Established on the north coast of Cuba in 1519, Havana
was to dominate the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico as the port for treasure
galleons sailing home to Spain: her architecture is a synthesis of tropical
Baroque and the Moorish influence of Andalucia. We shall be staying at
a converted noble mansion on the oldest square, the Plaza de Armas, at
the heart of the old city. Around the square are the massive moated Castillo
de la Real Fuerza, the 18th-century Palacio de los Capitanes Generales
and Palacio del Segundo Cabo, and the restored neo-classical ‘Templete’.
An introductory walk will include intriguing streets and squares lined
with churches and old family mansions from the 16th to the 18th centuries,
some restored, others in a state of faded grandeur. Later we will spend
time at the National Museum of Fine Arts, focusing on the colonial and
Cuban collections. We continue to the restored 19th-century Centro Asturiano
to admire the collections of ancient and European art, which include paintings
by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Constable, Guardi and Canaletto (a rare view
of the Royal Hospital at Chelsea – the other half of the painting
being at Blickling Hall in Norfolk). Music is very much part of the rhythm
of life in Havana and on one evening we will attend a typical Cuban cabaret.
We travel south via Cienfuegos, visiting the renowned
Botanical Garden. Our destination is Trinidad de Cuba,
framed by mountains near the Caribbean coast. The city was founded in
1514 and it was in the Plaza Mayor that Hernán Cortés camped
on his way to conquer Mexico four years later. Trinidad is an appealing
small-scale city of narrow cobbled streets and squares, churches and colourful
colonial houses with balconies and patios. Some of the 18th and 19th-century
mansions built for wealthy sugar planters have been restored as museums:
we will include the Museu Romantico for its decorative arts and the local
History Museum. There will be time to relax at the beach and to make an
excursion to the ‘Valley of the Sugarmills’,
a sweeping expanse of beautiful landscape, with sugar cane plantations
and deserted mills in a mountain setting. We will be shown the Manaca
Ignaza estate, with its watchtower and slave dwellings and we hope to
visit one of the small fincas, or country villas, decorated by Italian
mural painters. The whole valley is now preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site, along with Trinidad.
We return to Havana for one night, visiting the lovely
17th-century Casa de la Obra Pia and the Casa de Juana Carvajal, decorated
with charming frescoes of 18th-century life. We hope to attend a ballet
or opera performance at the Gran Teatro de la Habana. Next we head westwards
to the rural province of Pinar del Río, making
a short detour to visit the ruins of a coffee plantation house. Our tranquil
hotel overlooking the dramatic and lush landscape of the valley of Viñales
offers an Arcadian setting in which to unwind, with opportunities to walk,
ride or swim.
At the end of the tour we have a further two nights in
Havana, staying at an elegant hotel on the tree-lined
Paseo del Prado, a short walk from the historic centre. We will return
to visit buildings of particular interest in more detail and there will
be time for swimming, shopping and independent exploration. Our tour of
this compelling island closes with the ritual evening cannon salute at
the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña, which has been a tradition
since the 16th century. |
PRICE
l £2,720
The cost includes accommodation in a superior hotel in Havana (3 nights),
a comfortable hotel in Trinidad (2 nights), a superior hotel in Havana
(1 further night), a comfortable hotel in Viñales (2 nights) and
in a superior hotel in Havana (2 final nights); economy class air travel
London (Gatwick) / Havana / London (Gatwick) by scheduled services (overnight
on the return); ground transport by private coach; all meals except one
lunch and one dinner; a ticket for one evening performance; guides; taxes;
entrance fees; visa and the services of a lecturer and a tour organiser.
Price without flights £2,265
l Single room supplement
£230
|
