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The historic center

In our humble opinion, as the well-traveled people that we are, Trinidad is the most beautiful city in Cuba. Its exceptionally beautiful colonial architecture and its historic center of town earned it a spot on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites in 1988.

To fall in love with this city like we did, you'll need to spend two full days there in order to have the time to delight in that time of day when all the tourists get back on their Viazul buses and return to their luxury hotels in Varadero or Havana; that is to say at night.

Santisima Trinidad, colonial city founded in 1514 by Diego Velasquez, developed during the 18th century with money from the sugar industry and sugar cane itself- the white gold harvested by slaves for the benefit of Spanish conquistadors- before the industry fell apart in the middle of the 19th century when the sugar beet industry took off in Europe.
Since that time, and the collapse of all the sugar families in the valley of Los Ingenios, Trinidad seems to have fallen asleep for a half a century, and the revolutionary period during the 60s only accentuated the situation. Isolated from the rest of the island for nearly two centuries, locked in between the sea and the mountains, the asphalt road that takes you to Trinidad has only existed since 1952. Its sleepy mansions and palaces are witnesses to its illustrious past in which the aristocrats of the sugar industry invested everything in stone... and their own vanity.

To get to Trinidad

If you would like to go and visit this jewel of Cuban colonial architecture, you can take public transportation, even it is probably a better idea to rent a car in Havana ($45 a day for a week, insurance included). Take the motorway to the west (make sure you fill your tank before you get on the road), then take the national motorway toward Cienfuegos, which will take you to Trinidad.
When you arrive in the town in the center of the southern coast of Cuba, you should park your car just outside the center of town (parking your car should cost you about a dollar, just like anywhere else in Cuba). Fortunately, cars are not allowed into the historic center of town. Once you have passed by the droves of street vendors selling cigars, fruit, nights in one of the Casa particulares or a Paladares (it's best to wait and consider your choices before you make your decision where to stay) you'll continue your walk through the narrow paved streets that will take you up to the central square.