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Bucket list trip:

Last updated: 20 June, 2023
Expert travel writer: Claire Boobbyer

Where to go and what to see in Havana to get the most from your trip – a 3-day itinerary from destination expert and travel writer Claire Boobbyer.

Editor note – Claire has not included specific recommendations of where to stay each day unless it’s necessary. Instead, see the ‘Where to stay’ section in our Havana destination guide.

Stroll the four main cobbled squares of Old Havana taking in a visit to the city’s baroque cathedral. Stop for a tasty seafood lunch at Paco’s Mar.

Cab to the Museum of Fine Arts for five centuries of intriguing Cuban art, then hop into a chrome-festooned convertible classic car to cruise Havana’s mesmerising oceanside boulevard, the Malecon.

Dine at La Guarida inside an ornate apartment block, enjoying alfresco drinks on its rooftop terrace.

San Cristobal Cathedral

Havana, Cuba

San Cristobal Cathedral

This twin-towered 18th-century masterpiece of Cuban Baroque, with beautiful undulating facade and mismatched bell towers, dominates Old Havana’s main plaza. Peek inside: the altar is made of Carrara marble and Italian frescoes crown the altar recess.

Best for ages 13+

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Havana Museum of the Fine Arts

Havana, Cuba

Havana Museum of the Fine Arts

Cuba’s most impressive museum, housed in two separate buildings almost next to each other, showcases the best of Cuban art (in one building) from the 1600s to the modern day, and international artists over 5 art-filled floors of a second building.

Adult price: £6

Best for ages 13+

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City tours in classic cars

Havana, Cuba

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Bucket List Experience
Tourists enjoying a ride on a classic american convertible car at the famous seaside Malecon avenue in Havana

Appreciate the tropical beauty of Havana from the comfort of an iconic, convertible classic car. A signature Havana experience.

Adult price: £560

Min age 18

Best for ages 18+

Duration: 1+ hours

The Malecon

Havana, Cuba

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Bucket List Experience
People walking and resting near the sea shore of Malecon Avenue, in the evening sunlight which reflects into Carribbean Sea, in Havana, Cuba.

Havan’s famous sea wall is a popular place for meeting locals, sipping rum and watching the sun set over Havana’s skyline.

Best for ages 8+

Dine at a paladar

Havana, Cuba

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Bucket List Experience
Paladar La Guarida Restaurant staircase. The name La Guarida means means the Hideout. Teh restaurant is located on the third floor of the historic building.

Experience Cuba’s culinary heart with dinner at a paladar – authentic, family-owned restaurants, often in private homes, serving everything from traditional Cuban dishes to elaborate seafood dishes.

Adult price: £15+

Best for ages 13+

La Guarida

Havana, Cuba

Paladar La Guarida Restaurant staircase. The name La Guarida means means the Hideout. Teh restaurant is located on the third floor of the historic building.

Emerging out of the tattered shell of a handsome mansion is Havana’s most famous restaurant. (It starred in a well-known Cuban movie). Come for the building, food, ambience, and drinks on the rooftop terrace.

Adult price: £15+

Best for ages 13+

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Get the lowdown on Cuba’s smokes at the Partagas Cigar Factory tour in Centro Havana (Mon-Fri only; book in advance).

Taxi it back to Old Havana for an ice-cold daiquiri at Ernest Hemingway’s favourite bar, El Floridita followed by lunch at brunch favourite El Cafe.

Then cab across the Bay of Havana to see El Morro Castle, before exploring Hemingway’s home Finca Vigia (now the Hemingway Museum) in the suburbs. Return via Cojimar, Hemingway’s favourite coastal getaway.

Enjoy fine dining at Otramanera followed by live music and drinks at intimate, under-the-radar La Casa de la Bombilla Verde.

Cigar factory tours

Havana, Cuba

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Bucket List Experience
Cigar factory tours

Watch the ancient artisanal craft of rolling Cuba’s world-famous cigars at one of the very few working factories in Havana that opens to the public.

Adult price: £8

Best for ages 13+

Duration: 1+ hours

El Floridita

Havana, Cuba

People in front of El Floridita, historic fish restaurant and famous cocktail bar in Old Havana / Habana Vieja, Cuba, that was regularly visited by Ernest Hemingway

Legendary American writer Ernest Hemingway downed a record 16 daiquiris in one sitting at this, his favourite Havana bar. The bartender mixed him a sugarless and double rum tipple and named it the Papa Doble. Come early to bag a barstool at the glamorous scarlet bar.

Min age 18

Best for ages 18+

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El Cafe

Havana, Cuba

El Cafe

This funky, Cuban-run cafe and coffee roastery in Old Havana is a popular stop. It sells arguably Havana’s best coffee, great breakfast and exceptional sourdough sandwiches including ample vegan and vegetarian options.

Best for ages 13+

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Castle of Los Tres Reyes del Morro

Havana, Cuba

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Bucket List Experience
Castle of Los Tres Reyes del Morro

An impressive fort, which took 50 years to construct, that has become the iconic symbol of Havana. Climb the 19th-century lighthouse for a view of the entire city and Malecón.

Best for ages 18+

Hemingway Museum

Havana, Cuba

A bedroom at Finca La Vigia, American author Ernest Hemingway's home in La Havana Cuba, now a museum. On the bed, hunting trophies.

American novelist Ernest Hemingway lived at this hilltop farm just outside Havana for 20 years. His fishing boat, library, books, writing tower, clothes, pet graves and his now empty pool are preserved for fans of his life and literature.

Adult price: £2

Best for ages 18+

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Otramanera

Havana, Cuba

Otramanera

Havana’s best fine dining experience. Mediterranean dishes with a light Cuban touch are served up in a minimalist space fashioned out of a modernist mansion.

Adult price: £15+

Best for ages 13+

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Explore the Museum of the Revolution early so you can squeeze your way through crowds for rousing rumba at Callejon de Hamel in Centro Havana (Sun only).

Cab over for delicious lunch at chef-run Grados, then continue in a classic car taxi to see historic Plaza de la Revolucion before admiring marble tombs at Christopher Columbus Cemetery.

Cruise the broad leafy avenues of El Vedado, Havana’s artsy neighbourhood.

Dine at El Cocinero, part of an old peanut oil factory, on its alfresco rooftop before slipping next door to music and entertainment venue Fabrica de Arte Cubano (Cuban Art Factory).

Museum of the Revolution

Havana, Cuba

Museum of the Revolution

History buffs will love the Museo de la Revolución that details the minutiae of Fidel Castro’s 1953-1959 rebel campaign, culminating in victorious revolution in the ornate surrounds of the old Presidential Palace. The outdoor exhibition displays weaponry, aeroplanes and the Granma yacht, which brought Castro from exile in Mexico to Cuba to relaunch the rebel campaign in 1956.

Adult price: £2

Best for ages 18+

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Street rumba

Havana, Cuba

Street rumba

Watch the locals dance the rumba at one of the city’s open-air street venues. You can even join in…

Best for ages 13+

Duration: -

Grados

Havana, Cuba

Grados

Raulito Bazuka’s old-school paladar format is updated by the smart surrounds and the wonderful food – Cuban and international flavours. Raulito was mentored by chefs at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain.

Adult price: £15+

Best for ages 13+

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Christopher Columbus Cemetery

Havana, Cuba

Christopher Columbus Cemetery

Dating from the 19th century, Havana’s remarkable cemetery is an architectural gem, home to marble mausoleums, winged angels, sparkling mosaics, wrought-iron motifs, Art Deco sculptures, vast government monuments and 1959 Revolution memorials.

Best for ages 13+

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Cuban Art Factory

Havana, Cuba

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The Fábrica de Arte Cubano is a creative powerhouse of art, photography, music and dance. All the hot stuff is inside this converted peanut oil factory with food and drinks to fuel the night. Uber popular.

Best for ages 18+

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