UDM.Ourcuba.Com History and Culture Private Tour

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History and Culture private tour In Cuba from Saturday May 1 to Tuesday May 11, 2021 Day 1 – Saturday :: Hello Cuba, bienvenido a la Habana Arrival at José Martí International Airport. Expedited immigration and custom service. Meet your tour leader, guide and bus driver. Transfer to your hotel in Havana. Check-in to hotel. Arrival dinner at Mediterraneo Havana private restaurant, (included) Day 2 – Sunday :: Getting to know Old Havana and its people Breakfast in hotel, included. Morning visit to the Maqueta de La Habana Vieja. It's a 1:500 scale model of Old Havana complete with an authentic soundtrack meant to replicate a day in the life of the city. It's incredibly detailed and provides an excellent way of geographically acquainting yourself with the city’s historical core. The model is used for social development and planning Followed by a walking tour of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It contains the largest collection of remaining colonial-era architecture. We’ll visit four of the five historic plazas that make Havana unique in the western hemisphere: Cathedral Square, the most beautiful and private 18th century colonial plaza on the island. Named after the masterpiece of Cuban baroque architecture: the Catedral de San Cristóbal de la Habana built by the Jesuit order Square of Arms, an ancient military parade ground for Spanish soldiers, surrounded by impressive buildings such as: Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, former seat of colonial government. Today the building houses the Museum of the City Palacio del Segundo Cabo [Palace of the Second Lieutenant] dates from 1770. We continue onto San Francisco Square, one of the oldest plazas in the historical quarter. The square is named after magnificent Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco de Asís dating from the 16th century. The basilica is a striking example of Cuba baroque architecture

Then on to Plaza Vieja, the only civic square of colonial times. Absent are churches and government buildings, and is instead surrounded by opulent aristocratic 17th century mansions We'll feast on a delicious lunch hosted by José Fúster, one of Cuba's most important ceramists and painters. And we’ll tour his whimsical studio in Jaimanitas, just outside of Havana (included) Visit Callejón de Hamel [Hamel Alley] to see the artwork of famed Afro-Cuban Artist Salvador González Return to hotel to freshen up. Dinner not included, an opportunity to explore Havana’s private restaurants. Day 3 – Monday :: Escuela taller and organic farm Breakfast in hotel (included) Visit Escuela taller Gaspar García de Jovellanos (school where students are trained in restoration of old buildings, paintings, etc.) Visit to the Convento de Nuestra Señora de Belén [Convent of Our Lady of Belén], a humanitarian health project in Old Havana. Construction on the Convent was begun in 1712. It was expanded and remodeled several times over the centuries. Finally abandoned in 1925, it fell into grave disrepair. In 1991 restoration began and continues with amazing results. Today the Office of the Historian, local Public Health authorities and the Order of the Sisters of Charity jointly manage the Belén Convent. It is home to fifty elderly people and provides physiotherapy and ophthalmological services to many more elderly in the community. Other activities include exercise classes, board games, cognitive rehabilitation, films, crafts workshops, and "love among the elderly" lectures. We'll visit the UBPC Vivero Organopónico Alamar, 15 km (9.3 miles) east of Havana. It's one of the most successful urban organic farms in Cuba raising ornamental plants, medicinal herbs, and millions of seedlings for neighboring residential and collective farms. Established in the early 1990s, the Alamar cooperative has over 20 members and provides a range of healthy, organic vegetables to the community. Produce is raised employing the practice of permaculture: no chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, natural biological methods are used to nourish the soil, frustrate pests and conserve water. The result is an increased rate of yield and reduced costs. Lunch at El Ajiaco restaurant (included)

Visit Ernest Hemingway house. Return to hotel to freshen up Dinner not included, an opportunity to enjoy Havana’s famed private restaurants known as paladares Evening entertainment suggestion: Jazz Club La Zorra y El Cuervo [The Fox and The Raven] (transportation and cover not included) Day 4 – Tuesday :: Museum of Fine Arts and Colon cemetery Breakfast in hotel (included) Lunch not included Visit the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana, which exhibits Cuban art collections from the colonial times up to contemporary generations. Its first director and well-known architect, Emilio Heredia, founded it in 1913. After frequent moves it was finally placed on the block once occupied by the old Colon Market. In 1954, a new Palacio of Bellas Artes was opened. The original Palace was recently reconstructed and a second building was taken over for the Museum Visit Christopher Columbus Cemetery, noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials. Dinner not included Day 5 – Wednesday :: Historic Cienfuegos and Trinidad de Cuba Breakfast at hotel, included. Early departure to Cienfuegos and Trinidad. Lunch at private restaurant Casa Prado, included. Couch tour of the city of Cienfuegos Cienfuegos: Cuba’s loveliest city of French colonial architecture on Cuba’s most scenic ocean bay. Guided walking tour of Cienfuegos historical center: Paseo del Prado, Plaza José Martí, Tomás Terry Theater, Casa de la Cultura, The Cathedral We then visit the Graphic Society of Cienfuegos. They will host our group by opening their doors to our questions and their artwork. This community of artists carries out important community work by complementing the training of art schools students and they also work with children with disabilities to improve their cognitive abilities. Head to Trinidad

Check in at hotel Dinner at hotel (included) Day 6 – Thursday :: Ecology, Economy and Justice Breakfast at hotel, included. Walking tour of Trinidad. Declared a national monument by the Cuban government and World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, 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. It´s also brags spectacular Valle de los Ingenios, a unique Sugar Mill Valley. It contains beautiful churches (such as the Great Parish Church, a neoclassical edifice built in 1892) and public squares, the most important of which is Main Square-surrounded by buildings of great beauty and historic and architectural interest and considered the second most important square in the country, after Havana’s Cathedral Square. Stroll around beautiful Plaza Mayor, visit Museo Arquitectura Colonial. Enjoy time at a local artisan street market with splendid woodcarvings, fabric art, crochet pieces, and straw work. Visit the Valle de los Ingenios [Sugar Mill Valley] lookout. Lunch at Manaca Iznaga restaurant, included. Return to hotel to enjoy the beach Dinner at hotel included Day 7 – Friday :: Nature and Sustainability Breakfast in hotel (included) Check out at hotel Visit El Nicho waterfalls. The waterfall is attractive and flows throughout the year, even during the dry season. At the bottom of the falls there is a big natural pool where you can swim and splash around. There are several other smaller pools here as well. Lunch at El Nicho (included) Head to Cienfuegos. Check in at Hotel Day 8 – Saturday :: Mountaintop excursion in Soviet army trucks and Havana Breakfast in hotel (included)

Visit Topes de Collantes in the Escambray Mountains in Soviet Army Trucks. Visit Hacienda Codina, a Spanish coffee plantation Lunch at Hacienda Codina (included) Continue to Havana Check in at hotel Dinner at Mojito-mojito private restaurant Day 9 – Sunday :: Cienfuegos and Havana Breakfast in hotel (included) Departure to Havana Lunch at Mojito Mojito private restaurant (included) Dinner not included (included). Free evening Day 10 – Monday :: Havana Breakfast in hotel, included Farewell dinner at La Guarida (included) Day 11 – Tuesday :: Say goodbye to Cuba - For now Breakfast in hotel, included Transfer to José Marti International airport to take flights to home

Cuba travel is a challenge. Our staff and Cuban partners work super hard to make your tour unfold seamlessly despite Third World conditions on the island. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Flexible travelers understand this is part of their Cuban adventure.