Havana is too big to see on foot. Take a ride in a horse and carriage, the driver is a proper tour guide.

We had a two-hour drive up to Plaza de la Revolution and back, stopping where we wished for photos and finding out lots of local knowledge.The funniest part was the driver chatting up girls walking along the street while we trotted along beside them.

Central Havana, we found Leonardo and Picasso outside the Hotel Inglaterra where there is a bar where you can sit and look out on the busy street.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

They'll try to sell you real Cuban cigars at a price that is slightly cheaper than the shops to indicate that they should be genuine at the price, but not too cheap to give you the feeling that they're fake. In fact all they are made of is old dried banana skins and they crumble apart once you light them. Steer clear of these sales people and spend a little extra on the real items.

Anywhere in Havana

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

If you want to see how confident the new gay generation is in Cuba, check
out gaytourguidecuba.com.

It's a gay tour guide service for gay travelers in Cuba! Nice college kids,
openly gay and they seem to feel that the government isn't against gays.

Meeting these people was the highlight of our trip. They really opened our eyes to a Cuba we could never have discovered on our own.

gaytourguidecuba.com/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

In the country that invented three classic rum-based cocktails (the mojito, daiquiri and cuba libre) it’s no surprise that you can get one in every bar in town. The bars of the city’s many historic grand old hotels are the best places for a pre-dinner sundowner (but eat in a paladar rather than the hotels — the food is rank).

Some of the best are the elegant garden at the Nacional and the rooftop bars of the Moorish-style Sevilla (the setting for Our Man in Havana) and Ambos Mundos (where Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls). The two more famous Hemingway haunts (Floridita and La Bodeguita) are just tourist traps these days.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends