Casa Vitrales

Havana’s magical, neo-baroque Grand Theatre stages ballet and modern dance, including performances by Carlos Acosta’s troupe.

The longest fort in the New World, dating from 1763, with panoramic views of Old Havana. Go at 9pm each night for the cannon guard of honour ceremony.

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.

Join the locals on this famous sea wall for rum and sunsets over Havana’s skyline.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sensual and sultry communist Caribbean capital, home to captivating, crumbling architecture, and enlivened by dance, music, avant-garde art and cocktails.