Every city has its fair share of parks and open spaces to counteract the mass of buildings and other locations. And Santa Clara in Cuba is no exception to this rule, with Parque Vidal being a strong attraction for the tourists and the locals alike. As such it is well worth seeing when you are in town.

What can you expect from it though? Well to begin with the park is situated on one complete block rather than simply taking up a small amount of space. This gives you plenty to explore once you are inside. This design was part of the original design for the city as a whole. The park formed a perfect square centre and it still does so today.

The park is not just a location to wander through and watch the rest of the world go by though. You will find street vendors here as well, so if you are looking for some local souvenirs to take back home with you, have a look at the stalls you will find there. There are paintings and other works of art that have been made by some of the locals and they add a nice touch to any exploration of the park.

Another thing you will no doubt notice is the statues. One of the most famous ones of all is of a child holding up a boot. He is a young boy and has one hand in his pocket while the other holds the boot aloft for all to see. If you look down at his legs you will see only one of them is actually wearing a boot! He is the mascot for the city in a sense, and most people are aware of his position in the park.

There are other statues there too, including a bigger one of a woman called Marta Abreu. She died in 1909 but was commemorated with the statue as she had spent her life working to make conditions for people in the city better, and donated a lot of money as a result. Make sure you don’t miss her when you arrive in Parque Vidal.

You would be forgiven for thinking of a cigar the moment someone mentions Havana to you. Cuban cigars are world famous, and yet Old Havana has a lot more to offer than that. The very fact that it has been deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site should tell you reams about what kind of city it is.

So what can you expect to see when you finally arrive in Old Havana?

Well firstly you can expect a city that is in constant flux. This is an old part of Havana as you would expect, and it has been around since the early 1500s. As such many parts of it are in need of repair, and this task is gradually being undertaken.

El Malecon should definitely be on your list of places to see while you are in town. You’ll get a great view of the coast on one side and a view of some of the buildings in Old Havana on the other. In fact you can reach some of the best landmarks by strolling down this road. Perhaps one of the most notable is the Castle of the Royal Force.

Known by its Cuban name of Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the castle was actually very little use to the city. Its size and position meant that it could not adequately be used to achieve the aims of those who wanted it built in the first place. It is still worth seeing though because it is still an impressive sight.

Elsewhere in the city there is El Capitolio, a tall and impressive building that has the feel of the US Capitol building. There is plenty to see in this building, including a huge statue called La Estatua de la Republica, a fake diamond and a stunning interior that has plenty to amaze you.

Old Havana also has plenty of street cafes where you can take a seat, enjoy a drink and a bite to eat and take a closer look at your surroundings. So why not put it on your Cuban itinerary and enjoy the many sights it has to offer?

Buenos Aires, Dec 14 (PL) Cuba's tourism industry ratified its outstanding and solid presence in Argentina on Friday, when it won three Bitacora 2007 awards granted by the prestigious newspaper El Mensajero.

The representative office of Havanatur S.A. in Argentina won the Gold Bitacora Award as Cuba's Best Tour Operator, and Cubana de Aviacion's tour agency, Sol y Son, won the Silver Bitacora Award.

Cuba also received the Bronze Bitacora Award to the Best Promoted Foreign Tourist Destination, a category where Mexico won the gold prize and Brazil the silver award.

"In 2006 we also won the gold award, so for the second year in a row they have acknowledged our results and the challenge for excellence that we have set for ourselves," Maribel Fernandez, president of Havanatur S.A. in Argentina, told Prensa Latina.

She added that the company's plan for 2007 was to take 4,000 tourists to Cuba, but 4,500 vacationers had traveled to the Caribbean Island until November, accounting for a 50-percent increase compared to last year.

According to Mario Ramos Alvarez, director of Cuba's Tourist Information and Promotion Office for the South Cone, "getting a third place is an achievement among so many circuits that are sold here and we expect to climb one step up next year."

He added that as a tourist destination, Cuba's sales increased 23 percent in 2007 compared to last year, as a result of many more flights, more travel agents and operators to sell the Cuba product.

Ramos noted, "37,000 tourists will travel to Cuba this year and next year's plan is more than 40,000 vacationers, as five flights a week will operate to and from Cuba, in contrast to three flights at present."

The tourist publication El Mensajero grants the Bitacora Awards in 28 categories, including best airline, hotel chain, tour operator, tourist destination and car-rental company, among others.

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Cuba reached the two-million-tourist mark on Saturday, when the achievement was celebrated in the tourist resort in Jardines del Rey, in the central-north region of the country.

In order to take part in the celebrations, a group of tour operators, travel agents and tourism executives travelled to Jardines del Rey, which is considered Cuba's fastest-growing tourist destination.

Cuba has received more than two million vacationers for four years in a row, officials from the Ministry of Tourism recalled.

Jardines del Rey, which has 16 excellent beaches, 11 of which are being used with ten hotels, is located in the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, made up of 2,515 keys and 3,088 square miles of marine platform.

It is regarded as an ideal place to practice scuba diving and other nautical sports.

The main destination in Jardines del Rey is Cayo Coco, which is in high demand by foreign tourists. Cayo Guillermo is another major attraction in the region.

Jardines del Rey (King's Gardens) was named by Conquistador Diego Velazquez in 1522 in honor of Spanish King Ferdinand the Catholic.

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01 Jul 2007 - 31 Aug 2007

The famous Havana Carnival is a riot of noise and colour that takes place each weekend during July and August as the Cuban holiday season gets into full swing.

Cubans and tourists alike take to the streets to enjoy music, dancing, processions and parades while consuming copious quantities of the national drink, Cuban rum. The colourful parade of costumed dancers and decorated floats makes its way along the Malecon – Havana’s famous seafront street.

The fun begins on the Friday evening of the first weekend in July with a gun salute fired from the San Pedro de la Cabana fortress and ends with a spectacular fireworks display. The event was temporarily suspended after the collapse of the USSR which bought terrible economic hardships on the country. But with Cuba now back on its feet and embracing tourism, Carnival has returned to its former glory and is one of the main events in the Cuban calendar.

Times
Events take place throughout the day and night.

Getting There

The main celebrations take place on the Malecon, which is easily accessible either on foot or on public transport from the city centre.

For more information visit http://www.worldeventsguide.com or http://www.cubatravel.cu/

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba or República de Cuba, consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and several adjacent small islands.

Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is south of the eastern United States and the Bahamas, west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti and east of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south.

Cuba is the most populous country in the Caribbean. Its people, culture and customs draw from several sources including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, and its proximity to the United States.

The island has a tropical climate that is moderated by the surrounding waters; however, the warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba itself almost completely blocks access to the Gulf of Mexico, make Cuba prone to frequent hurricanes.

21 May 2007

Tourism, for 15 years the locomotive of the otherwise weak communist economy, faces erosion from within Cuba and without, the magazine Bohemia has reported.
In 2006 tourist arrivals fell 3.6%, "falling short of plans to grow by almost 8% and reach 2.5m foreign tourists on our streets and beaches."

Only 2.2m showed up, the weekly Cuban magazine said in an article dated May 8.

The number of European visitors slid during the 2007 December-April peak season. Canadians, most numerous visitors to the Caribbean island, grew 1.6% compared with 2006.

The magazine blamed the slowdown in part on US restrictions on travel to Cuba, including Washington's tightening of visits by Cuban-Americans to their families.

Bohemia said this cut visits to Cuba by "tens of thousands," reducing overall visits from North America by 7.5% last year.

"Topping it all, last year US investment companies took over a cruise ship line and a Spanish tour operator ... which were automatically prevented from travelling to the island," it said.

Other factors dampening visitor levels include the high cost of oil, European tourists' preference for short trips, and the appreciation of Cuban peso in 2004, which cut hotel investment.

"Foreign tour operators and Cuban hoteliers noted a drop in the quality of services in the sector."