Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos, founded in 1819 by French settlers and known as 'La Perla del Sur' (Pearl of the South), is the only Cuban city founded by the French rather than the Spanish, producing a distinctly neoclassical architectural character that earned it UNESCO World Heritage inscription. The Parque José Martí at the city centre is surrounded by the Teatro Terry, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and Palacio de Gobierno, representing a coherent 19th-century urban ensemble. The city faces a deep natural bay, one of the finest anchorages on the Cuban south coast.