If this is your first vacation in Havana, go straight to the beautifully restored Old Havana (La Habana Vieja). Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, much of this area returns with love to its former greatness. This is a colonial miracle, a riot of color and full atmosphere, an unusual combination of architectural styles, infinitely fascinating.
This area is a treasure for walks, and together with Vedado is the busiest part of the city during the day. It boasts four magnificent squares of the 16th century. Check out the sleeping Plaza Vieja (right). The area has many museums and galleries, and many of the most impressive sights of Havana.
The impressive craft market, Fria de la Artesana, right behind Iglesia de Paula on Calle San Pedro, is not to be missed. He sells every Cuban craft imaginable, equipped with CADECA, fruit juice makers, kiosks and a fresh seating area where you can relax with a drink and enjoy the view of the port (note, however, that it closes on Mondays).
Drop the main resistance, take Obispo, and you will see an identical different side of the Old City: a well-established residential area, in which about 70,000 people live. Take a coffee break at Cafe El Escorial on Piazza Vieja. Alternatively, avoid the tourists and head to La Barrita, the impressive Art Deco Bacardi building on Avenida de los Misiones. At Parque Central, the busy main square, watch the world go by the veranda at the Hotel Inglaterra. Pop into a small cafe in the hotel Telgrafo, a quiet escape with a cascading fountain flowing through a colorful mosaic. Or enjoy one of the best Mojito in Havana at the NH. For culture, visit the Bellas Art Museum, Havana, the magnificent International Art Museum, not far from Central Park and just a few meters from Calle Obispo. Pop out to visit the room at the Ambos Mundos Hotel, where Ernest Hemingway wrote some of his world famous literary works, getting up at his desk.
Visit the colorful, unusual Arte Corte, a hair salon that duplicates the museum gallery. It has a fine assortment of antiques and several interesting paintings by Cuban artists, including several owners, Pepito. Calle Aguiar # 10, between Peno-Pobre and Avenida de las Misiones.
If everyone wandering around is ignited by your appetite, now the best restaurant in the area for lunch is Caf del Oriente. This is a pleasant, well-conditioned oasis with a chic interior and service to match. Calle Oficios # 112, corner of Calle Amargur. Phone 860 6686.
A walk along the embankment in the 8-kilometer harbor of Havana is today the most favorite meeting place of the city. Overlooking the expanse of water that separates Cuba from Florida, the famous stretch is a place for dreamers, lovers and friends. This is the spiritual heart of the city and the nerve center of its social life, a non-stop phenomenon. On most nights, it is filled with people taking in the soft sea air; during the day this is the place to pause. One of the best views of Malecn is from the elegant garden on the terrace of the Hotel Nacional.
If you enjoy an impressive panoramic view, check out La Torre. The view from the 33rd floor of the highest residential building in Havana is breathtaking. What makes it so special is that you can walk right around the building, from the bar through the restaurant and enjoy the 360-degree view of the bay and the city. Edificio FOCSA, calle 17, angle calle M, Vedado. Phone 832 2451.
The district itself, Vedado, is perhaps the most fascinating in Havana. No vacation in Havana will be complete without visiting it. It is funky, diverse and alternative. You could easily miss the charms of its brightest avenue, Avenida 23, aka La Rampa, if you see only a rather gloomy lower end, stretching from Malekn to the picturesque Yara cinema. Located on the largest cosmopolitan junction of the city, Yara is a cultural institution in Havana.
The heart of La Rampa begins to beat west of Yara. Here, and on the streets not far from it, you will find relatively few tourists - a pleasant change from other parts of the city. The general atmosphere is the dizziness of the 1970s. Of the mulatto, dressed in white (representatives of the Afro-Caribbean religion of Santer), to the reggate hastlers with their massive sunglasses, this area is a cornucopia of color and personality. Watch the world go by with the locals at the popular sidewalk bar, La Rampita.
On the hottest days, Havana can feel like a pressure cooker. So instead of suffering in the dead center of heat, go to the beach. The best beaches of Havana are Tropicoco (also known as Santa Mara del Mar) and nearby Megano. They are located about 20 km east of the city in the area of Playas Del Este (eastern beaches).
The area is very popular with locals and visitors for its turquoise Atlantic waters and its friendly, chilled atmosphere. Tropicoco is all the more crowded with tourists. Megano is much calmer, with fewer people. At the Tropicoco Club Nautico branch office, you can rent snorkeling equipment, pedal and banana boats, canoes and catamarans.
The charm of this area lies in the fact that it is still not reliably developed, except for the seemingly random cluster of villas, harsh Soviet-style hotels and cheap hotels. fun eateries. Just a few yards along the coastline, and you will always find your own little sandy solitude.
It is 30 minutes by taxi from the city center. Pay no more than 20CUC and agree with the tariff in advance. A special tourist bus service runs every 30 minutes from 9 am to 7 pm daily. It stops directly in front of the Hotel Inglaterra at Parque Central and takes passengers to Megano (there is a choice of three stops on the beaches, the first being Tropicoko). Return ticket costs 3CUC. Children under six are free.
Located in the dusty Center-Havana, it is the spiritual home of Afro-Cuban culture in the capital. This small pedestrian street, where it is located on every Sunday, from noon until 15:00. The feverish live music concerts provided by the leading rumba bands for free are becoming increasingly popular. The event brings together huge crowds, and all-in-white converts to the Afro-Cuban (Santera) religion add an exotic splash of color. The area itself is quaint and alternative - a project of urban art with brightly painted houses, attractive street frescoes, strange and beautiful shops and colorful sculptures made of scrap metal. See the beautifully painted apartment opposite the entrance. Calle San Lazaro, between calls the hospital and Aramburu.
Just five minutes walk from Central Park, Havana - the dome of the Capitol Nacional - a copy of the Capitol in Washington. This is the most extravagant and additional building in Havana. Possessing marble and gold, it was completed in 1929 by a construction crew of 5,000 people after more than three years. work controlled by Cuban dictator Gerardo Machado. The 11-meter bronze statue of the Republic is the third largest statue in the world. At his feet is a diamond, which marks a kilometer zero, from which distances along the highway from Havana to other parts of Cuba are measured. Reception 3CUC. Corner Calle Industry and Calle Barcelona , La Havana Vieja.
Havana’s richest suburb, Miramar, provides a fascinating look at how up Habaneros live. Fifth Avenue is the most beautiful (albeit road-filled) city, and the parallel Third Avenue is attractive for its peaceful, cozy neighborhood and the relative lack of tourists. One of the most popular resorts for the growing middle class in Havana is the Centro de Negocios in Miramar.
Mixed office buildings and a shopping center, interspersed with outdoor tile paths, along with one of the five five-star hotels in Havana, Mela-Havana, is a very pleasant area to stay away from the hotel. Among the amenities there are four cafes / restaurants (all are called “Amelia”), a cool new wine bar called “Halo”, a supermarket, a pharmacy, several boutiques and shops selling clothes, shoes, sports equipment and jewelry. Around the corner in the smaller Center of Comodoro, the focus is on clothing, as well as perfume and jewelry.
The large swimming pool and salt bathing area at the Copacabana Hotel in Miramar is a well-preserved secret. On weekdays it’s pleasantly quiet, usually just a handful of tourists and their Cuban friends and / or lovers. On weekends, he was packed with Cubans and hotel guests.
Reception for non-residents - 10CUC. You get 8CUC credit, which you spend at the pool bar for a meal and / or drink. First Avenue, between Calla 44 and Kali 46, Miramar.
The University of Havana is a beautiful, shadowy dream of a place that hangs imperiously above the low streets below. Its territory is surprisingly overlooked by tourists, and everything is better for them. The library consists of a number of rooms. The main library, Rubn Martnez Villena, dates from 1936. It is a quaint place with long chocolate-brown reading tables and colored tiled floors.
Sit some time by the window on a very hot day. Feel the wind, and the hissing of leaves, and you most likely wish you to be a student again. (Just don’t ruin the experience using pretty decent toilets!). Calle O, between Avenida 23 and Calle 25, Vedo.
Plaza de la Revolucine is the political center of Cuba. The best time to see this vibrant, impressive place — at night, when its brightest feature — the two bronze silhouettes of the revolutionary icons of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos — is impressively illuminated. Another important attraction is the Memorial and Museum of Jos Martha, a tribute to the revolutionary of Cuba. The northwest side of the Plaza is the home of the National Theater National Theater, Cuba. In the same building is one of the most favorite residential music centers of the city Caf Cantante Mi Habana. Corner Avenidas Paseo and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Vedado.
What happened to Castro, the largest Asian community in Latin America, is now reduced to a small hand of streets in Central Havana. This is El Barrio Chino: Chinatown. This is very ridiculous, and only a few minutes. walk from the center of Paris. Chinese lovers should visit the Tien-Tan restaurant on Cuchillo pedestrian street, probably the best Asian restaurant in the area. And, if you have a particularly sweet tooth, call dulcera on the corner of viburnum San Nichols and Kalle Zanja (Dragons) to sample some of the most delicious cakes in Havana.
