Bayamo's main shopping street was pedestrianized in the 1990s and reconfigured with benches and funky artwork. At its southern end you'll find wax museum Museo de Cera; centrally, there are various public utilities and Cuban-style commerce, including food stalls at night.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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One of Cuba's leafiest squares, Bayamo's central meeting point is surrounded by pedestrian-only streets, making it a rare and peaceful spot. In addition…
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28.14 MILES
This tiny village nestles in a deep green valley beside the deliciously clean Río Yara. Communally it provides a wonderful slice of peaceful Cuban…
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Casa Natal de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
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Birthplace of the 'father of the motherland,' this museum is where Céspedes was born (on April 18, 1819) and spent his first 12 years. Inside, Céspedes…
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8.02 MILES
For a floral appreciation of Bayamo's evergreen hinterland, head to this botanic garden about 16km outside the city off the Guisa road. It's on very few…
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0.81 MILES
It's worth the jaunt to observe the goings-on at Cuba's only handcrafted coche (horse cart) production line. Most horse carts you'll see in Cuba are metal…
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29.32 MILES
All trips into the park begin at the end of the near-vertical, corrugated-concrete access road at Alto del Naranjo (after Villa Santo Domingo the road…
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The tiny Museo de Cera, Bayamo’s diminutive version of Madame Tussauds, has convincing waxworks of Cuban personalities such as Polo Montañez, Benny Moré…
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20.98 MILES
A small town amid vast fields of sugarcane, Yara is barely mentioned in most travel literature, but several important chapters of Cuban history took place…
Nearby Bayamo attractions
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One of Cuba's leafiest squares, Bayamo's central meeting point is surrounded by pedestrian-only streets, making it a rare and peaceful spot. In addition…
0.08 MILES
In 1868 Céspedes proclaimed Cuba's independence for the first time in front of the columned Ayuntamiento.
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A forerunner of the national anthem, cowritten by Céspedes (and, confusingly, also called 'La Bayamesa') was first sung from here on March 27, 1851. A…
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Cuba's first post-independence president, Tomás Estrada Palma, was born here in 1835. One-time friend of José Martí, Estrada Palma was disgraced post…
5. Casa Natal de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
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Birthplace of the 'father of the motherland,' this museum is where Céspedes was born (on April 18, 1819) and spent his first 12 years. Inside, Céspedes…
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Directly next door to Céspedes' ex-home, this provincial museum completes Bayamo's historical trajectory with a yellowing city document dating from 1567…
7. Catedral de San Salvador de Bayamo
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There's been a church on this site since 1514. The current edifice dates from 1740 but was devastated in the 1869 fire, so much of what you see results…
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This is the one original section of Bayamo's main church to survive the 1869 fire. It sports a gilded wooden altar.