9 Best Sights in Central Cuba, Cuba

The most impressive of Punta Gorda's mansions is the Palacio de Valle, which was built in 1917 by the sugar baron Asisclo del Valle. It's a stunning, sumptuous structure full of ornate relief work, crystal chandeliers, hand-painted tiles, Italian-marble columns, French windows, and carved Cuban hardwoods. Though the mansion's design is eclectic, its foremost inspiration was the Alhambra—the Moorish palace in southern Spain. It now houses the city's best restaurant on the ground floor and a rooftop bar that's the perfect spot from which to watch the sun set.

At Parque José Martí's southwest corner stands the Palacio Ferrer, an elaborate mansion built in 1917 by Spanish businessman José Ferrer and now the Casa de Cultura. The corner room on the second floor was once used by Enrico Caruso, and a spiral staircase leads from here up to a tower that offers a nice view of the plaza. Local musicians and dancers often rehearse here.

This yellow colonial building with a high wooden balcony was probably one of the tallest structures in town when Ignacio Agramonte was born to a wealthy ranching family here in 1841. Agramonte grew to become a general in the Ten Years War. When he was killed in battle in 1873, popular acclamation elevated him to the rank of hero. Though only half of the original house remains, it has been restored and converted into a museum. Its courtyard has a tinajón in every corner, and upstairs rooms are furnished with period pieces or filled with displays about the wars for independence.

If you really wish to delve into Trinidad's amazing architecture, this museum documents the city's development. (Of course, nothing replaces actually wandering around the city's fabulous streets themselves and soaking it all in.) Exhibits on its most important 18th- and 19th-century buildings fill the rooms of a sky-blue 18th-century house, once the home of the Sánchez Iznaga family. Don't miss the lovely garden patio.

The meticulously restored mansion that now houses the Museum of Colonial Art was long the property of the Valle Iznaga family, who owned sugar plantations, processing plants, a railroad, and a port, among other things. Dating from 1744, it's furnished with antiques from several centuries, most of which belonged to the Valle Iznagas, so the house appears much as it might have for a party a century ago—the music room is full of instruments, the dining room is set for a banquet, and the kitchen is ready for the cooking to begin.

The oldest building on Parque Vidal is a former home built in 1810 that's now open to the public as a museum. The house itself is half the attraction, with its marble floors, fluted columns, and hand-painted tiles. Its rooms hold an array of antiques—including crystal, china, statues, and furniture—that date from several centuries.

On the northern side of Plaza Martí you'll find one of the city's best-preserved colonial buildings. The former home of composer Alejandro García Caturla is now a museum dedicated to his life with many of his musical instruments on display. Built in 1875, the house has a small central patio planted with palms and surrounded by rooms that contain antique furnishings or exhibits on the composer's works.

Set in the impressive Palacio Cantero, which was built by a sugar baron in 1830, the History Museum's displays trace the development of Trinidad from its founding by Diego Velázquez to the early years of the Revolutionary government. Two rooms are furnished with antiques, and elaborate murals cover some of the walls. A lookout platform atop the building's large tower affords a wonderful view. (The stairs look rickety, but are safe, although you probably won't want to negotiate their narrowness if you are claustrophobic.)

Rather than the stuff of Cupid's arrows, the romance in this museum's name refers to the one that Trinidad's prominent families had with their precious things. A great variety of antiques—most imported from Europe—fill the 14 rooms of this imposing mansion. Built in 1704, the house belonged to Count Burnet, though nearly all the antiques in it came from the homes of other families. Don't miss the view from the second-floor balcony.