The Top 10 Things To Do In Havana, Cuba

Havana has become very popular in recent years after decades of being shut off from parts of the world. This beautiful city really stole our hearts with its colours, its deep culture and its vintage character. If you are planning your next trip to Cuba’s capitol city, don’t miss this post with the best things to do in Havana. Happy reading!

As cheesy and touristic as it may seem, but there is no better experience than driving around the city in a vintage, coloured convertible. Most of these cars are located around Parque Central and also in Plaza de la Revolucion. You can choose between different coloured models of vintage cars and the type of service you want based on the tour you have in mind. Of course, we’ve chosen a pink car! The prices for a private tour are around 60 CUC for an hour and 100 CUC for two hours. However, like everything in Cuba you have to negotiate the final price and in this way gets a good deal. Remember, don’t miss a ride in a vintage convertible if you visit this beautiful city!

Watching a sunset in Havana is one of the most romantic and exciting things especially if you know where to look. In our opinion, the best places to enjoy the sunset in the Cuban capital are almost all located on hotels and restaurants/bars.

• El Surtidor Pool Terrace and Bar at Kempinski | This is the rooftop bar of the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski, a very luxurious hotel in Old Havana. The terrace is open to all on a daily basis and comes with dining tables, lounge sofas and a beautiful rooftop infinity pool.
• La Guarida | Not only an iconic and trendy restaurant but also a rooftop bar with a terrace with a 360-degree view over Havana and the Malecon. We tasted some of their excellent cocktails along with light tapas.
• Hotel Inglaterra | It’s one of the oldest hotels in Havana and has a great rooftop terrace with a wide view over the city and Parque Central. It offers nice cocktails and tasty dishes at reasonable prices.
• Mirabana Bar at Iberostar Parque Central | Located on the top of the Iberostar Parque Central, it has a fantastic rooftop pool bar offering cocktails and live music with a breathtaking view of Havana.
• Ambos Mundos Rooftop Bar | With fantastic views over Havana Vieja, Hotel Ambos Mundos has a terrace with a restaurant where you can enjoy local food and refreshing cocktails.

One of the best ways to understand Cuba’s history and culture is to visit one of the many museums in Havana. One of the first museums we visited on our trip to Cuba was the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. This museum boasts the largest collection of paintings and sculptures in the Caribbean area and one of the largest in Latin America. The Museo de la Revolucion is also very famous for its collection dedicated to the period of the Cuban revolution. Havana is also full of very interesting small museums such as Taquechel Pharmacy Museum and most of them are free to access.

The Malecón is a wide Esplanade and a sea wall of about 8 kilometers in total. Take your time to stroll along the Malecón or hire a vintage car, taxi or coco-taxi if you have limited time. However, we recommend that you enjoy the promenade on foot. You’ll find some historic buildings such as the Hotel Nacional and Morro Castle where the cannon firing ceremony takes place every evening at 9 pm.

Eating at a Paladar is a quintessential experience in Havana. A Paladar is a privately owned restaurant, run by a family and typically located in a converted home. You’ll find them all over the city, especially in the district of Central Havana and Havana Vieja. In our opinion, this is one of the best ways to enjoy Cuban cuisine at its best. There are many Paladars to choose from, but we recommend these three for their food and ambience:

With its 72,000 square meters, Plaza de la Revolucion is one of the largest city squares in the world. This huge square can be easily reached by taxi or on foot but it’s about 3.5 km from the Capitolio. The square is dominated to the north by the memorial, dedicated to the revolutionary hero Jose Marti, 109 meters tall. On the other side, there are two government buildings with gigantic images of Che Guevara and Cienfuegos on their facades. This square is also full of vintage convertibles of all colours ready to be hired.

Don’t miss the opportunity to visit a historic building, not only from the outside for your scenic photos but also from the inside. We recommend you to visit two of the best buildings located next to each other: the Capitolio and the Gran Teatro de La Habana. Both of them have amazing internal architectures and also are a great way to learn more about Cuban history. The cost of the visit is around 5 CUC for tourists. It is also possible to buy a ticket for a ballet show one evening at the theatre.

After a day of exploring the Cuban capital, there’s nothing like hitting the beach for some much-needed relaxation. One of our favourite things about Cuba is that it’s always summer thanks to its location near the equator. The capital itself doesn’t have any nice beaches. However, just a 30-minute drive outside of the city you’ll find Playas del Este. There are white sandy beaches and the crystal clear Caribbean Sea. Obviously there are even more beautiful beaches in Cuba such as Playa Paraiso, Varadero Beach, Playa Los Flamencos and others.