18 Things To Do In Cuba


Love travel? Fun? Adventure? Always wanted to go to Cuba? From drink to sites, music to sport, we have nailed the best 18 things to do in Cuba. This list offers a special angle from which to experience our love of this exciting, colorful island country. Her people keep us coming back for more! We now share our personal favorites:




1) Froth: Café y Cerveza

If froth is your thing, look no further than Plaza Vieja in Habana Vieja (“old” redundancy intended). Situated on opposite sides of this lovely square in Old Havana, separated by a cobblestone carpet sporting a bronze statue of a naked woman riding a rooster, are two of our favorite froth providers. 
 In the morning, start out with a ceramic demitasse filled with a strong, aromatic cappuccino at Cafe El Escorial. They have an abundant menu of coffees and pasteles, sweets, from which to pair. Make sure to grab your café chair on the front patio early for the best people watching.
 Mosey across the cobblestones to Factoria Plaza Vieja and experience an ice-cold beer column filled with one of three options made here at Havana’s first microbrewery. The size of the column depends on the number of friends sharing your table. Beer is great; food is not.

2) The Malecón

This five-mile beachfront walk protected by a short seawall is the place to be for Havana millennials (teens and 20-somethings) on any given weekend night. With boom boxes and beverages, the scene is reminiscent of the unencumbered young people from the 50’s. Crowded and loud as it may be, it is left free of trash or graffiti.
 Mornings, walk the Malecón culminating in Old Havana. Spend time speaking with friendly locals sitting on the seawall’s ledge—you may want to avoid this area on a day when the ocean is rough. Strong currents sometimes cause high waves to crash over the wall and saturate the adjacent road! A site to behold (from your hotel room window!)

3) So Saxy

Jazz clubs leave us breathless. Where else can one go to hear magnificent talent in venues as intimate as a living room? For less than $20 including two drinks, revel in several sets of mixed drums, saxophones, keyboards and strings along with vocals at La Zorra y el Cuervo, the fox and the crow. Marked by a red British telephone booth just outside, music lovers descend to the basement for some of the best tunes you’ll ever hear. The room can get a bit smoky, but that only adds to the ambiance.
 To hear music at the Jazz Café in Miramar, you’ll climb a few flights of stairs up to a much larger, smoke-free venue. The layout of the club lends itself to latecomers with a rear bar.

4) Béisbol

Baseball is synonymous with Cuba. Think Yasiel Puig or Rusney Castillo; there is no question Cuba produces top talent for this sport. As are many things in Cuba, the baseball schedule can be inconsistent. Planning too far ahead is not an option. If there is a game in town, though, don’t miss it. Bring a snack bag, as there are no Dodger Dogs. In Havana, take the short cab ride to the stadium—suggestion: take your cab driver to the game with you or you may not have a ride home. You’ll both be happy you did!

5) Throwing a Punch

Boxing is an unfettered way to get your willies out. At Gimnasio de Boxeo Rafael Trejo you can enter as a voyeur or practice your right hook with one of the pros. Don’t let the cracks in the walls deter you. This is a well run, popular facility. Adult practice time begins early, whereas the teens stream in after school. Gents please know, ladies are welcome!

6) Rolling a Punch

Would you go to Paris and not visit the Louvre? It is a faux pas not to see the intricate art of cigar making. There are a couple of major cigar factories jostling for space and have recently changed locations in Havana. Partagás is the most well known of the factories and sits catty-corner to an equally top quality facility. Each worker individually produces the entire cigar though there are strippers in another area of the factory. Strippers? Yes, the cigar leaf is not ready to roll right off of the plant and needs to be stripped of its main vein. 
 The quality control department is small: one man drags on a randomly picked cigar and rates it by how evenly it burns and how smooth is the draw. An hour later, he lights another. And another. Speak with him. Ask his age and how long he has held the position. Afternoons, one worker sits up front monotonically reading Granma, the daily newspaper, over the loudspeaker. Try to decipher the rhetoric.

7) Not Your Mother’s Dewy Decimal System

Hemingway’s home, Finca Vigia, in the San Francisco area of Havana, is a popular, sought after site and should be included in your itinerary. However, don’t simply show up and peer into the house shoulder-to-shoulder with the other tourists as if it were a fishbowl. Take binoculars and scan his massive bookshelves. Check out his eclectic taste in reads. Then list some of the book titles you find curious and compare with what your friends found. You’ll be surprised what a man like Hemingway had in his collection.

8) Scripts and Scriptures

Casa de la Comunidad Hebrea de Cuba, more commonly known as El Patronato, is Havana’s main synagogue. It is estimated that 1,200-1,500 people comprise Cuba’s Jewish community, which had swelled to 15,000 before the 1950’s Revolution. Nearby Centro Sefaradi is the Sephardic (those emanating from Spain, Turkey or Greece) counterpart with Shoah memorial. Both synagogues offer more than a place of worship. Each houses a pharmacy open to the Cuban community. All too often, medications are unavailable at public pharmacies. The ailing pitch-up at the synagogue, prescription in hand, requesting treatment for infections, diabetic, asthmatic and/or heart conditions. Vitamins and first aide supplies are also stocked. The shelves are kept full solely through donations. Bring a sack of non-expired medications to donate.

9) Graffiti in the Biblical Sense

Callejon de Hamel, is a wildly colorful alley with murals and graffiti serving as a backdrop for a few shops and snack bars. On Sunday afternoons, upbeat, rhythmic music is played while followers of Santeria, an afro-Caribbean religion, dance wherever they can find room. Not to worry if you’re not practicing Santeria--soon everyone’s gyrating to the music.

10) Snuggling with Hemingway

The bar at El Floridita, a restaurant founded in 1820 and frequented by a plethora of celebrities over the years, was Hemingway’s favorite. His favorite seat all the way over to the left when facing the bar, is marked by an impressive bronze bust of the author. Order a Daiquiri and take a selfie of you and Ernest having drinks!

11) Beatles in Cuba

John Lennon solo and The Beatles in Cuba

The Beatles had surprising impact on this island country. Reminders of the group are found in several places. In Havana, John Lennon’s bronze cast is relaxing on a park bench. There’s even an attendant on duty replacing his signature wire-framed glasses as tourists approach! Vandalism prevents the glasses from permanent display. Make sure to sit on, next to or behind John for a fun photo op!
 Another spot for Beatles’ fans is on the main road at the Varadero beach resort town area about two hours east of Havana. Here lies a curious stop for passersby expecting a watersports shop; certainly not drinks and live music at the Beatles Bar! Very chill place to hang on a hot Cuban night. Best photo op here is hanging with John, Paul, George and Ringo out front. OK, so it’s a statue.

12) Basking in Public or Private

Club Havana, the private beach club in the upscale Miramar area, offers more than just Caribbean waters lapping up on a powder sand beach where bikini-clad sun worshipers imbibe mojitos served from a bar shaded by a palapa. It’s more than the adjacent swimming pool tucked in between tennis courts and the main dining room. It’s the historic former home of the 1928 Havana Biltmore Yacht & Country Club.
 Your choice: rub elbows with ambassadors and their families or take a 20-minute cab ride to Playa Santa Maria? Here you’ll enjoy a true Cuban afternoon on this clean, lovely public beach where for 3 CUC’s (about $5) you can rent two lounges and an umbrella for the day. You may want to bring your own cold drinks as there’s no palapa bar here. Just locals spending time with their families and enjoying the gift of a gorgeous beach.

13) Cemeteries Are For The Living

For a serene historical understanding of Cuba’s founders, look not only at tombstone names, but at the surrounding architecture. Havana’s Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, one of the greatest historical resting places in the world, has an astounding array of mausoleums. Monuments erected here even include baseball figures.
 Among other notables, Cementerio Santa Ifigenia in Santiago de Cuba, has interred beloved national hero Jose Martí. So revered, there is a changing of the guard ceremony every half hour; think Britain meets Stalin outside Buckingham Palace.

14) Tarzan in Cienfuegos

Cuba has two seasons: hot and hotter. A wonderful place to cool off while getting away from the city’s hustle-bustle is in the Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos. The variety of foliage in these gardens is mind boggling--whether or not you’re a tree hugger. Sample a mango, hear the rustling of bamboo or better yet, swing from the hanging vines. Have the audio cranked on your smart phone…these trees make noise!

15) 8th Wonder of the World

A single artist painted the entire Mural de la Prehistoria in Valle de Viñales located in Cuba’s western province Pinar del Rio. That alone is amazing. That the work depicting world history spans an entire mountainside is jaw dropping. Watch restoration workers scaling the mountain, hanging from cables, paintbrush in hand. Imagine the ingenuity of the artist. 
 If that’s not enough ‘draw’ for you, how about hopping up on the caretaker’s pet water buffalo? Unless you have a wide-angle lens, forget about a selfie.

16) There’s Not Always a Winner

Museo Playa Girón is home to an historical factual rendition of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion; from the Cuban point of view. It’s worth snapping pictures of a couple of the fading English explanation cards in some of the display cabinets. Then meander up the block to the actual beach where the fiasco took place and debate the card’s content!

17) Castles in Cuba

Historically, fortresses, known locally as castles, provided defense for Cuba’s major port cities. Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro, commonly known as Morro Castle, is Havana’s hallmark. One doesn’t dare return without a photo of, in and climbing on this historical, imposing landmark. San Pedro de la Roca del Morro Castle in Santiago de Cuba is one favorite, for the view it offers as well as the nooks and crannies for which to explore. Another pet fortress is Castillo de Jagua, Cienfuegos. Getting to the castle is half the fun as it sits on the opposite side of the bay in Cienfuegos. Hop on a ferry, then walk through the quaint town speaking with locals on your way up the hill. Passing goats at the base, you’ll cross a drawbridge over a dry moat. If you’re lucky, the attendant on duty will let you crank up the bridge!

18) New Year’s Eve Gala

Once you bring in a new year in Cathedral Square, Old Havana, you’ll never want to celebrate anywhere else. The cathedral and surrounding buildings in Plaza de la Catedral are awash in purple glow. Live Cuban music groups rotate, soft jazz early on, after midnight the music compels dancing. Sit-down dinner is delicious with attentive service. Mark your calendar for this spectacular event!