Havana - Footprint Travel Guides

Transcripción

Havana
Essential information
Population: 2,204,300
Language: Spanish
Currency: Dual currency system
– domestic peso (CP$ or CUP$)
and a convertible peso (CUC$,
pronounced ‘cook’). Foreigners are
expected to use the convertible
peso which are exchangeable with
euros, sterling and Canadian dollars.
Visas and immigration: Visitors
from the majority of countries need
only a passport, return ticket and
a 30-day tourist card which can be
obtained from Cuban embassies,
consulates, airlines or approved
travel agents.
Taxes: Departure tax of CUC$25
Time: GMT-5 (Mar-Oct GMT-4)
procedures and a lot of pushing
and shoving. There is a hop-on,
hop-off tour bus for foreigners
(the Habana BusTour, CUC$4 per
day), leaving from the Parque
Central with one route to the
Plaza de la Revolución and the
other out to the Playas del Este.
Arriving from the
airport
Finding your way
around
The José Martí international
airport is 18 km from Havana and
all flights from abroad, with the
exception of Cancún, use Terminal
3. As many transatlantic flights
arrive late at night it can be
sensible to arrange the transfer
from the airport to your hotel in
advance with your travel agent
although it is cheaper to get a taxi
when you arrive; fares range from
CUC$15-25. Alternatively, for flights
arriving in daylight hours, Havana
train station is at the southern
end of the old city, within walking
distance of any of the hotels there
or in Centro Habana.
The centre of Havana is divided
into five sections, three of which
are of most interest to visitors, La
Habana Vieja (Old Havana), Centro
Habana (Central Havana) and
Vedado, linked by the Malecón, a
picturesque thoroughfare along
the coast. Most of the museums,
palaces and churches of interest
are in La Habana Vieja. Centro is
largely residential and Vedado has
most of the action, with clubs,
bars, theatres, cinemas and hotels
with murky pre-Revolution tales
to tell.
Buses are tricky for the uninitiated,
involving complicated queuing
Bicitaxi
More leisurely than taking the bus
is to hire a bicitaxi (bicycle taxi) for
short journeys. Beware of scams as
bicitaxis are banned from certain
parts of the city and they risk a
large fine if caught, so they are
likely to charge you over the odds
to make it worthwhile.
Cocotaxi
These overpriced, bright yellow
motorcycle taxis are called
cocotaxis because of their shape.
Traditional taxis are also widely
available.
Much of the city can be covered
on foot. It is also possible to hire
scooters and cars.
Climate: The driest and the least
humid time of the year is between
December and March. July to
August is the hottest time. Rain falls
mainly in May and June and then
from September to October.
Country code: +53
Health issues:
Vaccinations: Tetanus, Typhoid,
Hepatitis A, sometimes Hepatitis B,
Rabies and Diphtheria.
Water: Bottled water is
recommended.
Plug type: American flat 2-pin.
Don’t forget to pack: Any
medicines you might need as they
are in short supply in Cuba.
First night
For food on the first night head to
La Habana Vieja (Old Havana), which
has a range of dining options, most
of which are situated in renovated
mansions or merchant’s houses, to
suit any pocket.
Top 5 sights and attractions

Museo del Ron
Mon-Thu 0900-1700, Fri-Sun 09001600, CUC$7.
Located in the Fundación Destilería Havana Club, the Museo del
Ron displays the rum production
process from the sugar cane
plantation to the bottling. Entry
includes a tasting of a six-year old
Havana Club rum in a bar that is
a mock up of the once-famous
Sloppy Joe’s.
Where next?
The famous Cuban cigars, hand rolled by
“torcedores” are claimed by cigar experts to be
the most skilled rollers in the world. Torcedores
are highly respected in Cuban society and
culture and travel worldwide displaying their
art of hand rolling cigars.
Located behind the Capitolio, the
tour around the Partagás cigar
factory is very interesting but pricey.
You are taken through the factory
and shown the whole cigar
production process from storage
and sorting of leaves, to packaging
and labelling of the cigars.
The collection (Arte Universal)
consists of 47,628 works of
art, from an ancient Egyptian
sarcophagus to contemporary
Cuban paintings. This is a truly
spectacular museum and well
worth a look even if you are not
keen on modern art.
Tue-Sat 0930-1100 and 1200-1400,
40-min tours every 15 minutes,
CUC$10, tickets must be bought in
advance in hotel lobbies.
5
Tue-Sat 1000-1800, Sun 1000-1400
CUC$5.
4 Partagás cigar factory
de Bellas Artes

2 Museo Nacional Palacio

5

1

4

2

3

Outside the Capitolio there are old
American cars waiting to offer taxi
rides, as well as conventional taxis.

Don’t forget to look up to the
balconies.
The Capitolio was built in the style
of the US Capitol in Washington
and is home to the tallest
interior statue in Latin America, a
statue of Jupiter, and a 24-carat
diamond, situated in the entrance
hall, which pinpoints zero for
all distance measurements in
Cuba. Initially used as the seat
of parliament, the Capitolio now
houses the Cuban Academy of
Sciences and the National Library
of Science and Technology.

Several days can be spent strolling
around the narrow streets or
along the waterfront, stopping in
bars and open-air cafés to take in
the atmosphere.
Daily 0900-1800 but often shuts
early, CUC$3.

The old city is the area with the
greatest concentration of sites of
interest and where most work is
being done to restore buildings to
their former glory. New museums,
art galleries, hotels, restaurants
and shops are opening all the
time in renovated mansions or
merchants’ houses.
Capitolio

(Old Havana)
3
1 La Habana Vieja

Places within striking
distance of Havana include
the lush green valley of
Vinales; the fields of top-class
tobacco in the Province of
Pinar del Rio or the beaches
to the east of the Capital,
Playas del Este.
An Angel statue at Gran Teatro de La
Habana
(The Great Theatre of Havana), located in
the Paseo del Prado. Home of the Cuban
National Ballet and, on its main stage, of the
International Ballet Festival of Havana.