Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. After the revolution the beautiful old town got badly destroyed and the country had no money to restore it. The historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Over the last 20 years the Cubans were working on their old town and now it is really beautiful!

Trinidad, undoubtedly the most well-preserved and impressive of Cuba’s colonial cities, is a beguiling blend of cobbled streets and plazas fringed by pastel-colored 18th-century houses, and teeming with art galleries and lively music. No other city in Cuba will get you into such close contact with the colonial past. A short ride away you’ll find the lovely beach of Playa Ancon. An evening of live music at the Casa de la Música or Casa de la Trova guarantees a night to remember.

The Bay of Pigs is an inlet on the southwest coast of Cuba. Its name originates from "cochinos", which in Cuban Spanish refers to the queen triggerfish, inhabiting the coral reefs at the Bahía de Cochinos.
It became famous in April 1961 as the landing site for the CIA-trained army of exile Cubans. They wanted to link up with counter-revolutionaries and topple the Castro regime. Fidel himself led the defense in the three-day battles that resulted in defeat of this fatally-flawed invasion. Its failure led directly to the cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Let’s find out more about the invasion!

Camagüey was first founded in 1515 on the coast as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, but then due to frequent pirates attacks was moved inland in 1528. The new urban plan seems confusing, with many blind alleys and a sort of labyrinth feeling. The reason for such a design was to make it easier to defend from any raids. Apparently there used to be only one entrance (and therefore exit as well) for the town, so it would have been easier for the inhabitants to entrap and kill pirates. However, these reasons are considered more like a myth, and the truth claims that the city developed without any planning.

Baracoa is the oldest Spanish settlement in Cuba and was its first capital. It was founded in 1511 by the first governor of Cuba, the Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. This was the reason for its nickname Ciudad Primada, "the First City". The town is located where Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba on his first travel. The name stems perhaps from the indigenous Arauaca language word meaning "the presence of the sea." Baracoa lies on the Bay of Honey (Bahía de Miel) and is surrounded by a wide mountain range (including the Sierra del Purial), which causes it to be quite isolated, apart from a single mountain road built in the 1960s.

Guantanamo is a quite recent town, founded in the end of '800. Its name means in Taíno language "land between the rivers". The area has been a great source of sugarcane and cotton wool. The famous Guantanamera song, considered one of the most patriotic Cuban songs, originates here. Guantanemera means woman from Guantanamo.
About 15 km away from the city lies the Guantánamo Bay, a superior natural harbor which has been utilized by the United States since 1898, when it was captured from Spain in the Battle of Guantánamo Bay. It was subsequently leased under duress from Cuba in 1903 by the US in the Cuban–American Treaty, and remains the site of a US Navy base, as well as the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Founded in 1515 by Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, Santiago has now a population of half a million inhabitants, making it the second largest city in Cuba. Historically, it has always been the second city for importance, obviously after Havana. Santiago is on a bay connected with the Caribbean Sea and is the main tourist hub for discovering Cuban Oriente.