Varadero, Cuba

Beach in Varadero, Cuba
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Varadea_beach.jpg
Author: MarekSilarski
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Varadero is Cuba's top resort town, located on the long and narrow Hicacos Peninsula, on the northern coast of Cuba. It covers 32 sq km (12.4 sq mi) and has a population of around 20,000 people (2011 estimate).

The Hicacos Peninsula is just 1.2 km wide at its widest . It extends for over 20 km from the mainland to end at Punta Hicacos, the northernmost tip of Cuba. To the north is the Straits of Florida while to the south is the Bay of Cárdenas.

Varadero Beach, Cuba
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Varaderobeach1.JPG
Author: Kirua
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Hicacos Peninsula has been discovered by the Spanish in the 16th century. Salt mining was once a major economy activity in the area, but has since shut down. The ruins of La Calavera (The Skull) Salt Works, the first salt works built by the Spanish in the New World, can still be visited.

Today is today mainly occupied by the Hicacos Point Natural Park, home of 31 species of birds and 24 species of reptiles. The area has over 20 km of fine white sand beaches, making it an increasingly popular tourist destination. Since the 1930s, it attracted many rich and powerful Americans to build villas there, among them the gangster Al Capone. These villas were expropriated by the Cuban government following the revolution of 1959 and are now opened to the public as museums.

Parque Retiro Josone, Varadero
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Julio,_gabriel,_and,_Andhy_Day_30_159.JPG
Author: Andersont David Aparicio Mendoza
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Visiting Varadero

You can reach Varadero by bus from Havana and Matanzas. Most tourists go there on package tours.

Sights & Attractions in Varadero

Historical center of Varadero
Most of the buildings date from the 1950s onwards, when the area began to develop as a tourist destination.
Museo Municipal
Museum providing the history of Varadero. It also displays pre-Columbian Indian tools.
Parque Retiro Josone
Public park and gathering place with a small lake with row boats. It was built by José Uturrió, and named Josone as a portmanteau of his name and that of his wife Onelia.
Punta Hicacos
The northernmost tip of the Hicacos peninsula is a nature reserve where visitors and observe the wildlife in their natural habitat.
Restaurante Las Américas (Mansión Xanadú)
Villa of American industrialist Alfred I. du Pont, who developed the Hicacos peninsula between the 1920s to 1950s. The villa fell into the hands of the Cuban government after du Pont fled Cuba following the revolution. Today it houses the most elegant restaurant in Varadero.

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