This is the sea wall around Havana, and a fantastic place to cool off after a hot day. You can sit in the night's cool air, feel the sea breeze and enjoy the local rum.

It's also a great place to meet and talk with the locals.

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Rooftop Bar with live Cuban music and beautiful views over Havana at night.

Parque Central

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This is the place from which Fidel Castro gives most of his famous 2-4 hour long speeches. You can also sit within the chair where Fidel Castro sits. Behind the José Marti statue there is also a museum located there which talks about the history of Cuba and Havana. However most of the exhibits are in Spanish – but it is easy to understand what is going on.

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Visit the Castillo de Morro fort and the Jesus statue which is located opposite the bay of Havana. From here you can see spectacular views of the city as well as a fort used to protect Havana. You can also see the spectacular statue of Jesus and opposite Ché Guevara’s house – now a museum.

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Discoteca el Rodeo, Parque Lenin, about 20 kms outside of Havana, is a cheap weekend club with a fun, easy atmosphere, very good live bands and a mostly young Cuban crowd.

No phone.

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It has something of a student union about it but is fun, fast and friendly, with good live bands and fantastic dancing. Upstairs is Delirio Habanero, (+53 7 8735713), overlooking Plaza de la Revolucion - for hot jazz and trad Cuban music.

Paseo, corner Plaza de Revolucion, +53 7 8790710.

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Casa de la Musica is a late night, live music venue with a big stage and a dance floor in front. It’s bigger and more upmarket that its downtown sister (on Calle Galiano in Havana Centro, +53 7 8624165) showcasing some of Cuba’s top bands, playing anything from reggaeton to classic salsa.

A good place to go dancing but at around a £15 entrance charge, there won’t be many Cubans in there.

The Calle Galiano Casa de la Musica (above attracts more of a local crowd, especially for the regular matinees. Not particularly comfortable, but excellent bands and a friendly, atmosphere.

3308 Calle 20, corner Miramar
Tel: +53 7 2026147

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Maria La Gorda beach is a long drive away, and possibly for the scuba enthusiast only. However, Cayo Levisa is a day trip away, a secluded island accessible only by boat, with diving opportunities as well as being a relaxing day trip

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Just 20 minutes by taxi from Old Havana there are perfect Caribbean beaches – fine white sand and inconceivably turquoise water — which are the perfect escape from the heat of city. There are a few beach bars serving decent fried fish, etc. Swimming pools are a rarity in Havana, but there is a good one in the lovely Hotel Sevilla — cocktails available.

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Cuba is world famous for its music, but the most keenly awaited festival is always for Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano festival, perhaps Havana’s most glamorous event of the year, with lectures, parties, hobnobbing in the Hotel Nacional and ten solid days of cinema. It’s held every December, in itself one of the best times of the year to visit Cuba.

www.habanafilmfestival.com, December 5-15.

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Based on the Malekon, overlooking the sea and the bay, this is the best hotel in Havana - full of history and atmosphere. A tour of the hotel is a must, as you can see the trenches and bunkers built in the early 60s in preparation for a possible US invasion.

Calle 21 y O, Vedado, Plaza, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba, 10400;
tel: (53-7) 836 3564 al 67;
www.hotelnacionaldecuba.com

On the Malekon - cannot miss it

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Visit the largest flea market in Old Havana for souveniors, paintings, carvings and T-shirts. Bargaining is possible, unlike the rest of Havana.

In Havana old town.

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Food is pretty basic in Cuba, mainly ham, cheese and eggs (for breakfast lunch and dinner!). Fruit is plentiful and fresh outside Havana, but a bit 'tired' in the city itself.
 
There are lovely restaurants in Havana if you look, but they do cost quite a lot. Oddly for people who love kids so much, they never take them out at night. We started off trying to have an afternoon sleep and then go out with kids in the evening, but we soon reverted to early dinner and then making our own entertainment in the hotel/casa.
 
There is a fantastic ice-cream place in Havana but beware, it is designed for locals, so only go if you manage to get some local currency. We were very embarrassed when it came to pay....
 

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We stayed in the wonderful Sevilla Hotel in Havana and then 2 Casa Particulars (people's houses) in Trinidad and then back in Havana. In retrospect I would probably have finished with the hotel as after 2 weeks in Cuba you really need a bit of luxury! The casas are great however, as you get to stay with a proper Cuban family and they love kids.

Carrie found us all the casas, and she was invaluable. Her site is www.cuba-particular.com and you can contact her at carrie@cuba-particular.com

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Cubans love kids! We went everywhere and did everything and heard constant moans from fellow tourists about being hassled and ripped off - we had none of that and can only assume that they left us alone because we had kids in tow. So, they can be an invaluable asset.
 

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It's not cheap, it's touristy, but it's the most fantastic show that you'll see outside Vegas. The orchestra is the best on the island and the dance numbers are amazing. Glitz, cheese, tack, yes, but it's very nicely done. All of this and a half bottle of Havana Club too!

Calle 72 y 43, no. 4505

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If you are flying around Cuba with a scheduled carrier and travelling at a busy time - e.g Easter - make sure you check in early. Overbooking is very very common and you could well be bumped off. Then again, if you fancy a night in a five star hotel and a few euros...

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You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat animals and although the Cubans have very little wealth they will still spend pesos for the care of their pets. Take 150 euros or so of medicines purchased from your local vet (and free reps food supplement samples if you can get them) and introduce yourself to the diminutive but highly energetic Doña Milagros Reyes at Havana's main veterinary clinic. Wonderful way of meeting people off the tourist track, (si puedes hablar Español) and even if you don´t, you´ll get showered with thanks anyway. Get there before Fidel goes folks, because while it may be far from perfect, for people who have nothing the Cubans still give everything. It´s about 3 Conv. pesos from the city centre by taxi and then walk back to find dozens of front parlours converted into sales points selling everything from used wood screws to mallets for crushing sugar cane.

Avda. Carlos III y Requena
Municipio Plaza, Havana

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Great bar on Obispo, one of the main thoroughfares in Habana Vieja (old town), great all-girl band in mid-late afternoons with a relaxing atmosphere, in the same street as the Hotel Ambos Mundos which contains Hemingway's room (no. 52). Also, there is an excellent bar in Calle O'Reilly, nearby - don't worry, it's not an Irish bar!

Calle Obispo 316, esquina de Calle Aguiar, Habana Vieja;
tel: 7-862-9870

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A little off the beaten track. In the midweek it's full of locals, very cheap to get in and to drink, and amazing bands. Seems the place Cubans go to meet people of the opposite sex. Best thing we did in Cuba

Ave. 20 No. 3308 esq. a 35, Miramar, Havana, Cuba

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