Cuba

Worn but magnificent, run-down but dignified, funny but maddeningly frustrating – Cuba is a land of indefinable magic.

Expect the unexpected
Cuba is like a prince in a poor man’s coat: gold dust lingers behind the sometimes dilapidated facades. It is these rich dichotomies that make travelling here an exciting and exhilarating rollercoaster ride. Caught in a temporary fault line and roiled by an economic embargo that has lasted more than half a century, this is a country where you can say goodbye to everyday assumptions and expect the unexpected. If Cuba were a book, it would be James Joyce’s Ulysses: layered, difficult to understand, often misunderstood, but above all a classic.

Historical legacies
Without modern interference, Cuba’s colonial cities haven’t changed much since pirates stalked the Caribbean with muskets. The atmosphere and architecture are particularly evocative in Havana, Trinidad, Remedios and Camaguey, where grand plazas and cobblestone streets tell old stories of opulence and intrigue. But despite conservation interventions, many buildings lie in ruins like old widows waiting for a facelift. With more funding, these relics can be resurrected. Thanks to private investment, many have already been partially renovated and transformed into spectacular family homes or retro-themed restaurants that proudly display their heavy historical heritage.

The awakening of a country
There has rarely been a better time to visit Cuba. The private sector is showing the first shoots of a creative spring, while the big brands of this familiar northern madness have yet to dilute the cultural magic. Consequently, the country is full of experimentation. Here, a free-spirited café where serious students gather to discuss Che Guevara’s contribution to the world revolution; there, an avant-garde art studio where the furniture is as extravagant as the exhibits. From rural Viñales to urban Havana, it’s as if the whole country is slowly awakening from a deep sleep. Come now and ride the wave.

Beyond the beaches
The vast majority of Cuban tourists are drawn to the attractive arches of white sand that line the country’s northern coast and offshore islands. But move beyond the beaches and you’re in a different territory, a land of fertile forests and crocodile-infested swamps, abandoned coffee plantations and rugged mountains as famous for their revolutionary folklore as they are for their endemic species. Once observed by the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt, Cuba is a species of the Caribbean Galapagos, where contradictory curiosities coexist. Get off the beaten track and go in search of them.