Havana
Havana is the capital and largest city of Cuba.
The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. It is the most populous city, the largest by area, and the second-largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The population in 2021 was 2,142,939 inhabitants, and its area is 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) for the capital city and 8,475.57 km2 for the metropolitan zone. Its official population however had dropped to 1,749,964 inhabitants by the end of 2024.
Getting to Havana
- 01José Martí International Airport
The airport has three main terminals (plus a couple of smaller ones).
- 02La Habana Central
401 Avenida de Bélgica (in the southern parts of downtown).
- 03Main Viazul Bus Terminal
Worth seeing
The Old Town of Havana, 'La Habana Vieja, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and strolling along its streets and enjoying the beautiful buildings is a must for any visitor. Some parts of the Old Town are quite dilapidated with crumbling buildings but many others have been restored to their former glory.
- 01Museum of the Revolution
Housed in the former presidential palace, this iconic museum offers a history tour from pre-Columbian to the revolution in 1959 and on to present-day socialist Cuba.
- 02National Capitol Building
Completed in 1929, this neoclassical building which resembles the U.S.
- 03Partagás Cigar
- 04Havana Club Rum Museum
- 05Plaza de la Revolución
Huge square dominated by a statue and monument of Jose Marti and the iconic image of Che Guevara adorning the Ministry of the Interior.
- 06Lennon Park
Features the only statue of a western musician in Havana.
Things to do
- 01Walk along the Malecón
- 02Walk down the Paseo del Prado
A lively pedestrian zone full of locals spending their free time.
- 03Bike
Discover Havana by bike (Citykleta), 117 San Francisco street, Centro Habana, between San Lázaro St.
- 04National Theater
Where to eat
Whilst restaurants can be quite expensive at the top end for rather mediocre food, some such as the Café de Oriente have a splendid ambiance. The average government-run restaurants are about US$20 for two. Peso stalls are all over the city, particularly on Prado Marti. Some restaurants like Hanoi, in Calle Brasil, offer generous meals for the equivalent of US$5.
Getting around Havana the local way
- Get inTerminal 1 is for internal (domestic) flights, Terminal 2 is mainly for charter flights and some scheduled flights from the United States and Terminal 3 is used for all other international flights.
- Get inTaking the bus will take longer than a taxi colectivo.
- Get inFor passengers transferring to reach Terminal 3, By colectivo – A taxi colectivo route follows the same route as bus P-12 between Parque Fraternid (Simon Bolivar, just west of Fraternidad), and stops for Terminals 1 (stops on Avenida Rancho Boyeros at Avenida Van Troi) and Terminal 2 (stops on Avenida Rancho Boyeros at Carretera De Murgas).
- Get inTaxis colectivos are more frequent than the bus, will stop less than the bus and only has seated passengers, but are likely not suitable to accommodate space for more than one full-sized travel, hiking backpack or passenger.
- Get inRancho Boyeros, just walk to the nearest road (GPS: 23.0, -82.41058) and take some passing shared taxi or bus, for usually less than 100 CUP.
- Get inPicking up hitchhikers is almost a moral obligation for the "aware" tourist, especially when travelling between cities.
- Get inPicking up a hitchhiker can be the best way to arrive to your destination without getting lost.
- Get inShared taxis that travel between cities are often available from immediately outside of Viazul bus terminal buildings.
From Wikivoyage: Havana, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.