Havana, Cuba Facts

History

• San Cristóbal de la Habana, originally established on Cuba's southern coast in 1514, moved to its current location on the north coast by 1519. It sits at the mouth of a deep protected harbor. By 1607, Havana became the capital of colonial Cuba and became the third largest city in the Spanish empire after Mexico City and Lima, Peru. U.S. influence over the city came after the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in 1909 and remained until the 1959 Revolution. This era saw the influence of U.S. mob figures like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano.
  Post-revolution decades of economic hardship left the city in decay. Architecture and industry under the influence of the Soviet Union no longer reflected the past colonial glory. Today, Havana has 2.5 million inhabitants, is experiencing an economic and tourism boom and is the Caribbean's political, business and cultural center.

The Harbor

• Havana harbor's natural protection offered Spanish fleets shelter in their conquest of Central and South America. The Spanish furthered that protection by building a wall around the city and constructing large fortresses at the harbor's entrance. The harbor area is the focus of modern Cuba's youth culture with its hotels and discotheques.

Central Havana

• La Habana Vieja (Old Havana) and Centro Habana have the densest populations in Havana. The main shopping street, Calle San Rafael, crosses the district from the Parque Central to the west. A mixture of residential, commercial and industrial, the area's Partagas tobacco factory produces five million cigars a year.

  Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagas‎
  Barcelona y Industria
  La Habana
  Cuba
  011-07-86-24-604

Vedado

• Primarily office buildings and hotels, Vedado is a business district. This area also contains the Museo Napoleonico, containing Napoleonic memorabilia, and the Cementerio de Cristobal Colon, with more than 500 major chapels, family vaults and mausoleums.

  Museo Napoleonico
  San Miguel 1159
  La Habana
  Cuba

  Cementerio de Cristobal Colon
  Av 23 y Calle 26
  La Habana
  Cuba

Miramar

• Farther west is Miramar, which is home to expensive hotels, restaurants and stately mansions on tree-lined avenues housing the country's foreign embassies and other elite. Miramar's Museo del Ministerio del Interior displays remnants of the Cold War era.

  Museo del Ministerio del Interior
  Av 5 y 14
  La Habana
  Cuba
  011-07-203-4432

Beaches

• Playa del Este is home to beaches just 20 minutes from downtown Havana. Bacuranao Beach is closest to Havana and is popular with local Habaneros. Playa Santa Maria del Mar is a non-touristy beach with white sand and coral and shell remains. Guanabo is home to a rich nightlife and discos.

Interesting Facts

• Havana's official nickname is Ciudad de las Columnas (the City of Columns), which is in reference to its Colonial grand architecture. The street running next to the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales is paved with wood. In 1848, Havana became the world's third city to install gas streetlights.
  Ernest Hemingway's former home in the city is now a museum and a cemetery for the writer's four dogs and more than 60 cats. A statue of former Beatle John Lennon stands in John Lennon Park, unveiled in 2000 after Fidel Castro declared him a "true revolutionary." Cuban officials banned Parker Brothers' game Monopoly.

  Palacio de los Capitanes Generales
  O'Relly
  La Habana
  Cuba
  (0)7-61-2876

  Museo Ernest Hemingway‎
  Finca Vigía Km. 12 ½
  La Habana
  Cuba
  (0)7-91-0809

  John Lennon Park
  Calle 8
  Havana, Cuba‎