Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos has a very different feel to the places we have so far seen. It's architectural heritage is more French than Spanish with wide boulevards and a French colonial feel to the buildings.  The main square is large and open with its very own mini Arc de Triomphe. The most spectacular building is the Casa de Cultura Benjamin Durate which was once a private Palacio. It is being renovated and will be a museum once finished. It has large airy rooms and beautiful iridescent tiles in one corridor.

The area we stayed in had lots of homes in art deco style and a number of large buildings one of which is the yaught club
We dropped in for a daikiri.  The area is on a promentory which sticks out into the bay. At the end is El Palacio del Valle. It was built in 1894 by an Italian architect who had a wild imagination. The dining room would not look out of place in the Alhambera. The stairs is heavily art nouveau and other rooms have an Italian or French feel. One guide book describes it as kitch but we liked it's insane mixture.   The roof terrace had lovely sea views and we watched pelicans diving for their dinner as we sampled their cocktails. A nice way to end our visit to a lovely city.