Calle Mercaderes

Havana

　　Cobbled, car-free Calle Mercaderes (Merchant's Street) has been extensively restored by the Office of the City Historian and is an almost complete replica of itself at its splendid 18th-century high-water mark. Interspersed with the museums, shops and restaurants are some working social projects, such as a maternity home and a...

Estatua de Cristo

Havana

　　This impossible-to-miss statue on a rise on the harbor's eastern side was created by Jilma Madera in 1958. It was promised to President Batista by his wife after the US-backed leader survived an attempt on his life in the Presidential Palace in March 1957, and was (ironically) unveiled on Christmas...

Hotel Nacional

Havana

　　Far more than just a hotel, the Nacional, built in 1930 as a copy of the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, is a national monument and one of Havana's architectural emblems. Even if you're not staying here, reserve time to admire the Moorish lobby, stroll the breezy grounds and...

Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín

Havana

　　Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín is an old studio and now a museum for the work of the great Ecuadorian artist, who painted Fidel Castro in numerous poses. The upper floor of the house has frescoes thought to have been painted by 18th-century Cuban religious artist José Nicolás de la Escalera. ...

Museo del Tabaco

Havana

　　At Museo del Tabaco you can see various indigenous pipes and idols and buy some splendid smokes. ...

Catedral de la Habana

Havana

　　Described by novelist Alejo Carpentier as 'music set in stone,' Havana's incredible cathedral, dominated by two unequal towers and framed by a theatrical baroque facade, was designed by Italian architect Francesco Borromini. Construction of the church was begun by Jesuits in 1748 and work continued despite their expulsion in 1767....

Plaza de San Francisco de Asís

Havana

　　Facing Havana harbor, the breezy Plaza de San Francisco de Asís first grew up in the 16th century when Spanish galleons stopped quayside on their passage from the Caribbean to Spain. A market took root in the 1500s, followed by a church in 1608, though when the monks complained of...

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla

Havana

　　As important as it is diminutive, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla, which sits close to the dock in Regla, has a long and colorful history. Inside on the main altar you'll find La Santísima Virgen de Regla. 　　The Virgin, represented by a black Madonna, is venerated in the Catholic...

Plazuela de Santo Ángel

Havana

　　This lovely, intimate plaza behind the Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio has benefited from a recent beautification project that has installed several private restaurants, along with a statue of the fictional heroine Cecilia Valdés, who is watched over by a bust of the author who created her, Cirilo Villaverde. ...

Tropicana Nightclub

Havana

　　An institution since its 1939 opening, the world-famous Tropicana was among the few bastions of Havana's Las Vegas–style nightlife to survive the revolution. Immortalized in Graham Greene's 1958 Our Man in Havana, the open-air cabaret show here has changed little since its 1950s heyday, with scantily clad señoritas descending from...

Azúcar Lounge

Havana

　　From a 2nd-floor balcony, high above the architectural beauty contest that is Plaza Vieja, there’s no better place in Cuba to savor a piña colada than Azúcar. With its lounge-y seating, trance-y music and Ikea-meets-avant-garde decor, this is an unashamedly trendy place to hang out, but it never feels exclusive....

Doña Eutimia

Havana

　　The secret at Doña Eutimia is that there is no secret: just serve decent-size portions of the best Cuban food. Expect the likes of ropa vieja (shredded beef; there's also an interesting lamb version), epic picadillo a la habanera (spicy beef), glorious lechón asado (roast pork) and beautifully rustic roast...

San Cristóbal

Havana

　　San Cristóbal was knocking out fine food long before the US president dropped by in March 2016, although the publicity attending Barack Obama's visit probably didn't hurt. Crammed into one of Centro Habana's grubbier streets, the restaurant has a museum-worthy interior crowded with old photos, animal hides, and a Santería...

El Rum Rum de la Habana

Havana

　　Not every restaurant has a wine sommelier and a cigar sommelier, but this is Havana, and El Rum Rum (the name references both the drink and Cuban slang for ‘gossip’) can put you straight on every area of consumption. Everything is outstanding here, from the delicate seafood to the concert-worthy...

Cabaret Parisién

Havana

　　One rung down from Marianao's world-famous Tropicana, but cheaper and closer to the city center, the nightly Cabaret Parisién in the Hotel Nacional is well worth a look, especially if you're staying in or around Vedado. It's the usual mix of frills, feathers and seminaked women (and men), but the...

Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña

Havana

　　This 18th-century colossus was built between 1763 and 1774 on a long, exposed ridge on the east side of Havana harbor to fill a weakness in the city's defenses. In 1762 the British had taken Havana by gaining control of this strategically important ridge, and it was from here that...

Fábrica de Arte Cubano

Havana

　　If only every city had a cultural venue as wide-ranging, inclusive and downright revolutionary as Havana’s unique art factory. The brainchild of Cuban fusion musician X-Alfonso in 2014, this gallery/live-music venue/inspirational meeting place for anyone who can afford the CUC$2 entry fee is where electrifying ‘happenings’ take place in a...

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

Havana

　　Spread over two campuses, the Bellas Artes is arguably the finest art gallery in the Caribbean. The Arte Cubano building contains the most comprehensive collection of Cuban art in the world, while the Arte Universal section is laid out in a grand eclectic palace overlooking Parque Central, with exterior flourishes...

Plaza Vieja

Havana

　　Laid out in 1559, Plaza Vieja is Havana's most architecturally eclectic square, where Cuban baroque nestles seamlessly next to Gaudí-inspired art nouveau. Originally called Plaza Nueva (New Square), it was initially used for military exercises and later served as an open-air marketplace. 　　During the regime of Fulgencio Batista an ugly...

Fusterlandia

Havana

　　Where does art go after Antoni Gaudí? For a hint, head west from central Havana to the seemingly low-key district of Jaimanitas, where artist José Fuster has turned his home neighborhood into a masterpiece of intricate tile work and kaleidoscopic colors – a street-art wonderland that makes Barcelona’s Park Güell...

Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro

Havana

　　This wave-lashed fort with its emblematic lighthouse was erected between 1589 and 1630 to protect the entrance to Havana harbor from pirates and foreign invaders (French corsair Jacques de Sores had sacked the city in 1555). Perched high on a rocky bluff above the Atlantic, the fort has an irregular...

Plaza de la Catedral

Havana

　　Habana Vieja's most uniform square is a museum to Cuban baroque, with all the surrounding buildings, including the city's beguiling asymmetrical cathedral, dating from the 1700s. Despite this homogeneity, it is actually the newest of the four squares in the Old Town, with its present layout dating from the 18th...

Capitolio Nacional

Havana

　　The incomparable Capitolio Nacional is Havana's most ambitious and grandiose building, constructed after the post-WWI boom ('Dance of the Millions') gifted the Cuban government a seemingly bottomless vault of sugar money. Similar to the Capitol in Washington, DC, but actually modeled on the Panthéon in Paris, the building was initiated...

Malecón

Havana

　　The Malecón, Havana's evocative 7km-long sea drive, is one of the city's most soulful and quintessentially Cuban thoroughfares, and long a favored meeting place for assorted lovers, philosophers, poets, traveling minstrels, fishers and wistful Florida-gazers. The Malecón's atmosphere is most potent at sunset, when the weak yellow light from creamy...

Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón

Havana

　　Havana's main cemetery (a national monument), one of the largest in the Americas, is renowned for its striking religious iconography and elaborate marble statues. Far from being eerie, a walk through these 57 hallowed hectares can be an educational and emotional stroll through the annals of Cuban history. A map...