Orientation
History
Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Entertainment
Getting Around
Lonely Planet Guide
Travelers' Reports on Cuba
On-line Info
 Orientation
Havana is built around a harbor in western Cuba, 170km southwest of Key West, Florida. Old (Colonial) Havana sits on the west side of the harbor, spilling west into the lively Vedado hotel and entertainment district. A tunnel links Old Havana to the East Havana and its endless highrise flats. The bulk of Havana's working-class population lives in industrial areas to the south of the town, extending as far as the international airport 25km to the southwest.
 History
Havana was established at its present harbor mouth location in 1519 after a couple of failed attempts on nearby swampy land squelched into insignificance. The town's remoteness made it an unpopular choice for Cuba's administrative centre, but it was a perfect gathering point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Havana became the front door to the vast Spanish colonial empire and in 1607 the capital of Cuba was officially moved here. When Spain became embroiled in the Seven Day War between Britain and France in 1762 Britain celebrated by seizing Havana, hanging onto it for 11 months and then exchanging it for Florida. The reclaimed Havana was then turned into the most strongly fortified city in the New World. It was also allowed to trade freely, developing and growing steadily through the 18th and 19th centuries. The city was physically untouched by the devastating wars of independence in the latter half of the 18th century making Havana easily the finest surviving Spanish complex in the Americas.
Nearly 100 homes were destroyed in Old Havanna when Hurricane Georges rolled through the country in September 1998. Luckily, few people suffered injuries and the city fared much better than the storm-battered eastern half of the island.
Old Havana
Old Havana (La Habana Vieja) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, kicking along a restoration process which had begun two decades earlier in the wake of the revolution. Many of Havana's finest buildings have been converted into museums and there are enough churches, palaces, castles, revolutionary monuments and markets here to sate the most ravenous culture vulture. The renovations haven't extended to residential areas, however. Nearly half the housing in the city is in bad repair - about 300 buildings collapse each year - and thousands of city residents have had to be evacuated.
Unmissable sights include the Plaza de la Catedral, one of the most beautiful squares in the city. On weekends the square fills with lively handicraft markets, torpid tourists and street-sweepers who turn their task into a ceremony. The unequal towers of the Catedral de San Christóbal de La Habana dominate the square. Nearby is the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the oldest extant colonial fortress in the Americas. The west tower is crowned by a bronze weathervane dating back to 1632. La Giraldilla (as the nimble-figured wind-spinner is known) is believed to be Doña Inés de Bobadilla, waiting futilely for her husband, the explorer Hernando de Soto, who set off to Florida on a quest for the Fountain of Youth and was eaten by cannibals.
 Handicraft market, Plaza de la Catedral (18K)
The Royal Palm-studded Plaza de Armas has been the seat of authority and power in Cuba for 400 years. There's a large secondhand book market here on weekends. The imposing Palacio de los Capitanes Generales on the west side of the square is one of Cuba's most majestic buildings. It has served as Spanish commander's residence, US military governor's residence, presidential palace, city hall and now as the City Museum. Calle Obispo runs off Plaza de Armas and was one of Hemingway's hangouts; today it's a pedestrian-only throughway filled with frivolous fashion stores and alfresco cafés.
Hotels in Old Havana range from the grand to the grungy. Prado, the 19th-century meeting place of Havana society, is now a strip of lovingly restored hotels and scurf-infested apartments, laurels, marble benches and habaneros genially begging for soap. Private rooms of varying standards are available in the area - have a look before you commit yourself. As well as the state-run restaurants, there are a lot of paladares (private restaurants of 12 seats or less) in Old Havana.
You blooming beauty! (12K)
Central Havana
Before the Revolution this neighborhood was the city's red-light district, but today it is more a pale pastel - an area of badly rutted streets, near-feral dogs and clapped-out cars rusting away at the curbside. Most visitors tend to give the area a wide berth, preferring instead the jazzed-up comforts of Vedado or the iconic landmarks of Old Havana, but there's plenty to see in the centre. The monumental Capitolio Nacional dominates the area. Similar to the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, but richer in detail, it was the seat of the Cuban Congress until 1959 and now houses the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Science and Technology. One of Havana's oldest cigar factories is along the west side of the Capitolio; some 400 workers handroll cigars here and it's possible to take a tour. A stroll by the Malecón, the seawall skirting Central Havana's northern boundary is pleasant. Havana's Chinatown is in the area and open-air barbers and ad hoc markets all contribute to the lively atmosphere.
Vedado
At the turn of the century Havana's American community established itself in Vedado along the Miami model of high-rolling sleaze. Mafia notables such as Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lanski made the area a popular destination for US tourists attracted to an adult playground featuring cheap sex, liquor and gambling.Vedado was America's seedy sandbox until 1959 when Fidel Castro set up headquarters smack bang in the middle of the wheeling and dealing and things got considerably less colorful.
Today Vedado is an active, bustling residential area, with some worthwhile attractions. The Plaza de la Revolución is a sprawling, eerily empty square used for mass demonstrations. President Castro and other leaders have addressed hundreds of thousands of assembled Cubans from the podium in front of the 142m high Memorial José Martí. Coppelia, the hugely popular ice-cream parlor and setting for much of the film Strawberry and Chocolate, is further north, as are two sumptuous hotels: the old-world Nacional de Cuba Hotel and the splashy Riviera. Both hotels were the Mafia's legacy to Cuban tourism, built with mob money because they included casinos.
Getting ready to cruise (17K)
The Cristóbal de Colón is Havana's main cemetery. Okay, it's not so lively but it has an outstanding collection of funerary architecture, and includes a portico, crowned by a white triptych, that is considered to be one of the finest in Latin America. There are about 800,000 residents keeping the worms happy, including independence leaders and revolutionary martyrs.
Miramar
Miramar is a prestigious residential neighborhood west of Vedado across the Río Almendares. The scene is set by wide avenues occupied by embassies, expensive shops, lavishly restored mansions and the odd abandoned villa thrown in for revolutionary balance. Streams of late-model, mirror-buffed cars cruise the streets while Miami Vice lookalikes gather on the pavement.
Covetous eyes focus on the posh La Maison, an old mansion where you can buy ready-to-wear fashion as well as jewellery, handicrafts and cosmetics. You can't miss it - just look for the fulanos (Cubans with dollars) wielding mobile phones and Raybans. The Museo del Ministerio de Interior nearby is a must for anyone interested in the Cold War antics between Cuba and the USA. Inside is a delightful grabbag of devilish plots (deodorants used as silencers, exploding cigars, soap dishes filled with plastic explosive and the like) designed to assassinate Castro.
The Marina Hemingway, an enormous residential resort, is further west. Each May the marina hosts the Ernest Hemingway International Marlin Fishing Tournament, guaranteed to turn young bucks into old men of the sea.
The old town of Regla, just across the harbor from Old Havana, is a centre of Afro-Cuban religions, including the all-male secret society Abakúa. Several famous babalawo (santería priests) reside in Regla and they'll happily give you advice (in Spanish). You'll probably be presented with protective beads, in which case it's customary to leave a donation.The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla is notable for its Black Madonna. She is associated with Yemayá, the spirit of the ocean, and patroness of sailors. Ferries depart every 10 minutes for Regla from Old Havana.
Is school this much fun in Cuba? (19K)
San Francisco de Paula
Just 15km southeast of central Havana is the villa where Hemingway lived for about 20 years. Finca la Vigía, his white-washed house, has now been preserved as the Museo Hemingway but unfortunately, you're not allowed inside. You can, however, see a lot by peeking through the open windows (notice the reading material in the toilet), count the gravestones of his pet dogs and walk around the lovely grounds with its acres of high grass - no doubt hiding caches of empty rum bottles. Sitting outside the house is El Pilar, Hemingway's much-loved fishing boat.
Lenin's supplicants (15K)
Havana sizzles by night. The weekly Cartelera entertainment newspaper is stuffed with cinema and theatre programs, and listings of galleries, bars, nightclubs and cultural events. Much of the cinema is in English and foreign theatre groups often appear at the Teatro Nacional de Cuba. The Teatro Nacional is also a regular venue of the National Symphony Orchestra and there's a good cafe here which is open all night for disco dancing and live salsa music.
If you'd rather do the crawl, Old Havana and Vedado are a wash of bars and nightclubs. There are atmospheric hideaways and plush cabarets on almost every street, but there are a few joints to keep your eye out for. La Bodeguita del Medio off the Plaza de la Catedral is Havana's most celebrated bar. Since Hemingway bent his elbow here, La Bodeguita has become de rigeur, and Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole have all left their autographs on the wall. El Floridita, another Hemingway hangout, is on the tour-bus circuit but this is where frozen daiquiris were invented in the 1920s so you might like to pay your respects. The best and biggest nightclub in Havana is the Tropicana. Each night, more than 200 stillettoed and scantily-clad beauties put on enormous headdresses and take to the stage. The showstopper is the preposterous Dance of the Chandeliers, where a train of dancers, sporting illuminated lamps on their heads, appears on stage linked together by electrical cords.
Dressing up in Havana isn't only about getting into the spirit of things, it's often about getting in the front door. At all the cabarets and many of the nightclubs minimum dress requirements are strictly enforced. This means definitely no shorts or t-shirts, and preferably pants other than jeans.
 Getting Around
José Martí International Airport is at Rancho Boyeros, 25km (16mi) southwest of Havana. Taxis and buses will take you into the capital.
Getting around greater Havana by train is definitely the way to go. The Estanción Cristina, located a few kilometers southwest of central Havana, handles all train traffic within the metropolitan area.
Guaguas (city buses) are sometimes called aspirinas, indicating that their rare appearances relieve the pain of long waits in lengthy lines. Shortages of fuel and spare parts have taken many buses out of service and are largely to blame for the delays.
 Travelers' Reports
- Take the subWWWay to Cuba
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Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Entertainment
Lonely Planet Guide
On-line Info
