Overview
Havana is Cuba's capital — a city of UNESCO colonial plazas and architecture in every state from restored to crumbling, vintage American cars working the streets as taxis, live son and salsa on every corner, and the rum and cigars that make it like nowhere else.
Travel
Havana is one of the world's most distinctive cities — a seafront capital where grand colonial and belle-époque architecture, ranging from lovingly restored to genuinely crumbling and awaiting repair, lines streets full of music, vintage cars and life lived largely outdoors. The heart is Habana Vieja (Old Havana), a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest colonial-era centres in the Americas: a compact grid of cobbled streets linking four beautiful plazas — the baroque Plaza de la Catedral, the leafy Plaza de Armas where the city was founded, the merchant Plaza de San Francisco by the harbour, and the colourful, restored Plaza Vieja — surrounded by old churches, fortresses, museums, cafés and the famous bars where Ernest Hemingway drank his daiquiris and mojitos. Guarding the harbour mouth stand the great Spanish forts of El Morro and La Cabaña, where a nightly cannon ceremony recalls the colonial city. Running along the seafront is the Malecón, Havana's legendary five-mile esplanade and seawall, where the whole city seems to gather at dusk to fish, flirt, play music and watch the waves crash over the wall as the sun sets — the soul of the city. Beyond, Central Havana's tenement streets and the grand, tree-lined avenues and faded mansions of Vedado (with the iconic Hotel Nacional and the Coppelia ice-cream park) show other faces of the capital, while the vast Plaza de la Revolución, with its monumental memorials, anchors the modern city. Havana's spirit is in its music — son, salsa, rumba and trova spilling from bars, plazas and music houses day and night — and in its rum and cigars, its art, and the warmth of its people. The famous fleet of brightly painted 1950s American cars cruising the streets as taxis completes the time-capsule effect. It's a city to wander slowly and soak in. The climate is warm and tropical year-round; the cooler, drier season from November to April is the most comfortable, with the risk of heat and hurricanes in late summer and autumn.
Habana Vieja, the UNESCO-listed old town, is the city's treasure — one of the great colonial centres of the Americas, a dense quarter of cobbled streets and squares being painstakingly restored amid the romantic decay. Four plazas anchor it: the Plaza de la Catedral, framed by a beautiful baroque cathedral and colonial mansions; the Plaza de Armas, the oldest square, leafy and lined with second-hand book stalls and the former governors' palace; the harbour-side Plaza de San Francisco with its old basilica and merchant houses; and the restored, pastel-coloured Plaza Vieja, ringed by cafés and a craft brewery. Between them wind streets full of museums (the Museo de la Ciudad), old pharmacies, art galleries, and the legendary Hemingway bars — La Bodeguita del Medio for a mojito and El Floridita for a daiquiri. The pedestrianised Calle Obispo buzzes with shops and music. It's a place to wander without a plan, glass of rum or coffee in hand, letting the atmosphere carry you.
Frequently asked questions
Diplomatic missions in Havana
5 embassies based in this city, grouped by region.
Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.