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Convento de San Francisco
The mid-18th-century Convento de San Francisco no longer serves its original purpose as a convent. In 1825, Venezuela’s first college was opened here. Today, the building accommodates the offices of the Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos. You can enter its spacious cou
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Flor de Venezuela aka Flor de Hannover
This was the nation’s contribution to the World Expo in Hannover, Germany in 2000. Created by local architect Fruto Vivas, the three-story glass-and-iron structure has 10m ‘petals’ – when the hydraulics open the flower, it’s 39m in diameter – more impressive at night when bathed in
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Casa Museo Santiago Mariño
The Casa Museo Santiago Mariño is the house where its namesake hero of the War of Independence was born in 1788. The sizable country mansion has been painstakingly reconstructed and fitted with vintage furniture and well-displayed period memorabilia. Look for the effeminate paintin
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Complejo Cultural Teresa Carreño
Rising like a gigantic concrete bunker across the street from Parque Central (and linked to it by a footbridge), the Complejo Cultural Teresa Carreño is a modern performing arts center. Opened in 1983, it has an enormous main auditorium, theater and side hall that regularly host co
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Panteón Nacional
The entire central nave of the imposing National Pantheon is dedicated to national hero Simón Bolívar, underlining the almost saint-like reverence with which he is held in Venezuela. His bronze sarcophagus is placed in the chancel, and the path to reach his tomb is covered by a cei
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Parque Nacional Laguna de la Restinga
This national park covers the lagoon and a large mass of mangroves riddled with narrow, labyrinthine channels at its western end. This is a habitat for dolphins, turtles and over 100 species of bird, including pelicans, cormorants and scarlet ibises, not to mention the park’s pride
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Parque La Llovizna
The 160-hectare Parque La Llovizna is on the eastern side of the Río Caroní. It has 26 wooded islands carved by thin water channels and linked by 36 footbridges. The 20m-high Salto La Llovizna kicks up the namesake llovizna (drizzle) of the park and waterfall. Enter the park from A
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Basílica Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Coromoto
The most important religious monument is the Basílica Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Coromoto . It was constructed from 1710 to 1742, but the 1782 earthquake almost completely destroyed it. The holy image of the Virgin, which had been kept inside, was saved and returned to the recon
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Museo Aeronáutico
This is the only aeronautical museum in the country and well worth a look. There are about 40 aircraft on display, including four helicopters. Many are warplanes from the 1920s to the 1950s that once served in the Venezuelan air force. The collection’s gem has to be a beautifully r
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Hacienda La Victoria/Museo de Café
Just outside of Mérida and accessible by buseta is the Hacienda La Victoria/Museo de Café , an old coffee plantation in the town of Santa Cruz de Moro. It features original 18th-century British harvesting and milling equipment and a tasty cafe. It also houses the small Museum of Im
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Fundacion Proyecto AVE
A collaborative effort of photographers, graphic designers, biologists and scientists promoting ecotourism in Venezuela. Through its image bank, audiovisual library of wildlife, eco-store and online magazine, it seeks to educate nationals and visitors about the abundant flora and f
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Casa Ramos Sucre
Casa Ramos Sucre is dedicated to a local poet, José Antonio Ramos Sucre, born here in 1890. Sucre’s poetry was well ahead of his time, and it was only in the 1960s that his verses attracted the attention of scholars, publishers and finally readers. Long before that, he committed su
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Santuario de Madre María de San José
This saintly sanctuary, one block east of Plaza Girardot, is the most revered city site. Choroní-born Madre María (1875–1967) was beatified by papal decree in 1995. Her remains were exhumed and, to everybody’s shock, the corpse was allegedly intact. You can see her diminutive body
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Cueva del Guácharo
Venezuela’s longest and most magnificent cave is 12km from Caripe on the road toward the coast. Alexander von Humboldt, the eminent scientist, penetrated 472m into the grotto in September 1799, and it was he who first classified its namesake inhabitant, the guácharo, or oilbird. To
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Teleférico
Mérida’s famed teleférico, the world’s highest and longest cable-car system, has been being rebuilt for years, with the government promising a series of ever-pushed back reopening dates. When in service, the teleférico runs 12.5km from the bottom station of Barinitas (1577m) in Mér
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El Valle del Espíritu Santo
Commonly called El Valle (the Valley), this small town is Margaritas spiritual capital, home to the islands patroness, the miraculous Virgen del Valle. Her image, kept in the mock-Gothic church on the plaza, draws pilgrims from all around eastern Venezuela year-round - particularly
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Museo Nueva Cádiz
On the northern side of the plaza is the Museo Nueva Cádiz , named after the first Spanish town in South America, which was established around 1500 on Isla Cubagua, south of Margarita. An earthquake in 1541 completely destroyed the town. The museum displays a small collection of ex
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Museo de Barquisimeto
The Museo de Barquisimeto in an imposing historical building with a rectangular courtyard centered on a chapel. It was built in the 1910s as a hospital, and later authorities decided to demolish it to make way for modern buildings. Thanks to public protests, though, it was restored
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Casa de la Cultura
On Barinas main plaza is the colonial-style Casa de la Cultura , built in the 1780s as the town hall and jail. José Antonio Páez, a republican hero, was imprisoned here but managed to escape, liberating 115 of his fellow prisoners in the process. The building was the town jail unti
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Parque Nacional El Ávila
The national park stretches along about 90km of Cordillera El Ávila, which forms a natural east–west wall between the city and the sea. A remarkable diversity of wildlife inhabits the park’s varied ecosystems, which range from dry-season forest to subtundra. Birdwatchers will find
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