Museo de Playa Girón

Playa Girón


This exceedingly well-kept museum with its gleaming display cases evokes a tangible sense of the history of the famous Cold War episode that unfolded within rifle-firing distance of this spot in 1961. Sitting halfway down the access road to the Villa Playa Girón, it offers two rooms of artifacts from the Bay of Pigs skirmish plus numerous photos with (some) bilingual captions.

The mural of victims and their personal items is harrowing and the tactical genius of the Cuban forces comes through in the graphic depictions of how the battle unfolded. A British Hawker Sea Fury aircraft used by the Cuban Air Force is parked outside the museum along with a couple of Russian tanks used in the battle.