Havana Travel Guide

The Great Havana is a metropolitan area that extends by all the coast and includes the capital and several municipalities: Marianao, Regla, Guanabacoa, San Miguel del Padrón, Casablanca and Cojimar, among others. Due to its privileged situation, the present capital of Cuba was in the past an important stop in the gold route between Spain and America, very prone to the attack of the pirates. In order to protect from them it was constructed a defensive system in the 17th century, with the fortresses of La Fuerza, el Morro y la Punta. By the end of the 18th century it was filled by a dozen of seats and small squares constituting within 6 km of walled perimeter, the primary nucleus of the population, known today as Old Havana and declared "Cultural Patrimony of the Humanity" by the UNESCO.

The city has conserved the mark of its colonial times, and has numerous historical valuable buildings and monuments constructed between the 16th and 17th centuries. Plaza de Armas is the oldest and majestic seat of the city. It has two essential museums for those who wish to know the art and history of this peculiar large city: the Municipal Museum and the Colonial Art Museum, in Plaza de la Catedral, known in the 16th century as Plaza Ciénaga, and in which can be admired the baroque style cathedral of San Cristóbal, among other things.

The main commercial artery of the city is the Obispo street. One of the symbols of the city is the Giraldilla, a 2 meters bronze statue that carries in its hand the cross of Caravaca, located in the La Fuerza fortress. When approaching Plaza Vieja is inescapable a visit to the Jaruco Count house, now the Cultural Heritage Cuban Fund, with numerous art galleries, and the Cárdenas sisters house, present centre of the philharmonic society of the city.
Between the second half of the 18th century and principles of the 19th appeared new spaces, like the first Havana walk, known as "Alameda de Paula". Other places are the Plaza de la Catedral -considered the best conserved colonial architectonic set of Latin America-, and the Plaza de la Revolución.
In downtown Havana it’s possible to admire the beautiful Paseo del Prado and the Capitol, where is located the "km 0" (zero kilometre) from where are calculated all the distances of the island.

As time passes, ample avenues like the Malecón, Reina or Carlos III draw up the course of the expansive growth of the city towards the west. The Malecón is nowadays a vast boulevard that extends by the coast to the district of Miramar, in the other border of the Almendrades river. It was constructed to protect the city of the waves caused by cyclones. It concludes in the Chorrera fort, constructed in 1695 to defend the city from the pirate attacks.

Between downtown Havana and the right border of the Almendrades river it raises Vedado. This enclave, that formerly served as a security perimeter in case of an attack, is now the place where the rich Havanans construct their houses. Great hotels, wide avenues and an eclectic architecture define this space. Here’s the Havana university, with an inner enclosure that has the greater collection of pre-Columbian art of the island. The Fifth Avenue, created in the 20th century and one of the most beautiful of the country, unites Vedado the coastal development zone, with important business centres, hotels and other tourist infrastructures. It’s not possible to left Havana without stopping a moment in the Christopher Columbus cemetery and in the Miramar district, which hoists beautiful walks surrounded by magnificent villas and embassies.

Source : Sprachcaffe-cuba.com