• Submitted by: admin
• Editorial Articles
• Travel and Tourism
• Destinations
• History
• 07 / 14 / 2007

---

Located in the northern part of the country, at the Hicacos peninsula in the western province of Matanzas, Varadero has been traditionally considered after Havana, the most significant tourist destination in the island.

Its foundation as city dates from the end of the year 1887 when ten families settled there and it became a restful spot for wealthy families of Cardenas as well as for some magnates in the first decades of the last century. Even Al Capone or the American millionaire Irenee Du Pont ordered to build great residences. Dupont also ordered to build the famous Xanadu Mansion in 1931, a golf field of 18 holes; the first one in the island and after several restoration works became the present Golf Club of Varadero that covers an area of 61.0 hectares, which has been chosen as venue of two finals of the European Challenge Tour.

One of its attractive mansions is that located at Josone Park (name composed of the initial letters of the names Jose and Onelia) whose story dates from the 30s when the manager of the Arechaval Rum factory at that time the Basque businessman Jose Fermin Iturrioz Michelena bought the plot of land surrounded by a lake. The first house was built at a neoclassical style for Iturrioz family. Every year 500 000 tourists visit this park the today offers different attractions and specialized restaurants. In addition, the tunnel built underneath the avenue that goes to the beach is still kept and today links the park with the International Diving Center.

Varadero began to develop as resort in the 40s. Its famous mansions, its 22 kilometers of crystalline waters and fine sand as well as the beauty of its nature almost virgin made of this destination one of the most requested and visited spots.

This resort provides a great hotel chain from the emblematic International Hotel that opened its doors in the year 1950 to the most recently hotel built, that has experienced an extraordinary growth together with the diversification and qualification of its tourist product.

Apart from the beach, tourists can enjoy diving in the second biggest coral reef in the world, visiting Cienaga de Zapata, the crocodile farms, exploring some caves of the site and bathing in the Ecological Beach where visitors can see the Patriarca, which is the endemic cactus of Cuba of 600 years that grows at the seashore. There we can find also the greatest salt mine of Latin America that supplied Cuba and the Spanish fleet with salt at the time of colonization

Although Varadero is a tourist area, visitors can share with Cuban people, in contrast to other new tourist destinations like Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo where there are not Cubans living there. Varadero continuing being a municipality of Matanzas province completely dwelled by Cubans.

Visitors can access by road from the capital (130 kilometers) and offers the services of the international airport Juan Gualberto Gomez located on the road linking Matanzas city and Varadero.