Havana, Cuba

Havana, Cuba: Travel Guide

Havana is one of the most architecturally dense cities in the world and one of the least convenient to visit. That gap between the quality of what you encounter and the difficulty of getting there, paying for anything, or relying on electricity is exactly what defines the experience. Visitors who come expecting a Caribbean resort find something between a museum and a slow-motion crisis. Visitors who understand what they are walking into find a city unlike anything else in the Western Hemisphere.

A practical warning before the practical guide: Cuba is experiencing a severe energy and fuel crisis in 2025-2026. Oil imports dropped to near zero in early 2026, and blackouts of 18-22 hours per day are common in Havana and across the island. Hotels run on generators with varying reliability. Some international tour operators have suspended Cuba operations through at least mid-2026. Check your government’s travel advisory and confirm with any tour operator or accommodation that they are currently operating before booking. This is not a historical footnote: it is the current condition of the country.

Understanding the Currency

This is the most important thing to get right before you arrive, and it changes frequently.

The Cuban government has officially unified its currency system around the Cuban Peso (CUP). The CUC (Convertible Peso) was formally abolished in 2021. However, a practical parallel system continues: the MLC (Moneda Libremente Convertible) is a digital currency used in government hard-currency stores, many hotels, and some restaurants, accessible via pre-paid MLC debit cards purchased with USD or EUR.

The official government exchange rate for CUP is around 25 per USD, but this rate applies only at state-run exchange offices (CADECA) and banks. The informal market rate is substantially higher: typically 120-150 CUP per USD or more, fluctuating daily. Private businesses (paladares, casas particulares, private taxi drivers) operate on informal rates and effectively quote prices in USD or EUR that they then exchange informally.

Practically, this means:

• Bring USD or EUR in cash. This is not optional. US bank cards and credit cards still largely do not work in Cuba due to sanctions.
• The CADECA at the airport will give you the official rate; private businesses will give you the informal rate. The difference is large.
• Budget around $15-20 USD per person per day for food if you eat at local spots and private restaurants. Add $25-35 USD for a mid-range paladar dinner.
• Hotels and state enterprises quote in MLC. Private accommodation quotes in USD. Know which you are paying in.

Getting There and Getting Around

Airport to City

Jose Marti International Airport sits about 20 km southwest of central Havana. Official state taxis from the airport to Old Havana or Vedado cost $25-30 USD, negotiated before you get in. The journey takes 20-30 minutes without traffic, longer during the day. There is no airport bus service.

Inside the city, transport options reflect the general infrastructure challenges:

Classic car taxis (almendrones): shared American cars from the 1950s that run fixed routes for CUP. These are cheap and genuinely interesting for short hops if you know the routes. Not useful for first-day navigation.

State taxis (yellow or orange): metered in theory, but many drivers prefer a negotiated fare, usually quoted in USD. Useful for longer trips between neighbourhoods.

Coco taxis: the yellow egg-shaped three-wheelers that appear in every Havana photograph. They charge by negotiation and are fine for short distances in Old Havana. Not the most practical transport but do exactly what they appear to do.

Walking: Old Havana (Habana Vieja) is compact enough to walk almost entirely. The Malecon connects to Vedado on foot along the seafront. Most of what you want to see in the first two days is walkable.

Old Havana (Habana Vieja)

Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage site and genuinely deserves the designation. The Spanish colonial architecture here is concentrated in a way that has no parallel in the Caribbean: entire city blocks of 16th and 17th-century buildings around interconnected plazas. The fact that most of them are in various states of structural decay does not diminish the scale of what is here. In some cases it intensifies it.

The four main plazas form a walking circuit that takes a full morning:

Plaza de Armas is the oldest public square in Cuba, dating from the founding of the colonial settlement in 1519. The current layout dates from the 18th century. The secondhand book market set up around the central statue on most mornings sells pre-revolution publications, Soviet-era textbooks, and Cuban propaganda posters; it is one of the more interesting street markets in the city.

Plaza de la Catedral holds the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary (1748-1777), built in the Havana Baroque style with an asymmetrical facade that became the model for colonial churches across Cuba and parts of Latin America. Alejo Carpentier, the Cuban novelist, described it as “music turned to stone.”

Plaza Vieja is the most architecturally varied of the four, with buildings from the 16th to the 20th century ringing a central fountain. The restoration work here is more complete than elsewhere in the city.

Plaza de San Francisco de Asis is anchored by the 17th-century Basilica Minor. The lion fountain in the centre is a replica of the original, now inside the Museum of the City.

The Museum of the Revolution (Museo de la Revolucion), housed in the former Presidential Palace of the Batista government, documents the revolution from the 1953 Moncada Barracks attack through the Soviet period. The exhibits make no attempt at neutrality; they are interesting precisely as primary sources of how the Cuban government presents its own history. The granma yacht in the garden: the boat that brought Fidel Castro and his 82 companions from Mexico to Cuba in 1956: is the kind of object you cannot look at the same way in a photograph.

Vedado

The neighbourhood built from the 1860s onward as Havana expanded beyond the old walls is where the money lived before 1959 and where the larger hotels, university, and cultural institutions sit now. The FOCSA Building, completed in 1956, was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the Western Hemisphere at the time of construction. The view from its restaurant (when operational) across the city and the sea is genuinely one of the best urban panoramas in Cuba.

Cementerio Colon (Colon Cemetery) is the largest cemetery in Cuba and one of the most architecturally significant in Latin America. The monumental neoclassical marble mausoleums and sculptures date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is an active cemetery and a working piece of Havana’s urban fabric. Allow two hours.

The John Lennon Park in the heart of Vedado has a bronze seated statue of John Lennon on a bench. The statue originally lacked glasses (they kept getting stolen) and now has glasses fitted and then removed at closing time each day by the park employee whose sole responsibility is the glasses. This is the kind of detail Havana produces.

The Malecon

The 8 km seafront promenade stretching from Old Havana to Vedado is where Havanans go when they have nowhere else to be. It is both genuinely social and structurally crumbling: the seawall takes the full force of the Straits of Florida and has been eroding for decades. Sitting on the wall at dusk with a bottle of Cristal beer watching the light change over the water is an experience that has been part of Havana life for generations. The north-facing light in late afternoon is extraordinary.

Fusterlandia

The neighbourhood of Jaimanitas, about 15 km west of Old Havana, has been transformed by artist Jose Fuster into an outdoor installation covering his house, studio, and the surrounding neighbourhood in mosaics. The influence is explicitly Gaudi. Fuster began with his own home in the 1990s and the project expanded into dozens of neighbouring houses with the owners’ participation. It is one of the few things in Havana that has grown and developed in the past 30 years rather than deteriorated.

Where to Eat

The private restaurant sector (paladares) is where you eat in Havana. State restaurants have improved, but the private sector is where creativity and consistent quality live.

La Guarida in Centro Habana, housed in a crumbling tenement building that was the primary filming location for the 1993 film “Fresa y Chocolate,” is probably the most celebrated paladar in Cuba. The journey up the staircase through the collapsing but inhabited building to reach the restaurant is itself an experience. The food: contemporary Cuban with well-sourced ingredients: backs up the setting. Prices are higher than other paladares; a full dinner runs $35-60 per person without wine. Book in advance.

Atelier in Vedado is less celebrated externally but more consistently innovative, with a changing menu based on what is available. The intimate setting in a mansion works particularly well for a quiet dinner.

El Del Frente in Old Havana has a rooftop terrace and a menu that runs from ceviche to more substantial Cuban dishes. The atmosphere is younger and more informal than La Guarida.

Dona Eutimia on Callejon del Chorro near the Cathedral is a small, straightforward paladar with home-cooked Cuban food at prices significantly below the higher-end spots. The ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce) is exactly what it should be.

Iván Chef Justo in Old Havana represents the more ambitious end of Cuban cuisine. The set tasting menu format is not typical for Cuban dining but the execution is serious.

For cheaper eating: peso pizza is sold from windows throughout the city for 25-50 CUP. Fruit vendors and street snack sellers use CUP and prices are very low by any international standard. A full local lunch at a cafeteria (state-run canteen) costs under $2 USD at informal rates.

Where to Stay

Casa Particulares are the right choice for most visitors. These private homestays range from a spare room in a family apartment to fully renovated colonial homes renting multiple rooms. Prices run $25-60 USD per night in Old Havana and Vedado, with breakfast sometimes included. The regulatory framework for casas particulares has existed since the 1990s and is well-established; look for the blue anchor symbol by the door indicating licensed operation.

Hotel Nacional de Cuba (1930, designed by the same American firm responsible for the Breakers in Palm Beach) is the landmark hotel of the city. Its position on the Vedado seafront, the lobby bar where Meyer Lansky operated before 1959, and the central role the building played in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 make it the most historically charged building in Havana. Rooms run $150-300 USD per night. The terrace at sunset is open to non-guests.

Important 2026 context: many hotels are operating on reduced capacity or with unreliable utilities due to the energy crisis. Confirm with any hotel or guesthouse that they have functioning backup power before booking.

Practical Realities

Internet

Cuba’s internet access is tightly restricted. ETECSA, the state telecom, sells internet access cards for use at WiFi hotspots (parks, hotel lobbies). Connection speeds are slow and reliable coverage is limited. Hotels have WiFi, again subject to power availability.

Electricity (critical 2026 note)

Blackouts in Havana during the current crisis run 12-22 hours per day. This affects everything: water (pumped by electric motors), hot water, refrigeration, air conditioning, and light. Bring a power bank for devices. Accommodation with a generator is significantly more comfortable: ask specifically about generator capacity and fuel supply when booking.

Health and Safety

Havana’s crime rate is low compared to other Caribbean cities. Pickpocketing and occasional petty theft occur around the Malecon, Obispo Street, and tourist-heavy plazas. The more significant issue for tourists is the “jinetero” approach: persistent hustlers who offer tours, cigars, restaurants, and accommodation at inflated prices on commission. The introductory offer is almost always something that sounds free or helpful. A confident “No, gracias” and continued walking is the correct response.

Genuine Cuban cigars purchased at the official Casa del Habano shops are considerably more expensive than street cigars, but the street alternatives are almost uniformly fake or made from low-grade tobacco. If you care about what you are buying, use the official shops.

Health

Healthcare for tourists in Cuba operates through Servimed clinics, which charge in USD and are separate from the Cuban public health system. Travel insurance with emergency medical coverage is essential. The more significant practical health concern is food and water: drink bottled water only, wash fruit, and be selective about ice.

What to Carry

Cash in USD or EUR, in mixed denominations. A power bank. A physical map or downloaded offline map (Google Maps works intermittently). A basic Spanish phrase list: outside the tourist zones, English is not widely spoken. A torch for blackout periods.

The best introduction to Havana is to walk from the Prado (Paseo del Marti) through Old Havana to the Malecon at evening, without a specific destination, and see where the city takes you. The texture of a place in managed decline is unlike anywhere that is either fully prosperous or fully collapsed. Havana sits in a particular category of its own.