Mini Travel Guide To Havana
Saturday, July 2, 2011
By Jose Mauricio Maurette
Holidays in Habana have all the romance you would expect in such a legendary hotbed of Latin culture. Old Havana is much as it was when Ernest Hemingway sipped his Mojitos in La Bodeguita: old colonial buildings, cruising Cadillacs and cigar chomping old men sitting in cafes.
Where to go
The Capitolio Nacional: The Capitolio Nacional is a huge domed building in the centre of Havana and a scale model of its more famous cousin in Washington. You will love wandering through the sheer variety of the halls, corridors and passageways of the Capitolio Nacional. The terrace bar is well worth a short break, where you can seat and watch the world go by.
El Floridita became the most famous bar in Havana, and the most famous in the world. In 1953, "Esquire" magazine, called it one the world's seven best bars, along with, the Pied Piper bar in San Francisco, the Ritz in Paris and London, Raffles in Singapore, Club 21 in New York and the bar at the Shellbourne Hotel in Dublin. El Floridita and it's Daiquri have been immortalized in literature on more than one occasion. Perhaps the best description was written by Hemingway himself, in "Islands in the Stream".
Morro Castle: Morro Fortress is itself a large museum piece which tells us about the solutions of the renaissance architecture applied on the military strategy. Two theme halls show the visitors the history of navigation in Havana harbour, where objects rescued from a sunken ship at the entrance of Havana Bay in the 19th Century can be seen. Several temporary expositions with a number of themes are simultaneously displayed.
Malecon: There is no other place which shows more of the Havana's soul, or attracts more locals and tourists than the long streched Malecon. This sea boulevard stretches for 7 km along the historical areas of the city, from the colonial centre (Habana Vieja) through the boring (Russian) apartments of Vedado, it is a resume of Havana's history.
Grand Theatre: One may not expect to find one of the world's largest opera houses in the middle of the Caribbean, but this is in fact, the case. The Gran Teatro de La Habana is part of a larger complex, the Palacio del Centro Gallego and is located in the central part of Havana.
Where to go
The Capitolio Nacional: The Capitolio Nacional is a huge domed building in the centre of Havana and a scale model of its more famous cousin in Washington. You will love wandering through the sheer variety of the halls, corridors and passageways of the Capitolio Nacional. The terrace bar is well worth a short break, where you can seat and watch the world go by.
El Floridita became the most famous bar in Havana, and the most famous in the world. In 1953, "Esquire" magazine, called it one the world's seven best bars, along with, the Pied Piper bar in San Francisco, the Ritz in Paris and London, Raffles in Singapore, Club 21 in New York and the bar at the Shellbourne Hotel in Dublin. El Floridita and it's Daiquri have been immortalized in literature on more than one occasion. Perhaps the best description was written by Hemingway himself, in "Islands in the Stream".
Morro Castle: Morro Fortress is itself a large museum piece which tells us about the solutions of the renaissance architecture applied on the military strategy. Two theme halls show the visitors the history of navigation in Havana harbour, where objects rescued from a sunken ship at the entrance of Havana Bay in the 19th Century can be seen. Several temporary expositions with a number of themes are simultaneously displayed.
Malecon: There is no other place which shows more of the Havana's soul, or attracts more locals and tourists than the long streched Malecon. This sea boulevard stretches for 7 km along the historical areas of the city, from the colonial centre (Habana Vieja) through the boring (Russian) apartments of Vedado, it is a resume of Havana's history.
Grand Theatre: One may not expect to find one of the world's largest opera houses in the middle of the Caribbean, but this is in fact, the case. The Gran Teatro de La Habana is part of a larger complex, the Palacio del Centro Gallego and is located in the central part of Havana.
About the Author:
Before booking your Cuba Holidays. Visit www.quest2cuba.co.uk for more information on the best Havana Hotels.
Posted byBertie at 3:29 AM
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