Caribbean Travel Blog

Walking
The central part of the city is not that big. Walking is a great idea.

Coco Taxi

The small G shaped coco taxis can be found everywhere in the city. They bring you around for $1 or $2 depending on the distance. You’ll have to bargain though.

from and to the airport José Martí International Airport is at Rancho Boyeros 25km (16mi) southwest of Havana. Taxis and buses will take you into the capital.

Greater Havana

Getting around greater Havana by train is definitely the way to go. The Estanción Cristina located a few kilometers southwest of central Havana handles all train traffic within the metropolitan area.

Guaguas (city buses) are sometimes called aspirinas indicating that their rare appearances relieve the pain of long waits in lengthy lines. Shortages of fuel and spare parts have taken many buses out of service and are largely to blame for the delays. The bigger busses are called camello (Camel) because of their camel like shape.

Havana, especially the old part, Habana Viaje, is full of interesting squares and colonial buildings, most of them not yet renovated though. Just stroll around and let the city surprise you.

Statue of Máximo Gómez

In the north part of the old city you will find the Parque Martires del 71 with the the huge statue of Máximo Gómez.

When José Martí began the War of Independence, he asked Gómez to lead his revolutionaries. Using small guerilla forces, Gómez would go from town to town, burning the Spanish plantations and eliminating their troops.

The interesting thing about the statue is that is actually inhabited! If you look at the back side, you’ll find a door. The old man living in the statue is always willing to trade stories about the Cuban battles for some Pesos or a bar of soap.

Gran Teatro

The old Gran Teatro, is where it all happened in the past. Now it´s still an exceptional venue for ballet and opera performances, old world horseshoe layout, meaning you must try to get tickets in the center or slight off-center sections.

Plaza de la Revolución

The Plaza de la Revolución is the grand communist parade place.

At the square you can find to remarkable landmarks. First is the 138,5 meter above sealevel José Martí memorial. The other is the large stylistic face of Che Guevara along the face of an apartment builiding.

Plaza Vieja

The Plaza Vieja (old square) was originally called Plaza Nuevo (new square). It is a nice square in the southern part of the old city. Around the square you can find many old colonial buildings, some renovated, some old and worn out.

Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas is a nice square located in the east part of the old city, close to the harbour.

The square itself is nice and green and it is full of book stalls selling old and new books. Many of them revolution oriented.

Around the plaza are some of the nicest colonial buildings. This is the part of the city where the renovation has done a good job already.

Catedral de San Cristóbal

The Catedral de San Cristóbal was built between 1748 and 1777. It is dedicated to Christopher Columbus himself becuase his body is believed to have rested there. There’s never been proof of this claim though.

Capitolio

The Capitolio is located in the quarted called Centro Habana, just next to the old city. The building is almost an exact replica of the Washington DC Capitol building only just a bit bigger and more nicely decorated.

Originally built to house the Cuban parliament, it now houses the ministry of science and a big library.

Plaza de San Francisco de Asís

This square, located close to the harbour is the end of the old 11km long aquaduct, parts of which, can still be found in the city. The end point of the aquaduct is the Fuente de los Leone. This fountain is an exact copy of the lions fountain in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. It is decorated with four lions. It used to be place where ships used to take in fresh water.

An important building at the square is the Church of San Francisco de Asís.

Malecón

The boulavard following the north side of the city is called the Malecón. It’s a popular place for cubans to hang out in the evening. Nice for a scroll along the sea side. The bars along the Malecón serve good mohito’s.

Is Havana slowly falling apart? Almost. The lively capital of Cuba has seen better days. Old Havana still has much of interest however and strolling the area is like walking through a time capsule from the early part of this century. The city hosts some fantastic pieces of architecture and other interesting sights and friends of find a large choice to visit. Havana has a swinging nightlife, with cinemas, historic theatres, cabarets, nightclubs and music venues that will exhaust even the most hardened campaigner. There’s less traffic and less commercialization than choke your average Latin American city. But from the rough brilliance of Old Havana to residential areas ranging from shabby to demanding demolition, the exuberant friendliness of Havana’s inhabitants is something that will never be forgotten by the visitor.