 1ra. e/ 62 y 63, Varadero
Telf.: +53 45 667747
Restaurant - Paladar Mallorca
Calle 334 e/ 79 y 77 , Km 101 No. 7705
Telf.: +53 45 283282
Chef Bahía Restaurant Bar
Calle 129 e/144 y 146, Reparto Reynold García, No.14402
Telf.: +53 5 5726221
El Chiquirrin
Calle Laborde No.27013, Vesalles, Telf.: +53 45 243877
La Casa de Al
Villa Punta Blanca
Telf.: +53 45 668050
Jardín Pelusin del Monte
Calle Medio, Matanzas
Telf.: +53 5 2481409
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