Most Cuba cultural tours participants will be landing at terminal 3 of Havana’s International Airport today. Some participants, especially those flying via Miami will be landing at terminal 2 though.

Whatever your case, after clearing customary procedures, you will be met by your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide at the Waiting Lounge who will escort you to your Casa Particular or the Quinta Avenida Hotel.

During the private check in process, you will be provided a brief orientation about the hotel facilities and surroundings. Welcome to Havana, your Cultural Travel in Cuba has just started! Morning: today we will spend most of the day in Old Havana, one of the 15 municipalities that made up Cuba’s capital today. Comprised within Old Havana municipality, we find the Historical Center, an area of 2.14 square kilometers that was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the significant ensemble of colonial buildings that remain in good conditions today.

During today’s walking tour, your Cuba Cultural Tours guide will show you to four out of the five colonial squares found in the historical centre. Among those Plaza de Armas, the oldest square in the city and center of Spanish power in Cuba for 400 years; Plaza de La Catedral, the religious square of the city named after the magnificent Cathedral of San Cristobal de La Habana; Plaza de San Francisco, the trade hub of the city since the early 16th century; and Plaza Vieja, the main civic square of the city since colonial times where we will begin our tour this morning as it is surrounded by important art insitutions.

The first art institution we will visit in Plaza Vieja is La Fototeca de Cuba, Cuba's leading photography gallery. Founded back in 1986 with the initial aim of preserving Cuba’s largest collection of Cuban photography, The Fototeca soon became Cuba’s premier gallery for the exhibition of international and local photographic works. Worth mentioning it is its role as an educational institution with photography courses and workshops held on regular basis.

Another important Cuban art institution around Plaza Vieja that we will visit this morning it is the Center for the Development of Visual Arts. Also established in the mid 1980’s, this art institution contains four galleries for the exhibit of local and international artists. It also promotes the work of up-and-coming Cuban artists through the organization of the prestigious Salon de Arte Contemporaneo and other events.

Housed in the one-time palace of the Counts of Jaruco (1737), La Casona Art Gallery serves as the headquarters of the Cuban Fund for Cultural Assets. It contains several distinct exhibition spaces such as the art gallery Roberto Diago that specializes in primitive art; a central backyard known as El Patio de Las Columnas for the exhibit of contemporary arts and a jewelry workshop.

Among the studios of well-established visual artist that you will visit during this Cuba cultural travel for us citizens, we find the residence and studio of Nelson Dominguez whose artwork is permeated by the Cuban avant-garde movement of the first half of the 20th century. The artworks of Cuban artists like Victor Manuel and Amelia Pelaez have certainly influenced his "rural” ceramics and paintings where natural and human elements entangled in a delicate humorous and poetic manner to produce striking pieces of art that are today held within the collections of the most prestigious museums of contemporary arts in the world.

Since we are in the neighbourhood of Eduardo Roca, better known in the art world as Choco because of his resemblance with boxer Kid Chocolate, we will pay a visit to his studio located in a noisy street of Old Havana. Choco who doesn’t mind the noise, in fact find it inspirational, has mastered the atypical collography printing technique that he exploits in a variety of ways to produce amazing artworks. We will meet the artist and have a chance to ask him questions about its influences and unusual techniques_ another treat of our cultural tours to Cuba from USA.

Featured Lunch: a new wave of paladares (privately-owned restaurants) has recently swept the Cuban dining scene offering excellent food and charming ambient. Today we’ll enjoy a welcome lunch at the stylish La California, one of Havana's top ten private restaurants.

Afternoon: Cuba cultural travel for Americans offers the chance to those hunting for good Cuban prints to find a hidden treasure in our next visit to The Experimental Printing Workshop. This is Cuba’s only printing workshop and serves as studio for over 50 print makers. Housed in a spacious colonial building by the Cathedral Square, the workshop was founded in the early 1960’s by Orlando Suarez, a renowned Cuban artist. Showcasing an amazing variety of sizes, colors and content the selection of prints include pieces of legendary Cuban visual artsists as well as more experimental ones.

Flanking the Cathedral of Havana we find one of the most iconic institutions for the promotion of contemporary arts in Cuba, The Contemporary Art Center “Wifredo Lam”. As with most cultural institutions in Old Havana, this prestigious art gallery is housed in a former 18th century aristocratic residence. At the heart of the Wifredo Lam we find the Havana Art Biennial organized every two years by the center for the promotion of Cuban, Latin American, Caribbean and African artists mainly. The Center contains one of the most important collections of Wifredo Lam in the world as well as pieces of arts of Cuba's most important generational painters.

Before heading back to your accomodation, we will take some time to explore the renowned Old Havana Craft Market located in an old warehouse that opens to the bay of Havana.

Evening: tonight participants of our cuba cultural tours from USA will enjoy a private reception at the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, a non for profit organization that is funded by the Ludwig Foundation in Germany. Housed in an amazing penthouse in one of Vedado’s modern buildings, the foundation showcases the artworks of leading Cuban artists on regular basis. The foundation also administers scholarships and grants and has established several programs overseas with leading art institutions. Morning: your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide will show you this morning to the National Art Schools_ a must-visit in Cuba cultural trips from USA. We can say that Cuban culture is closely intertwined with the performance of these schools at the top level of artistic education in Cuba. Every year hundreds of graduates from the Instituto Superior de Arte become part and revitalize Cuba’s authentic theatre, dance, music and visual art scene. The faculty is selected from among Cuba’s top leading artists in each artistic manifestation and it is common to see a blend of talented young and established artists teaching toe to toe in the unique dramatic brick and terracotta classrooms.

Sometimes nicknamed the Caribbean Picasso because of the clearly influenced of the European artist on his artwork, Jose Fuster has made a name for himself in the history of Cuban arts if not by a groundbreaking technique by how much ground he has covered with his art pieces. Today, your Authentic Cuba Travel® expedition will take you to Fusterland, the dream land of Jose Fuster in Jaimanitas coastal town, a humble fishermen village turned into a street art gallery. Fuster has decorated over 80 houses and counting with colourful ceramics and sculptures. Today we will tour the town, visit his studio and private residence and enjoy a delicious lunch hosted by the artist himself.

Afternoon: one of the higher honours for a Cuban visual artist it is having a piece included in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts. And Alicia Leal’s artwork is not only part of the permanent collection of this world class museum but also part of many other collections around the world such as the Museum der Bildende Kunst in Germany; the St. Thomas University in the United States of America, the Guayasamin Foundation in Ecuador among many others. Today we will visit her studio and private residence housed in a magnificent colonial-style mansion in the Vedado district.

A graduated from the oldest art school in Cuba, the Academy of San Alejandro, Juan Moreira’s paintings, prints and drawings are inspired by the Spanish and African elements ever present in the authentic Cuba culture. Another treat of this authentic Cuba tour it is the opportunity to get an up close and personal look into the life and work of this iconic Cuban painter. Moreira’s fictional characters come to live from human figures and mythological animals and totems intertwined with nature to create his very personal imaginary world.

Evening: continuing our exploration of colonial Havana, we will visit the largest fortress ever built by the Spanish Crown in The Western Indies, San Carlos de La Cabana where we will attend one of the most popular ceremonies of Cuba, the Fire of the Cannon of 9 O’clock. Mingle with Cubans is a mandate of our Cuba cultural travel from USA, and tonight is a great opportunity to do so, as thousands of Cubans attend every night. Morning: today your Cuba cultural tours guide will take you to visit the largest collection of Cuban visual arts in the world. Housed in a modern building that dates back from the 1950’s and was completely refurbished in 2001, the Museum of Fine Arts showcases the entire history of Cuban arts from colonial times to modern days. The whole collection is wonderfully curated by historical periods. Our guided tour will start at the Colonial Art gallery and will continue to explore the art produced in the island in the period between 1894 and 1927. Then we will enjoy the exhibitions dedicated to the Emergence and Consolidation of Modern Arts. The tour will finish in the rooms dedicated to exhibit the art that has been produced from the 1960’s until present day

Lunch: a new wave of paladares (privately-owned restaurants) has recently swept the Cuban dining scene offering excellent food and charming ambient. Today we’ll enjoy a welcome lunch at the stylish Paladar San Cristobal, one of Havana's top ten private restaurants.

Afternoon: our cultural Cuba travel will always include a special visit to the Galeria Habana (Havana Art Gallery) where we will meet with gallery directors and curators as we tour the current exhibit in display. Please do notice that the Havana Art Gallery is one of the oldest and most prestigious art galleries in the country.

It has exhibited the works of Cuba’s most important contemporary art figures like Wifredo Lam and Rene Portocarrero. It is a high honour to be invited to exhibit in this space, and only the best of the best get to enjoy that opportunity. New artists that have exhibited recently in Galeria Habana include Fabelo, Mendive and young artists such as Los Carpinteros and Jose Angel Toirac.

Next we are off to visit the studio of Instituto Superior de Arte graduates Jacqueline and Yamilys Brito. The Britos sisters have already made a name for themselves in the national and international arena despite their young age. With more than 20 solo exhibits in Cuba and abroad, their artworks can be found in the permanent collections of the ASU Museum of Art, the Akron Art Museum and the Art Institute of San Francisco in the United States just to mention some.

One of the many aspects of our Cuba cultural tours that sets Authentic Cuba Travel® apart from the competition is the ability to open doors that are usually close to the regular tourist. And meeting Cuban political artist Jose Angel Toirac is certainly one of those rare chances that you will treasure for life. Complete series by Jose Angel Toirac have been banned for public exhibition in Cuba because of its strong political content. In one of those series, Toirac appropriates iconic photographic images of the Cuban Revolution and distorts its original meaning by fusing them with Western advertisement. Well, chances are you will see this exhibit today during your private visit to the artist's studio.

Evening: those in pursuit of Cuban musical venues will find a refreshing alternative to salsa and son at La Zorra y El Cuervo, one of the most popular jazz clubs in Cuba (not included in tour costs). Morning: exploring picturesque landscapes, towns and cities with well-represented artistic movements is by far one of the highlights of our Cuban art tours. In the next two days, we are off to discover the many unique attractions of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Cienfuegos, Trinidad and The Sugar Mill Valley all located in the Caribbean southern coasts of central Cuba.

Upon arrival in Cienfuegos, also known as the Pearl of the South, we will pay a visit to Parque de Las Esculturas. Located in the one-time aristocratic neighbourhood of Punta Gorda, right on the Prado avenue The Sculpture Park (or Parque de Las Esculturas in Spanish) contains 13 sculptures created by leading artists from Cuba and Spain such as Antonio Chaviano and Camilo Villavilla.

Built out of concrete and steel mainly, we find intriguing pieces such as The Holy Family, From The Dirt, and Like Father Like Son. This is certainly an authentic Cuba display that deserves to be seen. We will make a stop for some photo shooting opportunity. Please ask your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide about the sculptures that catch your attention the most as there’s a history behind each of them.

Late lunch will be served at Paladar El Prado.

Afternoon: visit to the studios of some of Cienfuegos most important visual artists the likes of Ernesto Rodríguez González and Dilema Baldovi Gutiérrez.

Next we will embark on a guided walking tour of UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cienfuegos Historical Center. Named after Jose Cienfuegos, the Spanish Captain General in function in Cuba at the time of the foundation of the city in 1829, Cienfuegos is a Caribbean city with an impressive artistic heritage as we can see in the large number of theatres and literary lyceums found in the city.

One of the most representative theatres is the Tomas Terry Theatre (1895) that stands at the southern side of Parque Jose Marti, one of Cuba’s largest Republican parks. At the entrance of the park we find two lion statues that symbolically guard the access to the square which is centered by the statue of Jose Marti, Cuba’s national hero of independence. Opposing the statues we find the Cathedral of Cienfuegos and the House of the Founder, Don Luis de Clouet.

It is worth mentioning that Cienfuegos was founded by French immigrants from Bordeaux and Lousiana in the United States with the favour of the Spanish rulers.

Our art exploration to Cienfuegos wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the provincial art gallery Maroya where local painters, sculptors and artisans showcase their artwork.

Check in at Casa Particular.

Dinner is included at Paladar Ache, one of Cienfuegos top ten private restaurants, serving local specialties in a pleasant courtyard.

Evening: tonight is free to get some rest and enjoy the music venues at your hotel. However, if you still have the energies for it, we recommend take a walk to nearby Casa de La Musica where Cuba’s best bands perform on regular basis (optional/ not included in tour costs). This morning we will travel further eastern to the city of Trinidad, one of the first seven villages founded by Diego Velazquez in the early 16th century. With a colonial atmosphere hard to compete with, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Trinidad’s Historical Center showcases cobblestone circular streets, red-tile roof adobe houses and wide-portico mansions that have changed little in the last centuries.

As much an art gallery displaying the finest artwork by Trinidad leading artists as a store selling Trinidad’s finest pottery, jewelry and embroidery pieces, the Provincial Art Gallery is housed in a magnificent 19th century mansion that once belonged to the Ortiz family. Your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide will give tour participants some free time to explore this art institution at leisure next.

The Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Lucha Contra Bandidos, The Museo Romantico are among some of the museums that we will visit during our foot exploration of the historical center. Worth visiting also is the Iglesia Parroquial and the Plaza Mayor, Trinidad’s town square.

As you walk the streets of Trinidad, you will run literally into dozens of private and state-owned studios and art galleries, most of them catering to mass international tourism to Cuba. Yet there are those rare artists who are not driven by commercialism, but by genuine artistic expressions. That’s the case of Yudit Vidal, Iván Basso and Jorge César Sáenz. That's why, we have chosen to devote some time during our Cuba art tours to give tour participants the chance to get to know them better.

Once at Plaza del Jigue, one of the colonial squares of the city, we will take a break to have lunch a Paladar Solananda, one of Trinidad’s favourites!

Afternoon: your authentic Cuba tour will take you next for a short bus ride to the La Loma del Puerto (Del Puerto Hill). We will make a stop at a lookout point from where breathtaking panoramic views of the Sugar Mills Valley can be enjoyed. This is a good time to recap what we just learned during our morning visit to the historical center and get a comprehensive understanding of the origins of Trinidad as the sugar cane production of this valley generated the moneys to build the palaces and mansions we visited earlier.

Before heading back to Cienfuegos city we will visit Casa del Alfarero to meet with a family that for generations has been making Trinidad’s best pottery.

Evening: there are several musical venues and happenings in the city tonight. Your guide will keep you posted on the best spots to attend. Morning: with the assistance of your Authentic Cuba Travel® guide and bus driver, you will check out of the hotel early this morning and after having a full buffet breakfast, we will go back to Havana city.

Our Cuba tours rarely visit places that are considered as “tourist traps” but we believe that Las Terrazas restaurant is worth the try if not because of its atmosphere charged with the presence of Ernest Hemingway because it justifies a visit to Cojimar, a fishing coastal town that carries the memories of the famous American author at every turn.

After lunch we will follow in the footsteps of Hemingway. We will visit San Francisco de Paula, a town where he lived for 20 years. No doubt that at the heart of the town is Finca La Vigia, the property where Hemingway wrote his most important literary works such as The Old Man and The Sea and Islands in the Streams. The villa has been kept as a museum since the very day Hemingway abandoned Cuba.

Around 5:00 p.m. we will check back to Havana.

Farewell dinner at La Cocina de Liliam where ex- president James Carter dinned in his last visit to Cuba. Today your Cuba travel adventure ends. You Authentic Cuba Travel® tour guide will escort you to the city's international airport so that you can catch your flight back home. Please do remember to keep handy the 25 cuc departure tax and traveling documentation.