Guide to Santiago de Cuba City

Cuba's second city is hot, hilly and exhausting but at the same time seductively languid. Built on a sequence of hills overlooking a large bay with the Sierra Maestra in the background, it is certainly one of Cuba's most picturesque cities. Its colourful streets sweep up and down steep hills, making walking through the city, although pleasant, a little tiring if done in long stretches.



Santiago City has a singular vibrancy, its predominantly mulatto people, a mix of Spanish, French from Haiti and huge numbers of Africans, are persistently friendly. And their reason for being is music and dance.



Santiago de Cuba has plenty to offer for sightseers, blessed as it is with a host of interesting museums, buildings and places.. including the Moncada Barracks, Emilio Bacardi Museum, The Cathedral, Morro Castle, La Maison and Calle Heredia