Santiago de Cuba Shopping and Districts

(Santiago de Cuba, Cuba)

Given the size of Santiago de Cuba and its position as both the second city in the country and the capital of its province, visitors might expect shopping facilities to be better than they are. In fact, there is little to choose between shopping in a more isolated Cuban town, such as Baracoa, and shopping in Santiago.

As with most other Cuban destinations, except for Havana, goods available focus on local arts and handicrafts, such as carvings and musical instruments. Shopping areas tend to be scattered around the city in small squares, along 'high streets' or around local markets, rather than in one specific area downtown. In the centre of Santiago de Cuba are several department stores, and for general stores this is possibly the best place to start.

When to Shop and Where

Shops in Santiago de Cuba tend to open early, take a long lunch and stay open late. Larger stores may forego or stagger the lunch break and open later in the morning. Basically, there are two choices for shopping in the city - you can either go for the easier to navigate and slightly more expensive tourist areas, or find the plazas, markets and ethnic districts where the local Cubans shop. The latter is more fun and more rewarding, but if you've only a few days here, it can be rather time-consuming, unless you take an advertised shopping tour.

A tourist market sets up on the Calle Heredia daily, offering handicrafts such as jewellery, art works, masks, papier-maché dolls, musical instruments and wooden sculptures. For shopping where the locals shop, the Plaza de Marte is the place, being surrounded as it is by small stores selling just about everything. Popular buys in Santiago are Cuban cigars and the famous Cuban white rum, both of which might cause problems with Customs and Excise at your home airport. Local art galleries offer figurative and abstract contemporary works by Cuban artists, some of whom are becoming recognised.