• 3w • 7 min read
“In Cuba, nothing is exact. That is the appeal of the place,” wrote award-winning Cuban novelist Pedro Juan Gutiérrez in his book Our Graham Greene in Havana. This inexactness, and its simultaneously volatile yet enduring qualities, are what define Cuba and its vibrant capital. Stuffed full of plazas, baroque beauties, twirling ironwork, buffed-up vintage American motors and limping Ladas, Havana is a city of tremendous beauty soldiering on through dire times marked by power shortages, transport issues, external and internal blockades, inflation, and a slow post-pandemic tourism recovery.
Yet, in these liminal times, an upswell of creatives and entrepreneurs—some calling themselves the resistance to the communist state—are creating new art, places to stay, and places to eat, drink, and listen to music.
Beginning November 15 through to February, the 15th Habana Biennial international art fair will liven up the city’s streets, squares, galleries, and museums with Cuban and international artists showcasing new work in the official and always exciting program. The last biennial hosted 353 artists from 46 nations, and the Detrás del Muro ("Behind the Wall") sociocultural project staged on, behind, and in front of the city’s Malecón seawall is one of the highlights.
Getting to and around Havana
Travel to Cuba is indeed possible according to 12 purposes outlined by the United States Treasury Department; American Airlines, United, and Southwest fly from the US to Havana’s José Martí International Airport. US passport holders are asked to select a category of travel when buying an airline ticket or booking an Airbnb; the easiest category to fulfill for independent travelers is “support for the Cuban people.” Group travel is also possible via the ‘people-to-people’ purpose for travel if your trip is organized by a tour operator. US-based travelers must engage with and support the private sector, and lodging in state-run hotels is not permitted.
A pink Cuban Tourist Card, bought at airports or via airlines or visa service companies, is required for entry to the island. (Different rules apply to Cuban-born travelers). New e-visas are being rolled out to replace paper cards, and paper versions will be valid until the end of 2024; fill out the online D’Viajeros entry form up to 48 hours before travel. Travel insurance is included in US airline tickets. US-issued bank cards are not accepted on the island, so bring plenty of US dollars in cash and change small amounts as you go into Cuban pesos (CUP). (State-run establishments accept bank card payments only; but many of these are off-limits to American visitors. Cuba announced Wednesday, July 17, that state tourism establishments will soon begin to accept foreign cash payments, but that change remains to be seen).
If your phone is SIM-compatible you can pre-purchase a rechargeable tourist Cuban SIM card for collection on arrival in order to download Cuba’s Uber equivalent, La Nave, which works with a Cuban phone number only. (It’s also worth noting that Airbnb can also only be accessed in Cuba when using a VPN.)
The best things to do in Havana: Historic sites, African heritage crafts, and live music
Once you're here, the city is best explored on-foot. The two-square miles that make up Old Havana, the Spanish colonial core of the city, are a Unesco World Heritage Site. The sun-drenched balconied streets of 3,000 buildings, mostly in eclectic style, are a patchwork of magnificent restoration and heart-breaking dilapidation.
Don’t miss the golden-domed Capitol ($20 tickets from San Cristóbal Agency, Hotel Telégrafo) for its long, luminous Hall of the Lost Steps, towering 49-ton gilded Statue of the Republic, and the intriguing ‘Rebel Angel’ statue of Lucifer. Renowned Cuban artist Manuel Mendive, known for his work with Afro-Cuban mythology, enjoys a retrospective at the superb Museum of Fine Arts (Cuban collection) until the fall.
Hire a candy-colored, Detroit-classic car to take you to the Christopher Columbus Cemetery, the largest multitude of marble-winged angels in Latin America. Tour the sugar-money mansions and Mafia-built hotels of el Vedado. At sunset, wander the art-splashed seawall Malecón that's popular with lovers, flâneurs, and fishermen. If you need a helping hand, travel specialist Jesús Noguera can guide you through the city's history and introduce you to a whole cast of characters.
Journey deeper with Beyond Roots Experiences tours by economist Adriana Heredia, who seeks to immerse visitors in authentic Afro-Cuban culture in Havana’s Guanabacoa district. (Her secret weapon is a charming guide, Endimo García.) In late summer Beyond Roots will also open Centro de las Raíces, a cultural space in Old Havana that includes a store of clothes, crafts, and souvenirs, as well as a hair salon and café-bar, all celebrating Cuba’s African heritage. Complots, a gallery in Guanabacoa, too, offers a new adventure in nature and culture, with curator Martha Alicia González and artists including Antonio Alvarez Zayas and Ricardo Labarca. Discover Cuban chimera (a morphing of endemic Cuban flora and fauna) in their art and create your own piece in their studio. Browse handmade crafts at Alma, Carenas (think leather bags inspired by Havana’s antique floor tiles and stained glass windows), hand-painted bags by Lénore Herrera Menéndez and Textura for gifts.
Leave plenty of room in your suitcase for new Cuban fashion: Devon Ruiz, winner of last year’s ‘best emerging talent’ at Torino Fashion Week and creator of Devi Devi, eye-catching avant-garde work opens Calore, The Fashion Gallery showcasing Cuban designs with fellow fashion brand Innātus in Old Havana in September. New Primitiva by Capicúa is a cotton clothing range using the first factory-printed fabric in Cuba since the fall of the Soviet Union. Artist Nerea Vera is restoring a gorgeous el Vedado mansion, relaunching a prestigious early 20th-century lifestyle magazine as an art project, promoting Cuban creatives, and joining forces with fashion house Dador to create Social 1916 x Dador, a one-of-a-kind collection of dresses in 1920s style for a catwalk show in December. Models strut the catwalk, too, at La Carpintería, a new space for fashion, emerging musicians (curated by Cuban music AMPM Magazine), and parties opened by design whizzes Clandestina.
Searching for music? Get a brilliant fix on Cuban musical history with DJ Jigüe via his consummate Vinyl Master experience on Airbnb. For alluring audiences, top-notch cocktails, and total Cubanía, tune in to live sounds at spaces like Las Noches de Fangio, La Casa de la Bombilla Verde, Bar Melodrama, Malecón 663, La Guarida, Yarini, and Fábrica de Arte Cubano.
Where to eat in Havana
Chef Alberto González Ceballos, a Cuban returnee, has turned Salchipizza, his bijou Centro Habana bakery, into a new reservation-only, 10-seat restaurant with a menu centered on revitalizing Afro-Cuban cuisine. Through the prism of his Black ancestors’ footprints, there's a twist on the señorita‚ a cream-filled layered puff pastry; and can't-miss pork—three cuts (rib, neck, and leg), layered in slow-cooked pumpkin with guava salsa and West African melegueta pepper.
Otramanera is one of the city’s best restaurants; so good that Cuban actress Ana de Armas dined here twice in a row on a recent visit to the city. And for something more approachable from the same team, restauranteur Alvaro Díez Fernández also recently opened one of the most popular new spots in the city this year—alongside renowned percussionist Oliver Valdés: a damn-fine burger joint (a first for Havana) called Perro Swing. The spot will further branch out with vegan burgers and live rooftop music, and chef Raulito Bazuk of Grados (who mentored at three-Michelin-starred Atrio in Spain) continues to shake things up with his inventive cuisine, creative cocktails, live music, expanded food tours, and heaps of character.
Where to stay
Smart, design-forward private stays continue to revolutionize accommodation in the city: The Cuban–Italian owners of elegant Paseo 206 opened Estancia Bohemia earlier this year. Its nine luxury suites with Italian flourishes revitalized an 18th-century palace on Old Havana’s liveliest square, Plaza Vieja.
Cuban-Mexican run Elvira, mi Amor, is a contemporary-art-adorned Old Havana hideaway with just 11 bedrooms (after welcoming three more this summer). Sister property Jane, mi Amor, is a new four-room palace reached by a curved marble staircase.
Forthcoming hotel Mangos, with seven rooms and a fabulous pool in artsy neighborhood el Vedado, is due to welcome guests in early 2025—it will be the third boho bolthole by the Cuban-British hoteliers of Gardens.
For something more serene: The folks behind Havana’s boutique Estampa Collection will soon open a 20-room agriturismo (or farm house) with pool centered around three restored villas on the green outskirts of Havana.
Tribe Caribe Cayo Hueso is an 11-bedroomed Centro beauty rich in musical history that opened in late 2022 seeking to connect guests to the barrio via curated tours. A neighborhood lowdown that's led by a young history professor on a bicycle taxi blasting tunes, it's a truly insightful experience that utilizes studio/gallery Black Box, by famed Venezuelan-American record and film producer Andrés Levin, to harnesses the artistic talent of Cuban youth.
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