Havana City

For more than 400 years, Havana, capital of the Republic of Cuba, has been at the heart of world communications and trade.  It is also the administrative, political, cultural and scientific center of the country.  Close to 20 percent of the country’s population lives in this area of only 281 square miles (727 square kilometers, or 0.65 percent of the total land area of the archipelago).

Havana has a long coastline, with nearly nine miles (more than 14 kilometers) of excellent beaches.  Inland, a green belt contributes to its environmental health.  The city has all the facilities needed for hosting incentive travel and business tourism.

In 1982, UNESCO declared Old Havana and its system of fortifications to be a part of world heritage.  This part of the city, which covers around 142 hectares, is unquestionably its greatest drawing card.  This area contains a series of public squares surrounded not only by majestic buildings but also by a powerful defense system which includes the Real Fuerza Castle, the Tres Reyes del Morro Castle and the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress, whose original appearance has been preserved.

The main patrimonial value of the Cuban capital is that its buildings—constructed over a period of nearly 500 years—embody a wide range of architectural styles, which run from the pre-baroque to the baroque, neo-Gothic, neoclassic, eclectic, art noveau, art-deco and modern.

The city has several symbols.  One is the Giraldilla, a bronze weather vane in the shape of a woman that stands atop a public building dating from colonial times near the entrance to the bay.  Inspired by the Giralda in Seville, it was made by Jerónimo Martín Pinzón, of Havana.  The other symbols include Morro Castle, the Malecón Seawall Drive and Prado Promenade, Tropicana Nightclub and the Bodeguita del Medio and Floridita Restaurants.  This last is closely linked to Ernest Hemingway.

Havana has two international marinas: the Hemingway Marina, just a few miles to the west, and the Tarará Marina, at one of the East Havana Beaches, which offer facilities for engaging in all kinds of water sports.  There is a nine-hole golf course near Lenin Park, which was created in 1972 and, together with the National Botanical Garden and Metropolitan Park, is a vital part of the city’s green belt.

Most of Havana’s hotels are in the four- and five-star categories, though you can also find very comfortable lodgings in less prestigious establishments.

Drop us a line and Cuba All Inclusive Resorts will start making your dreams come true.