Havana, Cuba

The Three Faces of Havana

Havana divides naturally into distinct historical and cultural districts, each offering a completely different atmosphere.

• Habana Vieja (Old Havana): Founded in 1519, this UNESCO World Heritage core is an open-air museum of four interconnected historic squares: Plaza Vieja, Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral, and Plaza de San Francisco. Narrow cobblestone streets echo with live son cubano, lined with restored colonial courtyards alongside weathered, lived-in tenements.
• Centro Habana: Raw, bustling, and unvarnished. It sits between Old Havana and Vedado, offering an authentic look at daily Cuban life with crowded street markets, crumbling balconies, and kids playing baseball in the alleys.
• Vedado: The former mid-century playground of mobsters and American industrialists. Wide, tree-lined boulevards are dotted with sprawling Art Deco mansions, the iconic Hotel Nacional, and Plaza de la Revolución, framed by the towering iron memorials to Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos.

Signature Havana Experiences

• Cruising in an Almendrón: Hire an open-top 1950s classic Chevrolet or Ford for an hour-long loop along the seafront from Parque Central to Miramar.
• Walking the Malecón at Golden Hour: Havana’s 8-kilometer sea wall functions as the city’s collective living room. As dusk falls, musicians, fishermen, and groups of friends gather with rum bottles against the crashing Atlantic spray.
• Fusterlandia (Jaimanitas): An eye-popping public art community on the western edge of the city, transformed by artist José Fuster into a surreal wonderland of colourful mosaic tile murals reminiscent of Antoni Gaudí.
• Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.): Housed in a decommissioned cooking oil factory in Vedado, this multi-floor cultural hub blends modern art galleries, live jazz, DJ sets, film screenings, and cocktail lounges into Havana’s premier nightlife venue.

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