Varadero
Varadero beach—some call it the world’s greatest beach—has long been the pride of Cuba, and a magnet for the rich and famous. Today, a broad range of hotels and resorts on this wide, sandy beach offer affordable vacations to please any pocketbook. Considered by many as the world’s most beautiful beach, Varadero is part of a peninsula that stretches far out into the calm waters of the Atlantic. Its 21-kilometre strip of fine white sand is an ideal vacation spot for sun-lovers, water babies and golfers.
Its location on a narrow peninsula ensures that it is constantly cooled by tropical breezes.But this white beach set against a backdrop of astonishing turquoise water and azure sky is not the only attraction in Matanzas province. The nearby cities of Cárdenas and Matanzas (the provincial capital) are known for their art, history and culture. Southwest of Varadero, on the province’s Caribbean coast, is the Zapata Peninsula, famous for its ecotourism and history.
Tourism Regional Office:
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Places to visit
Varadero Beach
Cuba’s trademark beach boasts fine, white sand and an average year-round water temperature of 24ºC-26ºC.
Cayo Piedra underwater Park
This park to the northeast features several shipwrecks where schools of colourful, tropical fish and crustaceans gather.
Varadero Golf Club
Is a magnificent 18-hole championship course on the peninsula, marked by an intricate system of lagoons in the British “links” tradition.
Centre Plaza América
This well appointed international convention centre incorporates shopping malls, restaurants and amusement centres.
Josone´s oasis
Near the beach has typical tropical vegetation in its gardens and groves, as well as lagoons. Several old mansions have been converted into restaurants..
Ambrosio Cave
An archeological site first used as a ceremonial spot by the area’s primitive inhabitants and later by runaway slaves, has well preserved pictographs.
Punta Francés
Is noted for three unusual monuments: replicas of a bicycle, a horse-drawn carriage and a crab cast in concrete that represents the abundant crustaceans in the area.
Cárdenas
Is noted for three unusual monuments: replicas of a bicycle, a horse-drawn carriage and a crab cast in concrete that represents the abundant crustaceans in the area.
Matanzas City
Canímar woods on the outskirts of Matanzas are best seen from the river. At the mouth of the river is a small colonial castle (El Morrillo) where a the bodies of two revolutionaries rest in a mausoleum. The castle also has an archaeological museum with ecological displays.–> Vigía Square, site of the original town, has the Junco Palace Historical Museum, the 19th century Sauto Theatre and an exhibition of ancient fire-fighting equipment in the former military headquarters.–> Le Triolet French pharmacy, built in 1882, is still stocked with ancient drugs, utensils and porcelain medicine flasks, all preserved under glass on the store’s original shelves of hand-finished Cuban wood.–> Bellamar Cave, on the outskirts of Matanzas, is one of the Caribbean’s largest and most beautiful underground formations. Two kilometres of underground passages are covered in peculiar stalagmites, stalactites and calcite crystals.