Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus

This is the most central province of Cuba and its northern and southern coastlines are washed by the waters of the Atlantic and the Caribbean respectively.

Tourism seem set to replace sugar and tobacco as the primer source of wealth creation in the Sancti Spiritus economy.

Some of Cuba's finest beaches are just outside Trinidad.

The jewel in the provincial crown is, however, the beautiful and historic city of Trinidad , a UNESCO-protected national monument, recognised as one of the most charming cities in the whole of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Sancti Spiritus City:

It has a fuller history, being another of Velazquez's original townships. From the town's pleasant main square wander two blocks south to the Parroquial Mayor, a venerable yellow towered church whose early 16th-century origins make it the country's oldest, and across to the nearby Museo de Arte Colonial.

Trinidad:

The best-preserved colonial city in Cuba, in the shadow of the Escambray mountains, Trinidad was not even linked by road to the rest of the country until the 1950s.

Declared a national monument by the Cuban government this city is very much as it was four centuries ago, the beauty of its baroque architecture and cobblestones squares harking back to a bygone era when Trinidad was a key player in the Caribbean slave trade.

There are many interesting things to see (e.g Guamuhaya Archaeological Museum, Plaza Mayor, Church of Santa Ana, Calle Simon Bolivar....) but the most impressive of all Trinidad's many museums is Trinidad Municipal Museum and a visit to the Taller Alfarero, a large ceramics workshop where traditional techniques are still used is also worthwhile.