Did You Know?... Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba on his way back to Spain after his second voyage to the New World in 1492.

Havana: The centre of all things Cuban. There's an air of faded glory about the city; streamlined 50s and 60s American cars cruise the streets as the paint peels from the walls of almost everywhere. The city is lined with glorious Spanish colonial architecture, much of which is under restoration.

Nightlife: Havana has a swinging nightlife, and less traffic and commercialisation than your average Latin American city. But from the rough brilliance of Old Havana to residential areas ranging from shabby to demanding demolition, the exuberant friendliness of Havana's inhabitants is what shines through.

Did You Know?... Cuba is so large that it allegedly confused Columbus, who thought he had discovered a continent and not an island. It sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico; the main island is 746 miles (1,200km) long with an irregular coastline that offers hundreds of bays and beaches.

Santiago de Cuba: The second largest city and also the most Caribbean, has its own musical rhythm and pace. Located in the eastern region, in a valley alongside a sweeping bay at the foothills of the legendary Sierra Maestra. This hilly city has many sites of tourist and historic interests, some of which are closely related to our struggles for independence. It is also home to a famous brand of rum, the most unique carnival in the island and also of many musical genres.

Mountains: Cuba has a beautiful mix of mountain ranges and plains, over 200 bays and 289 sun drenched beaches to explore.

Did You Know?... Cuba's first inhabitants were indigenous people who arrived by sea, following the trade winds westward from the coast of Venezuela along the islands of the Caribbean.

History: Little evidence remains of the first indigenous people, the Ciboney (or Guanahacabibe), who began settling the island about 1000 BC. The Ciboney lived along the coast and survived by fishing, hunting, and gathering plant foods. They lived in small, seminomadic clans and left no written record of their society, religions, or languages.

Tourists: Cuba is the Caribbean's largest and least commercialised island and one of the world's last bastions of communism. Its relative political isolation has prevented it from being overrun by tourists, and locals are sincerely friendly to those who do venture in.

The Malecon Seawall: Started at the beginning of the 19th century and stretches across 7 km of the northern coastline of Havana from the entrance to the Castillo de La Punta until La Chorrera fort at the entrance to the Almendares river.

Santiago de Cuba Attractions include: 26th of July Historical Museum, Tropicana Santiago, Padre Pico, The Troubadour's House, Metropolitan Cathedral, Santiago Carnaval , Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Bacardí Museum, Baracoa, Sierra Maestra, The Diego Velázquez House-Museum, Santa Ifigenia Cemetery.