HavanaLa Habana

Spanish settlers founded Havana in 1519 on its present harbour, after earlier settlements on the coast were moved. The harbour, a deep, narrow-mouthed bay, was ideal for shelter, and from the mid-16th century Havana became the meeting point of the treasure fleets that carried silver, gold and goods from the Americas to Spain. Forts were built to guard the harbour, and in 1607 Havana was made the capital of the colony. The walls that enclosed the old town, mostly torn down in the 19th century, gave Habana Vieja its shape.

The city was captured only once. In 1762 a British force took Havana after a siege, held it for eleven months and then traded it back to Spain for Florida. During the brief British rule, trade opened up, and the colony's sugar economy grew fast afterward, driven by enslaved African labour. Slavery lasted in Cuba until 1886, and Havana's Afro-Cuban culture, in music, religion and food, is central to the city.

In 1898 the explosion of the US battleship Maine in Havana harbour led to the Spanish-American war, and Cuba became independent in 1902 under heavy US influence. In the early 20th century Havana boomed with new buildings, from the Capitolio in 1929 to the Hotel Nacional in 1930, and became a resort and casino city, popular with visitors from the United States. Vedado and Miramar grew as leafy residential districts.

The revolution of 1959, led by Fidel Castro, changed the country. Property was nationalised, US relations broke, and Havana became the capital of a state-run economy allied with the Soviet Union. When Soviet support ended in 1991, Cuba entered the Special Period of severe shortages, and the city adapted with private restaurants, family-run rooms and small trades. Since then Havana has lived with sanctions, reforms, tourism booms and periodic crises, including blackouts and fuel shortages in recent years.

Habana Vieja is the old core, with narrow streets, arcaded plazas and buildings from four centuries. Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral date from the 1500s and 1700s; Plaza Vieja, once a market, was restored from a run-down square into a lively space with cafes and a camera obscura. The area was the first in Cuba to receive a large restoration programme, and it now holds many casas, paladares and museums, with a heavy tourist presence at midday.

West of Habana Vieja the Prado is a tree-lined promenade that leads to the Capitolio and the Parque Central. The Gran Teatro, the fine arts museum and old hotels line the route. Beyond it, Centro Habana is a dense, faded district of tall tenements and busy streets, less polished than the old town and full of everyday life. It is where you find the Callejón de Hamel with its Afro-Cuban murals and Sunday rumba.

The Malecón is the sea road that runs about eight kilometres along the north shore, from Habana Vieja through Centro Habana to Vedado. It is a promenade, a fishing spot and a social room: couples, friends, musicians and fishermen sit on the wall in the evening. When a north swell hits, waves spray across the road, and the wall edge should be avoided.

Vedado, laid out in the early 20th century on a grid with lettered and numbered streets, is leafy and quieter, with large houses, hotels, universities, theatres and Coppelia. The Hotel Nacional sits above the sea, and the Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón, one of the largest cemeteries in the Americas, lies to the south-west. Beyond it Miramar has embassies, wide avenues and the coast. Each district is a different Havana, and moving between them is a taxi ride, not a walk. A useful rule is to walk within a district in the morning and take a taxi between districts, because the distances are longer than they look on a map and the midday heat is strong.

Havana's buildings tell the story of its wealth. The oldest are Spanish colonial: thick stone walls, courtyards, wooden balconies and the baroque cathedral, built from coral limestone in the 18th century. Rows of arcades, called portales, shade the pavements, a design meant for a hot climate. Many façades are stained and cracked, and behind them lie tall, cool rooms around courtyards.

In the early 20th century the city added neoclassical, art nouveau and art deco buildings. The Capitolio, modelled on the US Capitol but taller, is the best-known example. The Bacardí Building and the Hotel Nacional are among the finest art deco landmarks. Vedado's mansions mix Spanish, Moorish and American styles, and many are now casas, embassies or offices.

The famous decay is real: salt air, humidity, hurricanes and years of little maintenance have taken their toll, and buildings collapse from time to time. Restoration is uneven; Habana Vieja has been renovated street by street, while Centro Habana remains largely as it was. The result is a city where restored and crumbling buildings sit side by side, and where a fresh coat of paint can be the most recent event on a street. The best way to read these buildings is to look up: balconies, iron railings, stained-glass fanlights and painted ceilings survive above shopfronts that have been changed many times, and courtyards behind plain doors often hold staircases and tiles that are older than the street outside. Ask your host if you may look into a courtyard; many people are happy to show one.

Cars belong to the picture. Many American cars from the 1940s and 1950s, kept running with improvised parts, still work as taxis, while others are Soviet-era Ladas and newer imports. They are a practical reminder of the years when imports stopped. If you take a ride in one, agree the price first, and remember that a vintage car can be slow and hot. Ask the driver to open a window, keep water with you, and remember that these cars often have no seat belts in the back, which matters for children.

Cuban home food is built on a few simple things: rice and beans, pork, chicken, plantain, cassava and citrus. Moros y cristianos, black beans cooked with white rice, is the standard side. Lechón asado, slow-roast pork, is the festive dish, and ropa vieja, shredded beef stewed in tomato sauce, is the classic plate. Tostones, fried plantain, and yuca with garlic sauce are common sides. Seafood, especially lobster, appears in resorts and paladares.

For many years the state controlled restaurants, and food supplies were limited. The private paladares, first allowed in the 1990s, changed that: family-run restaurants, often in rooms of a home, offered better food and a warmer welcome. Today paladares range from simple rooms with a short menu to smart restaurants with a wine list, and they are where most visitors eat. Supply problems still affect them: menus shrink, and prices shift with the cost of imported ingredients.

Coffee is a daily habit. The cafecito is a small, very strong, sweet shot, drunk standing at a street window called a ventanita. A cortadito adds a splash of milk. Sugar is often stirred in before it is served, so ask for 'sin azúcar' if you prefer it plain. Street windows also sell simple snacks such as pastries, croquetas and pan con lechón, roast-pork sandwiches.

Drinks are part of the story. The daiquiri, the mojito and the Cuba libre are said to have been born or perfected in Havana bars, and rum, from light to dark aged, is the national spirit. Bars near Plaza Vieja and Habana Vieja serve them at tourist prices, so ask before you order. Breakfast is often eaten at your casa: fruit, eggs, bread, coffee and juice. And at the end of a hot day, Coppelia's ice cream, queue and all, is a Havana ritual. If you plan to eat late, book ahead: kitchens often close by 22:00, and popular paladares fill by 20:00.

Life in Havana is lived outdoors, on doorsteps, balconies and the Malecón, and conversation is the main entertainment. People are curious, quick and generous, and a greeting and a smile open most doors. Music is everywhere: son, rumba, salsa, timba, trova and jazz spill out of bars, courtyards and radios. Sundays bring rumba to the Callejón de Hamel, and jazz clubs and cultural centres fill in the evenings.

Daily life is shaped by shortages. Blackouts can last for hours, fuel shortages limit buses and taxis, and food and medicine are sometimes hard to find. Many households depend on remittances from relatives abroad and on small private work. Visitors see the effects in slower service, changing menus and shops with little stock. The best response is to carry cash, keep slack in your plans, and treat setbacks as normal.

The money system is confusing. The Cuban peso is the local currency, but the exchange rate on the street differs from the official one, and many tourist prices are quoted in dollars or euros. The old tourist currency, the CUC, was withdrawn in 2021. Ask which currency and which rate a price uses, and agree it before you pay. Cards from many countries do not work reliably, so plan to bring all your cash.

Some etiquette rules help. Avoid political arguments with strangers, ask before photographing people, and do not photograph police, soldiers or military sites. Give your host your arrival time and your food needs, tip in small notes, and treat touts politely but firmly. A stay in a casa particular is the best introduction: your host will arrange rides, meals and music, and will explain how the city really works. If you have a slack day, use it to sit on the Malecón or in a plaza and watch the city go by, because much of what makes Havana rewarding happens between the listed sights.