Trinidad

Trinidad needs 2 days: walking its cobblestone streets and pastel-colored mansions around the Plaza Mayor, on one, an excursion to the Valle de los Ingenios, a former sugar epicenter with slave watchtowers, on the other. November-April is best. It's inexpensive by Cuban standards. Founded in 1514, its historic center practically frozen since the 19th century -with almost no modern construction- earned it UNESCO World Heritage status, and it is, along with Old Havana, Cuba's best-preserved colonial city.