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Check out our recommendations for the Cuban capital and send us your ideas and suggestions below.
SEE: Old Havana, or Habana Vieja, has one of the best preserved Spanish colonial centers in the Americas, with ornate churches, cobblestone squares and salmon pink casas. It's in a state of near constant renovation, thanks to UNESCO money, but still charmingly shabby rather than theme park-ish. For a taste of more recent history, head for the monumental Plaza de la Revolucion in Vedado, dominated by the huge iconic image of Che Guevara which covers one wall of the Ministry of the Interior. The Museo de la Revolucion is back in the old town, housed in the former palace of the dicator Fulgencio Batista, and deals mostly with the details of the military campaign that brought Fidel Castro's guerrilla army to power. The nearby Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes provides another take on contemporary Cuba; it's worth skipping the second rate colonial portraiture for the modern stuff on the second floor. The Beatles were once banned in Cuba; it's a sign of how much the revolution has mellowed that John Lennon is now celebrated in statue in the Parque John Lennon (not to be confused with the Parque Lenin on the way to the airport). One of the most iconic images of Havana is the Malecon, the picturesque sea wall where sun worshippers, strollers, musicians come together in celebration of the best and worst of Havana life. Finally, Cuba remains synonymous with cigars. You can tour the Partagas factory, home to the city's most expert rollers, and sample the goods afterwards.
BE SEEN: Live music is the staple of Cuban evening entertainment with many of the hottest acts rotating through a series of staple venues. The Casa de la Música in Central Havana is one the liveliest, with music and salsa lasting well into the early hours, while the popular Delirio Habanero in Vedado offers live jazz in an area that is chock-full of laidback bars and clubs. No night out in Havana is complete without a mojito at Ernest Hemingway's favorite hangout, the atmospheric La Bodeguita Del Medio in Old Havana, but you'll probably want to escape the hordes to somewhere less touristy: try the Basque-themed Bar Bilbao, Café de Paris or Buena Fe's favorite music spot, El Floridita, which has a cocktail menu as long as a Fidel Castro oration. Much of the Havana bar scene revolves around hotels. The rooftop bar at the Hotel Inglaterra in Parque Central offers spectacular sunset views, or sip a cocktail on the Hotel Nacional's palatial terrace in Vedado and imagine yourself as a 50s starlet. It may be expensive, tacky and shamelessly targeted at tourist wallets, but Tropicana in Miramar is still the glitziest, campest cabaret show in the world.
EAT: Are you kidding? Cuba's reputation for bad food -- tasteless variations on the criolla staples of chicken, rice and beans -- is legendary. According to one writer, the three greatest achievements of the revolution are health, education and sport. The greatest failures are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nonetheless, as Cuba opens up to the tourist trade, things are changing, though most restaurants remain more atmospheric than appetizing. The best food is usually found in the paladres; privately-owned restaurants often found in people's front rooms. La Guarida, incongruously located in an old apartment block in Central Havana, is the most famous, having featured in the acclaimed 1994 art house film Fresa y Chocolate. The French-influenced Le Chansonnier in Vedado and Calle 10 in Miramar, home to many of the city's best restaurants, are also recommended. You're likely to be dining among other tourists, however, since few Cubans can afford the food. If you want to dine alongside locals, try one of the peso cafes, though understandably not all welcome tourists. Hotel food is generally bland, though the Anacaona restaurant at the luxury Hotel Saratoga, is doing its best to match upmarket cuisine with upmarket prices. Finally, Copellia is a Havana institution, probably the best ice cream parlour anywhere in Cuba and well worth queuing for.
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• From: Jack Hubby; CA
• Posted: May 10, 2006
• Comment: I did not find all of the food to be that bad. Yes, there were a few. The best was lobster in a Paladar called Villa Nora Luis in Pinar del Rio. Also, I went twice to a quaint Tapa bar with Flamenco called El Meson de la Flota in the heart of Old Town Habana. It was very good.
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• From: Omar Santiago; NYC
• Posted: May 8, 2006
• Comment: I been there at least 10 times. Love the people,the island, the food is great. I eat with the local and at the resturtants to obtain a perfect balance. Never had a complaint, traveled alone as a female and with my spouse.
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• From: Omar Santiago; NYC
• Posted: May 8, 2006
• Comment: The Raquel Hotel is one of the best hotel i have stayed in my life and is located at the heart of Old Havana.
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• From: Michelle Kaestner; Long Beach, CA
• Posted: May 8, 2006
• Comment: Preservation is the key, but I would not change a thing. Even though the food is not great, it's part of present day Cuba and the effects of the Revolution. I say repair the potholes of the Malecon and leave everyting else alone. This is history.
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• From: Ernest
• Posted: May 8, 2006
• Comment: Ballet of Cuba. Ballet of Litz Alfonzo. Ballet Espanola. At the National Theater of Cuba. Central Park in front to the national theater of cuba. At the oceanwal of the bay of havana at sundown, the malecon, in front of Morro light house at the entrance of the bay. cementary colon...the most beautiful cementary..is more of a museum of scultures than a cementary. museum of modern art - in havana. and then, head to the other end of the island, the north east end and visit the first european village, city and capital of cuba...Baracoa...in term of ecology and natural beauty...the most unique and beautiful in cuba.
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• From: Sandra Rodriguez; San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Posted: May 8, 2006
• Comment: Not to miss: National Natural History Museum, with unique geology exhibits of Caribbean plate development. Also Casa de las Americas for literature, theatre. A great bookstore near Coppelia, with all the best of sociology, economics, history, literature...at very reasonable prices!____________________________________________________
