Havana Destination Guide

The capital city of Cuba, Havana, known as the City of Columns is home to 2.2 million people. The city served as a spring board to Spain’s conquest of the Americas in the 1500s. The architecture influence is a mixture of colonialism, capitalism, and communism. The vibrant colors and flavor of Old Havana will capture your heart immediately. Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and provides a glimpse into the rich history of the city. The city is surrounded by extensive coastline and has more than 8.7 miles (14 km) of high quality beaches. Havana is an intriguing and unique city that has many sights to explore. Check out our list below for some of the must see attractions and interesting places to explore in La Habana:

Old Havana – Get lost and wander the streets of Old Havana. You will stumble upon four main plazas Plaza Vieja, San Francisco de Assisi Square, Plaza de Armas, and Plaza de la Catedral. Have your camera ready as there is so much architecture and activity on the streets that you will want to capture every moment. Many of the streets are in poor condition, so be on the lookout for holes and stray bricks while walking.

Floridita – A historic cocktail bar, famous for its daiquiris, located at the end of Calle Obispo in Old Havana. The bar was frequented by Ernest Hemingway; there is even a photo in the bar of Ernest Hemingway and Fidel Castro. It is a very touristy bar, be prepared to pay 6 CUC per drink.

La Bodeguita del Medio – The mojito was invented in Havana and some say it was created right here in this small yet lively bar. La Bodeguita del Medio is located just up the street from Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana. It has a friendly atmosphere and excellent local live music. Since the bar area is very small, many people order their mojitos and drink them in the street. There is a framed quote above the bar written by Ernest Hemingway, a former frequent customer.

Mueso de la Revolucion – The Museum of the Revolution is located in Old Havana in the former Presidential Palace. Past Cuban Presidents, including Batista lived here and it was turned into a museum following the Cuban Revolution. Most of the exhibits in the museum are written in Spanish and a few of the captions are in English. Your 8 CUC admission to the museum gives you access to the Granma Memorial behind the building. A glass enclosure holds the actual yacht, Granma, which Fidel Castro and his 79 revolutionaries used to travel from Mexico to Cuba. It is amazing that the boat made it that distance with so many people on board! You can also see the surface to air missile that was used to shoot down the Lockheed Martin U2 spy plane during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The mangled engine of the destroyed spy plane is also displayed. Travel Tip – Don’t forget to pack your own toilet paper, as you will certainly need it if you use this museums restroom (one of the dirtiest bathrooms we encountered in Cuba).

Parque Central – Central Park in Havana, picture a green space with many benches shaded by large trees. The space is actually a square rather than a large park. This is an excellent place for people watching as the park is a popular area for locals. You may stumble across the ‘Hot Corner’ (Esquina Caliente) where dozens of baseball fans gather daily to have animated and heated conversations about baseball. To a traveler that does not know about the Hot Corner, you may think you walked into a bar fight, but don’t worry there is an unwritten rule that there is no fighting in the hot corner.

Capitolio Nacional – National Capitol Building of Cuba will look very familiar to Americans, but it is actually six inches taller than the Capitol Building found in Washington DC. El Capitolio used to be the seat of government until the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Today it is home to the National Library of Science and Technology. The building still houses the world’s third largest indoor sculpture, La Estatua de la Republica.

Gran Teatro de La Habana – The Grand Theater is beautiful on both the inside and the outside. The elaborate building is located next to the El Capitolio. It is home to the Cuban National Ballet. In Cuba, ballet is just as popular as baseball and almost everyone knows the names of the principal ballerinas. The Cuban government funds ballet training and subsidizes tickets to performances. The theater has a grand concert hall, several rehearsal halls, conference rooms, and an art gallery. This is the building where President Barack Obama addressed the people of Cuba in March of 2016.

Chinatown – Chinatown in Havana has pagoda archways similar to other cities Chinatown entrances, though it is very noticeable that Havana’s Chinatown has a distinct lack of Chinese people. Many of the Chinese that established the Chinatown left Cuba after the revolution started. There is not a lot to see, but if you are in the area it is worth a photo stop!

Cementerio de Cristobal Colon – This 140 acre cemetery was named after Christopher Columbus. It is estimated that the cemetery has more than 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults. There are ornate tombstones and memorials as far as you can see. You can hire a tour guide when you visit the cemetery and we recommend that you do! They are able to explain the history of who is buried there and meaning behind their memorials. I heard one of the most beautiful love stories about the most visited grave in the whole cemetery. If you hire a tour guide, be sure to ask them about it or check out our Instagram post to read the love story.

Plaza de la Revolucion – A large historic square with colossal iron statues of Cuba’s Heroes of Independence. This is a popular tourist stop and you will find many tour buses and classic car taxis here. We visited during the set up for a political celebration, so we did not have access to walk up to the large Jose Marti Memorial. There is an elevator that leads to the top of the tower which surpassed the El Capitolio and is now the tallest building in the city.

Parque John Lennon – John Lennon Park is a public park in the Vedado district in Havana. On one of the park benches there is a sculpture of Beatles member John Lennon that was sculpted by a Cuban artist. On the marble at the foot of the bench there is an inscription written in Spanish that translates to “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I am not the only one.” The sculpture does not have Lennon’s signature round-lens glasses as they have been stolen and vandalized several times, but if you visit the statue during the day there is a security guard that will put the glasses on the statue if you ask. If you hire a classic car for a few hours ask your driver to stop here for a quick photo on the way to seeing other sights!

Almacenes San Jose Market – Built in 1885, this former harbor side warehouse was restored and opened as an artisan’s market in 2009. There are many vendors selling handmade and locally sourced crafts. Negotiating is part of the experience here and it is expected! It is a great souvenir market to purchase gifts to bring home. You may be offered cigars in the market, but to avoid counterfeits it is better to purchase them from a reputable and certified seller. See our Traveling to Cuba – What You Need To Know Guide (link at bottom of the page) for more details on buying cigars in Cuba.

Casa Natal De Jose Marti – The house where Jose Marti was born is hard to find, but located in the southern part of Havana Vieja near the train station. There is a 3 CUC charge per person. Most of the information inside the home is written in Spanish, but there are guides that can provide more details for the information that you are viewing.

Hotel Nacional – The prestigious and historic Hotel Nacional is worth a visit while in Cuba, even if you are not staying here! A walk through the lobby is like walking back in time to a luxury hotel from the 1950s. The hotel opened in 1930 and was a prime travel destination for many writers, actors, athletes and other important guests. You can walk straight through the lobby and outside on the expansive veranda overlooking the water. There is plenty of seating and a bar if you would like to have a drink and watch waves splash onto the sidewalk of the Malecón. The grounds are large and it is worth exploring the Missile Crisis Museum which has a detailed history written in English and many underground tunnels that go all around the hotel’s property. After exploring the tunnels of the museum, you may even stumble across some of the hotel’s peacocks that roam the grounds. It is also important to note that the hotel has clean restrooms and a money exchange counter. When you are done exploring the museum there are usually many taxis or coco taxis available and ready to take you anywhere else in the city!

Malecón – The Malecón is a boulevard, roadway, and seawall that stretches for 8km along the coast in Havana. The roadway starts at the Havana Harbor in Old Havana and follows the water through Central Havana to end in the Vedado neighborhood. There are many sights along the Malecón including a memorial for the USS Maine, the Hotel Nacional, and the United States Embassy. Be careful when walking along the sidewalk as the waves can be quite high. Even though there is a seawall, we saw several people get soaked from a wave that crashed over the sidewalk and onto the road.

Casa Fuster – Fusterlandia is the home and studio of Cuban artist, Jose Rodriguez Fuster. The house is located on the northwestern edge of Havana in Jaimanitas. It is a quirky place to explore and take interesting photos.

Casablanca – A neighborhood of the city that is easily accessed by ferry. The ferry runs back and forth for most of the day and night. It is an efficient and affordable way to cross the water and see the sights that are opposite of Old Havana. The ferry costs 1CUC per person. We arrived in Casablanca as the sun was setting and quickly realized that there were no street lights, so our cell phone flashlights came in handy to avoid tripping in potholes or on the uneven sidewalks.

El Cristo de La Habana – The Christ of Havana sculpture is on a hilltop overlooking the bay of Havana in the Casablanca neighborhood. The statue is 66 ft (20 m) high and weighs approximately 320 tons. The sculpture was completed on December 24, 1958. One week later Batista fled Cuba taking millions of dollars with him. It is said that Batista had the Christ sculpture created to look over the people of Cuba since he knew he would flee the country. One week after Batista left the country, Fidel Castro entered Havana during the Cuban Revolution.

San Carlos de la Cabana Fortress – Located close to the Christ sculpture in Casablanca is a large fortress and the building that Che Guevara used as a headquarters. This is a great area to visit for amazing photos of Old Havana. Access to the fortress costs 8 CUC per person, but it provides access to much more than the fortress. There are several vendors and restaurants inside the fortress, with extremely reasonably priced cervasas (1 CUC). There are also many rooms filled with artifacts and information about Cuba’s history. Every night a cannon is fired at 9pm which is a custom that was kept from colonial times that signaled the closure of the gates of the city walls. We went to the cannon firing and were surprised to see the large turnout of people that gathered to watch the cannon. The soldiers dress in traditional colonial uniforms and there is a lot of build up to the single cannon firing. If forts and cannons are your thing then check this out, if not we recommend bar hopping and exploring Old Havana as an alternative activity.

Los Tres Reyes del Morro Castle – Also known simply as Morro Castle. The Morro Castle is a fortress that was built to guard the entrance to the Havana Bay. It shares a name with the Del Morro, a fortress in Santiago de Cuba. In Spanish, Morro means a rock which is very visible from sea, which helps make it a navigational landmark. You can reach Morro Castle from Old Havana by taking a ferry from Old Havana to Casa Blanca (1 CUC per person) or hire a classic American taxi to take you through the tunnel under the bay from Old Havana.

Tropicana Cabaret – Some travelers go to Cuba and need to see a show at the Tropicana Cabaret. If you want to plan to see a show, be prepared to pay anywhere from 70-130 CUC per ticket. The Tropicana is a unique venue with glamourous costumes, live music and dancing. We decided to explore Old Havana and stumble upon an authentic Cuban evening without the high price tag of the Tropicana, but it is a great option for those that can’t miss it!

Playas Del Este – A clean and sandy beach that is easy to access with a short taxi ride from the center of Havana. It is an idyllic beach and great to take some time to relax away from the city.

There are so many attractions and interesting places to visit in Havana that it is easy to fill several days of activities in the city. We spent just about 2 days in Havana and we could have easily filled another 2 days with Havana exploring. We hope our list helps ease your planning when visiting Havana.

Visit our Traveling to Cuba – What You Need to Know Guide for more tips on traveling to Cuba! Or check out Cienfuegos Destination Guide and Sanitago de Cuba Destination Guide for more great Cuban destinations!