It was founded in 1515 under the name of Santa Maria del Puerto del Principe.

The colonial architecture is present in its fenced houses with tile roofs, big gates, inside yards, squares, churches and alleys, all pervaded with the fights for independence against the Spanish colonialism during the 19th Century.

This region, mostly plain, is about 16 thousand square kilometers long, lots of which are beach areas, which is extremely good to develop tourism in the Province. There is one 20 km beach called Santa Lucía in the north coast which is a paradise on earth, very quiet where silence is only broken by the shouts of seagulls and flamingoes. In font of its coast we will find the biggest coral formation of Cuba, with 36 km long, that protects the coast from the violent currents of the Bahamas Old Canal, and is an excellent place for diving.

The visitors will be able to count on specialized equipment and devices in two diving centers and a marine that invite to meet the great Caribbean blue in fishing, day and night immersions in submerged ships and spectacular shark show. And for the sea sports lovers we offer aqua bikes, REMO boats, sail boats and trips in catamaran. In the islets grouped in Jardines de la Reina archipelago in the South and in part of the so called Sabana-Camaguey, in the North, the visitors will find great virgin beaches and abundant nature.