Cuba - Lonely Planet [225]
Casa de la Cultura Juan Marinello ( 20-71-81; Parque Vidal No 5) It looks a bit hollow inside, but concerts in this colonial casa often spill out into the adjacent park.
El Bosque (cnr Carretera Central & Calle Primera; 9pm-1am Wed-Sun) Santa Clara’s cabaret scene begins and ends here.
Cine Camilo Cienfuegos (Parque Vidal), below the Santa Clara Libre, and Cine Cubanacán (Independencia Oeste No 60) show large-screen films in English.
The Estadio Sandino, east of the center via 9 de Abril, is the venue for baseball games from October to April. Villa Clara, nicknamed Las Naranjas (the Oranges) for their team strip, won a trio of championships from 1993 to 1995 and were losing finalists to their nemesis, Los Industriales (Havana), in 1996, 2003 and 2004. They are Cuba’s third-biggest baseball team, after the heavyweights from Havana and Santiago.
Shopping
Independencia, between Maceo and JB Zayas, is the pedestrian shopping street called the Boulevard by locals. It’s littered with all kind of shops and restaurants and is the bustling hub of city life, especially at weekends. Fondo Cubano de Bienes Culturales (Luis Estévez Norte No 9 btwn Parque Vidal & Independencia) sells handicrafts and is the main tourist shop here.
Don’t forget La Veguita Click here for some of the best cigars outside Havana.
Getting There & Away
Santa Clara’s Abel Santamaría Airport receives weekly flights from Montreal and Toronto. There is no connection to Havana.
BUS
The Terminal de Ómnibus Nacionales ( 20-34-70) is 2.5km out on the Carretera Central toward Matanzas, 500m north of the Che monument.
Tickets for air-conditioned Víazul (www.viazul.com) buses are sold at a special ticket window for foreigners next to the station entrance.
The Santiago de Cuba–bound bus also stops at Bayamo (CUC$26, nine hours 10 minutes), Camagüey (CUC$15, four hours 25 minutes), Ciego de Ávila (CUC$9, two hours 35 minutes), Holguín (CUC$26, seven hours 50 minutes), Las Tunas (CUC$22, six hours 35 minutes) and Sancti Spíritus (CUC$6, one hour 15 minutes). The Havana bus stops at Entronque de Jagüey (CUC$6, one hour 30 minutes).
The intermunicipal bus station (Carretera Central), west of the center via Calle Marta Abreu, has daily buses to Remedios (CUC$1.45), where you can catch a cheaper taxi to the Cayos.
TRAIN
The train station ( 20-28-95) is straight up Luis Estévez from Parque Vidal on the north side of town. The ticket office (Luis Estévez Norte No 323) is across the park from the train station. The comparatively luxurious Tren Francés passes through the city on odd-numbered days heading for Santiago de Cuba (12 hours 45 minutes) via Camagüey (CUC$13, four hours 15 minutes). The Havana-bound train leaves on even-numbered days. There’s an additional long-distance service to Santiago (CUC$33, 12¼ hours) stopping in Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey and Las Tunas. Going in the opposite direction there are approximately five daily trains to Havana (CUC$14, five hours), most of which stop in Matanzas (CUC$8, 3½ hours). The train to Cienfuegos (CUC$3, 2½ hours) and Sancti Spíritus (CUC$4, three hours) runs Fridays to Sundays only. The Línea Norte runs three daily trains to Morón (CUC$5, three hours 40 minutes) via Florencia and Chambas. The Remedios and Caibarién service leaves twice daily. It is wise to double-check all of this information at the station a day or two before departing.
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VíAZUL DAILY DEPARTURES
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Getting Around
You can take a horse carriage from outside the church on Calle Marta Abreu to the Che memorial for a couple of pesos. Bici-taxis (from the northwest of the park) cost CUC$1 a ride.
CAR & MOPED
Parque Vidal is thankfully closed to traffic (and cyclists must also dismount and walk their bikes).
Agencies renting wheels around the town:
Cubacar ( 20-81-77; Hotel Santa Clara Libre, Parque Vidal No 6)
Rex ( 22-22-44; Marta Abreu; 9am-6pm) Rents luxury cars and mopeds for around CUC$80 per day.
The Servi-Cupet gas station (cnr Carretera Central & General Roloff) is south of the center.