An observant friend who recently visited Havana summed up the city in one word: “brute-iful.” Despite years of neglect and large swaths of dilapidation and poverty, Havana remains a beautiful and endlessly fascinating city. Walking the potholed streets – and you will walk because buses are hopelessly infrequent, slow, overcrowded, or dangerous – you can revel in a tumble of architectural styles. Many buildings are literally tumbling down. But many have been meticulously restored or are in the process, largely thanks to philanthropic governments and international agencies.
In Old Havana, the almost-completely restored historic center, you’ll see every architectural style from magisterial Spanish Colonial to wedding-cake baroque, swirling Art Nouveau to muscular Art Deco. All over town, you’ll come across clusters of kitschy 1950s Moderne. When you tire of walking, there are modern, metered Korean taxis; aging, Russian-model cars; bright-yellow motorcycle Coco taxis fitted with roofs that look like coconuts; man-powered pedal cabs; horses and carriages; and, best of all, vintage 1940s and 1950s cars, genuine Yank tanks in various states of repair, still chugging along.
Here’s a random selection of interesting things to do, see, and enjoy in Havana:
Public Spaces:
To orient yourself to Havana’s vastness, take the elevator to the top of the modern, sculptural tower of the José Martí Memorial in the Plaza de la Revolución ($5). On a clear day, you’ll get spectacular 360-degree views of Havana and close-ups of government buildings that were off-limits to Cubans during the Soviet’s reign of influence. The most recognizable building is the Ministry of the Interior, with a stylized, 10-story-high metal etching of Che Guevara’s face.
Another notable viewpoint is the observation deck of the stunningly restored Bacardí Building, near Parque Central. Built in 1930, the tiled, sculpture-laden mini-skyscraper is a golden tribute to Art Deco, both inside and out. You can ride the vintage elevator to the top for fabulous views and photos ($2). A stroll along some part of the Malecón, Havana’s 8-kilometer-long sea wall, especially at sunset, is a joy. Habaneros, as they call themselves, both old and young, hang out along the wall, enjoying the breezes and using it like a communal front porch.
Old Havana’s famous squares are lustrous, large pearls connected by colorful strings of winding, narrow streets. Picturesque and tourist-filled Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral, and Plaza San Francisco de Asís all have a varying mix of charming cafés, pretty parks, baroque churches, and restored historic buildings. Plaza Vieja, slightly more out of the way, combines impressively restored buildings, a functioning camera obscura, art galleries, trendy new cafés and restaurants, and an artistic fountain with noisy, fascinating scenes of Havana street life.
Park yourself at an outdoor table at the Taberna de la Muralla, where they serve micro-brewed beer in meter-high, cold flasks, and watch the world go by. High-school girls in mustard-colored skirts amble by in giggling groups; a group of scrappy boys plays a pickup game of pelota (baseball, the national passion); lucky little kids scoot around on new bicycles; and assortments of oddly attired musicians – from zoot suits to Edwardian garb – stroll across the square, instruments in hand, on their way to gigs. Wherever you sit outside, be prepared for the ever-present strolling musicians. Along with tunes popularized by the Buena Vista Social Club, the most requested song seems to be “Guantanamera.” You may learn to hate this overworked song, but it may soften your antagonism to know that the words were actually written by 19th-century poet and national hero José Martí to immortalize the lowly Cuban farmer, known as the guajira of the song. Most musical groups have a compact disc of their music to sell, and they make good souvenirs – if you liked the music!
Watering Holes:
The less said about food and restaurants in Havana, the better. There are some glimmers of culinary tastes budding – a decent paella at the Hostal Valencia in Old Havana; an interesting array of Middle Eastern mezes at Al Medina nearby – but food is not Havana’s forte. Rum is. At the Taberna del Galeón, off the Plaza de Armas, you can sample a selection of rums before buying slightly overpriced bottles. But the best places to imbibe are the atmospheric bars steeped in literary fame.
The 19th-century grand Hotel Inglaterra, looking onto Parque Central, still has the air of Graham Greene’s “Our Man in Havana.” A mojito – rum, fresh mint macerated with sugar, a little lemon juice, and soda – is the traditional tipple here. Across the park and down a side street is El Floridita, a favorite hangout of Ernest Hemingway. And there he is, a life-size statue in a rumpled shirt, soft belly up to the bar. Tourists come to sip the famed, if overpriced ($6), daiquiri here, where the frozen version of the drink was invented, and have their picture taken hanging off Hemingway. The décor is still fabulous 1940s, with bartenders dressed in short red, fitted jackets reminiscent of the Philip Morris pageboy.
Another monument to Hemingway’s famous alcohol intake is La Bodeguita del Medio, off the Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana. The walls are covered by photos of the famous (including Costa Rican swimming champion Sylvia Poll), and customers scrawl their signatures on the walls. This is where the mojito was said to be invented, and the place was much frequented by the insatiable Hemingway. Today it’s pricey and very popular with tourists. Despite glowing reviews from friends, the food here is ordinary, of the black-beans-and-rice culinary school, hardly a taste revelation to tourists from Costa Rica.
Museums:
Even if you are totally apolitical, you shouldn’t miss the Museo de la Revolución ($4). Housed rather incongruously in the Belle Époque former presidential palace, it is a revelation of the Cuban psyche. There is a lot of embarrassing polemic and invective against Yanqui imperialismo. But amongst the blood-stained uniforms of Castro-era martyrs, there is also cumulative, damning evidence of how the ruling classes failed Cuba throughout centuries and how the country’s revolutionary tradition pre-dates Fidel by centuries.
The whole district of Havana Vieja is a wonderful living museum. The Museo de la Ciudad ($3), within the baroque Palacio de los Capitanes Generales in Plaza de Armas, is an easily digestible survey of the wealth and splendor that privileged Spanish-Cubans once enjoyed. All the emphasis on privilege and luxury seems a little out of tune with the non-material tone of modern Cuban society, but the museum neutrally showcases the other, more positive, side of the capitalist coin.
One of the most esoteric museums in Havana has to be the Museo Napoleónico ($3) near Havana University. A monument to one man’s obsession, the ornate house was designed to hold a wealthy Cuban politician’s collection of 7,000 Napoleon artifacts. The most compelling item is a bona fide death mask of the Little General. It is quite a thrill to gaze down onto the face of Napoleon.
Nightlife:
From the dirty 1930s up to Battista’s overthrow in 1959, Havana was infamous for its racy girlie revues. There is still a very expensive – $65 per person – Las-Vegas-style spectacular nightly at the Tropicana Nightclub in the western suburb of Miramar. At the Hotel Nacional, in the Vedado district, there are more reasonably priced dinner shows, $45 for a decent four-course dinner and a rousing son orchestra, heavy on the percussion, featuring some reputed “stars of the Buena Vista Social Club.” The hotel, a stately deco palace built in 1930 in Havana’s hedonistic heyday, is officially a National Monument. It’s pleasant to sip a sunset cocktail in the garden overlooking the Malecón or sit in big wicker chairs on the huge, arcaded terrace. The Nacional has a museum with oversize photos of the glamorous movie stars and celebrities who used to party here in the 1940s and 1950s. Turning the corner into the vast lobby, you almost expect to see Ricky Ricardo appear, a conga drum under his arm.
Getting There:
Fly Cubana (221-7625) direct to Havana or Copa Airlines (223-2672) via Panamá City. Making hotel reservations independently via Internet or phone is possible, but making the deposits to Cuban accounts is difficult. Most travel within Cuba is handled by one of four state-run tour companies. Cuba package specialists in San José include Cubasol at 221-7421 and EASA at 256-5458 or email at cuba@easaalmendares.com. There are new editions of both “The Lonely Planet” and “Moon Guide to Cuba,” but neither has been able to keep up with the proliferation of new hotels and restaurants in Havana, so you will make your own discoveries.
