A little overwhelmed by passing traffic, this landmark square is the cultural hub of Matanzas, with the Matanzas Provincial Museum on one corner and the magnificent, neoclassical Sauto Theater taking up a whole side. In the middle of the square is the marble statue of an anonymous independence fighter known as El Soldado Desconocido (The Unknown Soldier). A couple of cafés face the theater and there's a modern art gallery to browse.

Known as the Creole Venice for the high number of bridges that set it apart, the City of Matanzas is located on a beautiful bay, beside the Yumuri and San Juan Rivers. Matanzas, a prosperous city, was founded in 1693 and which some call the Athens of Cuba, in reference to its many poets. Monumental buildings of neoclassical features are a proof of the boom that this quiet city has experienced beginning in late 18th century. Matanzas grew around a large bay, well protected by a solid network of fortresses the most important of which can still be visited and admired today. Parque Libertad is the main town square which is home to some valuable historic buildings. 

Canimar River is a Natural Park and a river, one of the deepest in Cuba, where you can sail and enjoy the exuberant vegetation and the rich fauna of the cliffs around it. The park invites visitors to enjoy its peaceful natural beauty with horse or boat rides or fishing and snorkeling excursions. The river flows into the bay of Matanzas next to the Morrillo Castle, built in 1720.

This distinctive, slate-blue building was built in 1838 for the wealthy del Junco family and since 1980 has housed a collection of artifacts, photographs, memorabilia and tools—some of them gruesome—chronicling the sugar and slave industries, on which the city's wealth was built.