Once lush – now largely overgrown – gardens formerly owned by the famous American chocolate tycoon Milton Hershey who ran the nearby sugar mill. There's an element of charming wildness in the winding paths, abundant green foliage and partially dammed river, although the thatched-roof restaurants and other facilities are a little run-down. The spot is mainly enjoyed by Cuban families who come to swim and relax.
From Playa Jibacoa, it’s a pleasant 4km walk south of Santa Cruz del Norte.
29.96 MILES
Havana's main cemetery (a national monument), one of the largest in the Americas, is renowned for its striking religious iconography and elaborate marble…
27.56 MILES
The Malecón, Havana's evocative 7km-long sea drive, is one of the city's most soulful and quintessentially Cuban thoroughfares, and long a favored meeting…
27.46 MILES
The incomparable Capitolio Nacional is Havana's most ambitious and grandiose building, constructed after the post-WWI boom ('Dance of the Millions')…
26.94 MILES
Habana Vieja's most uniform square is a museum to Cuban baroque, with all the surrounding buildings, including the city's beguiling asymmetrical cathedral…
Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro
27.28 MILES
This wave-lashed fort with its emblematic lighthouse was erected between 1589 and 1630 to protect the entrance to Havana harbor from pirates and foreign…
26.84 MILES
Laid out in 1559, Plaza Vieja is Havana's most architecturally eclectic square, where Cuban baroque nestles seamlessly next to Gaudí-inspired art nouveau…
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
27.3 MILES
Spread over two campuses, the Bellas Artes is arguably the finest art gallery in the Caribbean. The Arte Cubano building contains the most comprehensive…
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes – Arte Cubano
27.3 MILES
The Bellas Artes' 'Colección de Arte Cubano' houses purely Cuban art. Works are displayed in chronological order, starting on the 3rd floor, and are…
0.9 MILES
Standing disused on a hilltop like a huge rusting iron skeleton, this former sugar mill, 5km south of Santa Cruz del Norte, was one of Cuba’s largest and…
9.92 MILES
This wild park, 6km west of Jaruco via hushed unmarked lanes, is a protected area featuring forests, caves and strangely shaped limestone cliffs. Havana…
15.79 MILES
Marking the border between Havana and Matanzas provinces, this is Cuba’s longest (314m) and highest (103m) bridge. Begun in 1957 and finally opened by…
4. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario
21.55 MILES
Havana is a city of many secrets, but few are as serendipitous as the church also known as the Catedral de los Campos de Cuba (cathedral of the Cuban…
22.24 MILES
For a mappable view of mildewed Matanzas on one side and the broccoli-green Valle de Yumurí on the other, climb 1.5km northeast of the center up Calle 306…
22.27 MILES
East across the river from Cojímar is a large housing estate of prefabricated apartment blocks built from 1971 by micro brigadas (small armies of workers…
23.07 MILES
Museo Farmaceútico is one of Matanzas' showcase sights. Founded in 1882 by the Triolett family, the pharmacy was the first of its type in Latin America…
23.08 MILES
A few blocks directly west of Plaza de la Vigía is Parque Libertad, the anchor of Matanzas' cultural life and home to several of the city's most…