What Makes Havana Special?
We have been coming to Havana since 2003, and it still stops us in our tracks every single time. There is nowhere else on earth like this city — the crumbling baroque facades, the 1950s Chevrolets and Buicks rolling down the Malecón, the sound of son cubano drifting out of open doorways at all hours. Jenice grew up hearing her family’s stories about Havana before the Revolution, and walking these streets with her is like having a living decoder ring for every faded sign, every abandoned mansion, every neighborhood that tourists walk past without a second glance.
Budget $40-80 USD/day for a comfortable stay at a casa particular with meals. We always stay in Old Havana or Vedado depending on the vibe we want — Old Havana for the UNESCO-listed colonial core, Vedado for the quieter art deco residential streets and better paladar scene. Best visited November through April during the dry season when temperatures are warm but manageable and the humidity drops to something approaching comfortable.
The Malecón at Dusk
As the sun drops into the Straits of Florida, Havana's waterfront promenade fills with musicians, lovers, and the sound of a city that has perfected the art of living without much.
Exploring Havana’s Neighborhoods
Havana is not one city — it is several layered on top of each other. Habana Vieja (Old Havana) is the UNESCO-listed colonial core where the tourist trail concentrates: Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja, Plaza de Armas, and the narrow streets between them. We love it here, but the real magic starts when you wander past the restoration zone into the crumbling blocks where laundry hangs between buildings and domino games occupy the sidewalks.
Centro Habana sits just west of Old Havana and is the city’s gritty, densely packed residential heart. This is where Jenice feels most at home — the street corner bodegas, the peso food stalls, the conversations shouted between balconies. La Guarida, Cuba’s most famous paladar, is in Centro, occupying a spectacular crumbling mansion that you climb three flights of worn marble stairs to reach. The Malecón — Havana’s iconic 8km seafront seawall — runs along Centro’s northern edge.
Vedado is the greener, more spacious neighborhood to the west with wide boulevards, 1950s modernist apartment buildings, and the best concentration of restaurants and bars in the city. When we want a quieter evening, we eat in Vedado. The Hotel Nacional sits here on a bluff above the Malecón, and Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC) is at Vedado’s western edge — our favorite nightlife venue in all of Cuba.
Miramar, further west still, is the embassy district with large houses, wider avenues, and a handful of excellent restaurants. We usually only come here for the seafood paladares and to visit Fusterlandia in neighboring Jaimanitas — José Fuster’s extraordinary mosaic-covered neighborhood that we think is one of the most underrated art installations in the world.
Things to Do in Havana
- Walk the Malecón — The 8km seafront promenade is Havana’s living room. Best at sunset when locals gather to socialize, fish, and play music. We have spent more evenings on this seawall than we can count. Free.
- Old Havana Walking Tour — Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja, the Bodeguita, and the narrow colonial streets. Self-guided is free; guided tours $10-20 USD. We recommend self-guided with Maps.me — you will discover more by getting lost.
- Classic Car Tour — Ride a 1950s convertible along the Malecón and through Vedado. $30-50 USD for 1-2 hours. Touristy but genuinely thrilling — Jenice always requests the turquoise ‘57 Chevy.
- Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC) — Contemporary art gallery, live music venue, and bar in a converted cooking oil factory. $2 USD cover. Thursday-Sunday evenings. Our single top recommendation in Havana — the atmosphere is electric.
- Museum of the Revolution — Former Presidential Palace with exhibits on Cuban history from colonial era through the Revolution. $8 USD entry. The bullet holes in the exterior walls are real.
- Fusterlandia — José Fuster’s mosaic-covered neighborhood in Jaimanitas. Free to walk through. Take a taxi ($8-10 from Old Havana) and allow 1-2 hours to explore every colorful corner.
- Callejón de Hamel — Afro-Cuban art alley in Centro Habana with Santería-inspired murals and live rumba on Sunday afternoons. Free. One of Jenice’s favorite spots in the entire city.
500 Years in One Walk
Old Havana compresses five centuries of baroque churches, neoclassical palaces, and art deco theaters into streets narrow enough to touch both walls simultaneously.
My family left Cuba before I was born, but walking through Centro Habana always feels like stepping into the stories I grew up hearing. The ventanitas (little windows) where you buy cafecito for a few pesos, the domino games on the corner, the way neighbors know each other's names for three generations — this is the Cuba my family talks about. Do not stay only in the tourist zone. Walk the residential streets of Centro at golden hour and you will see the real Havana.
Where to Stay in Havana
- Casa Particular in Old Havana — $25-50 USD/night. The authentic experience — stay with a Cuban family in a colonial home. Hosts provide restaurant tips and local knowledge no hotel can match. We have stayed at casas on Calle Obispo and Calle Lamparilla — both excellent locations.
- Casa Particular in Vedado — $30-55 USD/night. Quieter neighborhood with better restaurants and an easier pace. Our preferred base when we want to cook our own breakfasts and walk to evening venues at FAC.
- Hotel Nacional de Cuba — $150-250 USD/night. Iconic 1930s hotel on the Malecón. Mob bosses and Hemingway both stayed here; the pool terrace with harbor views is worth a visit even if you are not staying. We come here for the terrace cocktails at sunset even when staying elsewhere.
- Iberostar Parque Central — $200-350 USD/night. Modern hotel overlooking Parque Central with rooftop pool — one of the few reliably consistent hotel options in Havana.
- Hotel Saratoga — $180-280 USD/night (when open). Restored 1933 hotel with arguably the best rooftop in Havana overlooking the Capitolio.
The Paladar Table
Ropa vieja braised for four hours, maduros caramelized at the edges, black beans that absorbed yesterday's smoke — Cuban cuisine is resourcefulness made delicious.
Where to Eat & Drink in Havana
Havana’s food scene has transformed since we first visited in 2003. The paladar revolution — privately owned restaurants operating in people’s homes and repurposed colonial buildings — has created a dining culture that rivals anywhere in the Caribbean. Jenice navigates the menus instinctively, ordering dishes her family cooked at home that most visitors walk right past.
- La Guarida (Centro Habana) — Cuba’s most famous paladar in a stunning crumbling colonial building where Obama dined in 2016. Climb three flights of worn marble stairs past hanging laundry to reach the dining room. Ropa vieja and grilled lobster. $15-25 USD/person. Reservations essential — book a week ahead.
- El Del Frente (Old Havana) — Rooftop paladar with creative Cuban cuisine and city views. Their ceviche is exceptional. $12-18 USD/person.
- Doña Eutimia (Old Havana, near Cathedral) — Tiny paladar known for the best ropa vieja in the city. $8-15 USD/person. Cash only, arrive by 11:30am for lunch or you will wait.
- San Cristóbal (Centro Habana) — Traditional Cuban classics in maximalist colonial surroundings. Also visited by Obama in 2016. $12-20 USD/person. The pork is outstanding.
- La Bodeguita del Medio — Hemingway’s mojito bar. Tourist trap, but worth one visit for the history and graffiti-covered walls. $5 USD mojitos.
- O’Reilly 304 (Old Havana) — Creative menu, natural wine list rare for Cuba, rooftop seating. Our go-to for a lighter, more modern meal. $10-18 USD/person.
- Ventanita coffee — Anywhere in Centro Habana, buy a cafecito from a little window for a few pesos. This is how Cubans drink coffee — standing on the sidewalk, in one shot, burning hot.
Where the Music Never Stops
From the formal stages of the Gran Teatro to a three-piece son band in a cramped Old Havana bar at midnight, Havana's soundtrack is relentless, beautiful, and impossible to ignore.
Havana After Dark
Havana’s nightlife is legendary and unlike anywhere else we have traveled. The city comes alive after 9pm, and the best experiences range from world-class art venues to impromptu street performances. FAC (Fábrica de Arte Cubano) is our number one recommendation — a converted cooking oil factory in Vedado that houses galleries, live bands, DJs, and bars across multiple floors. Entry is $2 USD and you load a card for drinks. Go on a Thursday to avoid the biggest crowds.
For live music, Casa de la Música in Miramar features Cuba’s top salsa bands ($10-20 cover), while the Jazz Club on Calle O in Vedado has intimate sets nightly ($5-10). On any given evening, you will hear live son cubano pouring from bars in Old Havana — just follow your ears down Calle Obispo or Calle Obrapía and sit down wherever the music is good.
What Stays With You
It is not the architecture or the classic cars — it is the sound of someone practicing trumpet in an upstairs room at 7am, the smell of coffee from a ventanita, the impossibility of the whole beautiful place.
Practical Information
Getting around: Classic car taxis run anywhere in the city — agree on the price before you get in ($5-15 for most trips). Cocotaxis (yellow egg-shaped scooters) are fun for short hops in Old Havana ($3-5). For a local experience, ride an almendron — shared taxis following fixed routes for $0.50 CUP (about $0.02 USD). Walking is best in Old Havana and along the Malecón.
Currency: Bring cash in Euros or Canadian dollars — USD incurs a 10% exchange penalty at CADECA offices. No US bank credit or debit cards work anywhere in Cuba. ATMs exist but are frequently empty — we always bring more cash than we think we will need and keep it in a money belt. MLC (Moneda Libremente Convertible) is what tourists use for most transactions.
Day trips: Viñales (3 hours by Viazul bus, $12) for tobacco farms and mogote valleys. Varadero (2 hours, $10) for beach days. Both make excellent overnight side trips from Havana.
How long to stay: We recommend 3-4 full days for Havana. Day one for Old Havana’s plazas and colonial streets. Day two for the Malecon, Centro Habana, and La Guarida. Day three for Vedado, FAC, and Fusterlandia. Add a fourth day for a deeper dive into Regla across the harbor (ferry $0.50) or Callejon de Hamel’s Sunday rumba. On our longer Cuba trips, we always bookend with Havana — a couple of nights on arrival to acclimatize, and a couple on departure to process everything we have seen.
- Best time to visit: November through April is dry season. We prefer late November or February — warm days, cool evenings, and fewer crowds than the December-January peak.
- Getting there: Fly into Jose Marti (HAV), 25km from Old Havana. Official yellow taxi to the center is $25-30. Tourist card required ($50-85 depending on airline).
- Budget tip: Skip the state-run hotels entirely — casas particulares are half the price, twice the character, and your hosts will feed you better than any hotel restaurant. Exchange Euros or CAD, never USD.
- Insider tip: Download Maps.me before you arrive. Havana's ETECSA WiFi ($1-2/hour) is too slow for real-time navigation. Also bring basic medications — Cuban pharmacies are notoriously understocked.