Puente Yayabo

Top choice


Looking like something out of an English country village, this quintuple-arched bridge is Sancti Spíritus' signature sight. Built by the Spanish in 1815, it carries traffic across the Río Yayabo and is now a national monument. For the best view (and a mirror-like reflection) hit the outdoor terrace at the Taberna Yayabo.

It's flanked by cobblestone streets – the most arresting is narrow Calle Llano, where old ladies peddle live chickens door to door, and neighbors gossip noisily in front of pastel houses. Also worth a wander are Calle Guairo and Calle San Miguel.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Casa de la Guayabera

0.05 MILES

The favored uniform of South American strongman presidents and blushing grooms at Mexican beach weddings, the guayabera shirt was purportedly 'invented'…

2. Museo de Arte Colonial

0.08 MILES

This small museum had a 2012 refurb and displays 19th-century furniture and decorations in an imposing 17th-century building that once belonged to the…

4. Plaza Honorato

0.17 MILES

Formerly known as Plaza de Jesús, this tiny square was where the Spanish authorities once conducted grisly public hangings. Later on, it hosted a produce…

5. Centro de Interpretación de la Ciudad

0.2 MILES

Featuring a requisite scale model of the city, this interpretive center also has photographs of the 2014 excavation of the former convent under what is…

6. Museo de Historia Natural

0.24 MILES

Not much of a natural history museum, this colonial house just off Parque Serafín Sánchez has a stuffed crocodile (which will scare the wits out of your…

7. Museo Provincial

0.25 MILES

One of those Cuban museums where the collection logs the history of Sancti Spíritus. It also includes a dusty stash of ephemera that comprises English…

8. Parque Serafín Sánchez

0.28 MILES

While not Cuba's shadiest or most atmospheric square, pretty Serafín Sánchez is full of understated Sancti Spíritus elegance. Metal chairs laid out inside…