med mindre du har reist på Cuba, eller undersøkt en tur til den karibiske øya, har du mest sannsynlig aldri hørt om Camagüey, som er kjent for sin labyrint av Alleyways, spanske torg, utøvende kunst samt forskjellige katedraler.
Etter å ha lest nøyaktig hvordan byen kontinuerlig ble angrepet av pirater, samt nøyaktig hvordan labyrinten i gatene ofte sammenlignes med Medinas of Marokko, ble vi fascinert. Vi plasserte raskt Camagüey på vår cubanske reiseplan, så vel som er så glade for at vi gjorde!
Her er en mini-guide for å vise deg høydepunktene, hvor du kan spise så vel som hvor du skal sove i Camagüey.
Kirkene og katedraler
Camagüey er kjent som Cubas katolske sjel, noe som raskt er åpenbart når du dukker opp i byen. Det er mange fantastiske kirker så vel som katedraler, hvor mange du vil se bare ved å vandre rundt, men hvis du sjekker ut Camagüey når som helst, må du huske å sjekke ut disse:
Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral (ligger i Parque Marti)
Denne gotiske, trippel-spirede katedralen har en annen stil enn mange andre katedraler på Cuba, den ser ut som den hører hjemme i Europa!
Inglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (ligger i Plaza de los Trabajadores)
Denne kirken stammer fra 1748, samt har et aktivt kloster knyttet til den. Med et 2-nivå buet interiør, skumle katakomber samt en kiste med solid-sølv, er dette en must-see i Camagüey.
Inglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (som ligger på hjørnet av Republica samt Agramonte)
Mange gater forårsaker dette lille krysset, som har noen gode spiseplasser, hoteller, samt denne vakre, nylig renoverte kirken.
Smugene
De fleste av de spanske kolonibyene er opprettet i et nettlignende mønster. Camagüeys gater er imidlertid fantastisk abstrakte, med sammenfiltrede smug som fører til små torg over hele byen. Å utforske alle typer bakgater utenfor de fremtredende torgene vil avsløre noen fascinerende perler.
Du vil oppdage venner så vel som familier som har blokkeringsfester, barn som spiller baseball, folk som sitter på skritt og koser seg med verden, så vel som leverandører som går rundt og selger forskjellige varer. Ta med videokameraet ditt og utforsk.
En fyr sitter på fronttrinnet og tar en pause fra å levere varer.
Vinkelen av smug avslører fascinerende severdigheter.
Plazasene
Plazas er der folk kommer sammen for å blande seg med venner, der barna løper rundt og leker, samt hvor du ofte vil oppdage online musikk så vel som utmerkede spisesteder. Hver by på Cuba (og hver spansk by), har torg, så vel som de som er oppdaget i Camagüey er nydelige.
Plaza San Juan de Dios
Denne plazaen er kjent som å være Camagüeys mye pittoreske så vel som nydelig hjørne. Det er forskjellige restauranter som omgir torget, men vi oppdaget dem for å være overprisede, så vel som ikke veldig bra.
Plaza San Juan de Dios på sen ettermiddag.
Parque Ignacio Agramonte
Dette torget ligger i hjertet av byen, og på grunn av sine mange trær så vel som utmerkede sitteplasser, er det et fremtredende sted å tilbringe ettermiddagen. Hvis du er heldig, vil du kunne se en musikalsk forestilling her om kvelden. Bygningene rundt denne torget er fantastiske og stedet er perfekt.
Symfoni spiller i Parque Ignacio Agramonte.
Plaza del Carmen
Denne fantastiske plazaen åpner seg på slutten av en smal ganggate som er foret med pastellfargede koloniale hjem. Akkurat her vil du oppdage noen skulpturer, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen Church, samt klassiske Camagüey Stylings.
Plaza del Carmen er et must-see! (Foto av: AnyMouse1 på Flickr)
Restaurantene så vel som barer
I motsetning til troen, er ikke maten på Cuba forferdelig! Vi hadde noen gode måltider mens vi var i Camagüey, så vel som en ekstra bonus, maten var veldig rimelig. Denne byen hadde den billigste maten i tillegg til å sprite ut av alle typer byer vi hadde vært på så langt på Cuba. Vi bruker kanskje hele dagen på å spise og drikke, hvis vi følte det, i tillegg til at vi fortsatt har en stor del av Cuba -budsjettplanen vår til overs for transport, hjemmeunderholdning og andre ting.
La Isabella restaurant
Til å begynne med kan du være usikker om denne mørke restauranten virkelig er åpen, men når du skyver opp dørene, vil du bli overrasket. Dette lille spisestedet ligger på Theatre Street, og holder den teatrale følelsen av livet ved å gi deg den oppfatningen om at du spiser på kino – sjekk regissørstolene, Clapperboards så vel som bildene av skuespillere på veggens.
The Italian style food right here is tasty, the portions are significant as well as the prices are good. A margarita pizza is $2.35, spaghetti bolognese is $2.60 as well as bottles of white wine are from $10.
Isabella restaurant was fun as well as very affordable.
La Cava restaurant & white wine Cellar
Located in the Parque Ignacio Agramonte, below the cafe Cuidad, you’ll discover this great area for lunch or dinner. The decoration right here is excellent as well as the service is professional. however the best part is that a bottle of white wine costs around $10, as well as tapas variety from $0.80 – $4.85. primary courses are between $2.85 – $18.50.
Don’t miss the white wine cellar restaurant!
Bodegon Don Cayetano
This restaurant is in a excellent place – just below the gorgeous Soledad Church on Calle República. Although the food is much more pricey than other restaurants, it’s a good place to come for a chilly beer as well as some appetizers. Also, there’s normally online music right here at night.
Pizzeria (Across from the intersection from the Soledad Church)
This restaurant is in a excellent location, as well as serves only beer as well as pizza. As a foreigner, you’ll be used the “CUC” menu, which lists whatever in higher prices than the regional “CUP” menu. The food is the same, however the prices aren’t – ask to see the regional menu.
This is the location to try the regional beer, Tinima, while in Camagüey. It may not win any type of awards for taste, however at $0.53 / bottle, you can’t go wrong!
Don’t fail to remember Your travel insurance coverage for Cuba!
You’ll requirement to have travel insurance coverage in buy to travel to Cuba. It’s really mandatory that all travellers have insurance, as well as you may or may not be asked to show proof of insurance coverage on arrival. To get a totally free quote from world Nomads, just go into your details below:
Where to sleep in Camaguey
Miriam House
Joaquin de Aguero No. 525
e/25 de Julio y Perucho Figueredo
(53) (32) 282120
This casa specific is located just north of the city center, about a 20 minute walk away. We always choose to stay outside of the hectic part of town, as well as are pleased we chose to stay right here during our travels in Camagüey. The walk to the city center is an satisfying one as well as it’s risk-free to walk house at night. However, you might always take a cycle taxi to as well as from the casa if you wanted.
The space at Miriam’s was great, as well as the breaky was huge.
Our space had significant windows (which let in a great deal of natural light), a big bed, tiled flooring, a refrigerator, air conditioning as well as an attached bathroom, with a bath tub! A table full of food was served each morning for breakfast, as well as although we didn’t discover Miriam herself to be the most outgoing person we had come across in Cuba, the space as well as place was one of our favourites.
Miriam home is offered on Airbnb. Click right here to indication up to Airbnb as well as get $35 off of your very first stay ?
For much more casa particulares in Camagüey, click right here to compare prices on Airbnb.
Stemningen
Despite what the guide books say, we discovered that there were far less touts in Camagüey. In fact, I don’t really recall being asked if I wanted a taxi, tour, meal, etc. during our stay. What a breath of fresh air that was, particularly coming from Trinidad where the hassle was insane.
Cyclo-taxi rides in Camaguey were an satisfying experience, with the appropriate (local) cost being quoted to us best away. We rode past people who waved at us as well as had some great chats with our drivers.
We were able to walk around uninterrupted as well as without feeling like a walking dollar sign. When we walked from our casa to the city center, people spoke with us (in their damaged English as well as our damaged Spanish) as well as were genuine. The city didn’t feel hectic, it was calm as well as relaxed.
Empty back-streets in this part of Camaguey…no hassle here!
Most cities have one central area which has the largest amount of “must-see’s”, but Camagüey is different.
Wandering from the center to the northern area of town, you’ll come across the Avenida de los Martires (Avenue of the Martyrs), which is a kilometer long street that is lined by old buildings with towering columned entrances! Heading towards the primary center, you’ll discover a kilometer long pedestrian-only street, Calle República. Walking from the center to the bus station, you’ll see numerous fascinating streets, unusual buildings as well as a large variety of shops.
Areas as well as buildings that weren’t even provided as “sights” in our guidebook, were must-sees in my mind. The cathedrals, the pedestrian-only walkways, the plazas, the appealing back-streets, the people as well as the restaurants were all fantastic! as well as on top of all of that, the costs in Camagüey were the lowest we had come across in all of Cuba.
No matter which street you select to take in Camagüey, you’ll discover lovely architecture, a friendly face as well as a fantastic restaurant.
We loved Camaguey!
The Lonely world guidebook talks about exactly how you’ll experience great deals of hassle in Camagüey as well as exactly how there’s a great possibility you’ll have your purse/bag snatched from you as you walk along the back streets. A WikiTravel writer said that “it has some lovely old churches, however is not truly a vacationer stop”. somebody on TripAdvisor said that “Camagüey is a dump of a town compared to others in Cuba”…
Hva?! After costs 3 nights in the city, we were left wanting more, as well as wished that we hadn’t booked our onward bus ticket so soon. If you have the chance to visit Camagüey, take it, you won’t be disappointed.
Traveller’s Notes:
To get to Camagüey from Trinidad, the Viazul bus costs 15 CUC ($15) as well as takes 5 hours.
Cycle taxis around the city expense 1 CUC. To go to the bus station, or to the northern part of the center, expect to pay 2 or 3 CUC.
To get from Camagüey to Trinidad, the Viazul only has one bus, leaving at 2:30 am. because this is a absurd hour to get up as well as travel, we suggest taking the Viazul to Sancti Spiritus city, as well as then hiring a taxi to take you the rest of the way to Trinidad. The expense is very similar as well as you can sleep in until a sensible hour. A bus to Sancti Spiritus is 10 CUC / person, as well as the personal taxi is 30 CUC / car. Our taxi was a 1948 Plymouth!
You can discover the Infotur office on the Theatre Street. It’s a wealth of information, as well as the people there speak English.
Wi-Fi is offered at the intersection of Calle Republica as well as Calle Agramonte, at the hotel Santa Maria, located across from the Inglesia de la Soledad Church.
For much more on Cuba, check out our articles:
Planning a trip to Cuba: To-Do listing before Travel
The utmost guide to Independent travel in Cuba
The utmost guide to Independent travel in Havana
Havana, Cuba – might This Be Our new much-loved City?
Finding the genuine Cuba in Vinales
Cuba With a splash of Spain: Experiencing the special Side of Cienfuegos
Trinidad, Cuba: split between a Tourist-Trap as well as a Treasure
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