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Central Havana, or 'Centro',
is laid out in a near perfect grid in the
area between the Paseo del Prado
to the east and the neighborhood of Vedado
to the west. This area is considered to
be the heart of the city. The Malecón
runs along the north boundary of this district.
There architecture in this area is very
impressive. El Capitolio or the capitol
building is modeled after the Capitol in
Washington, D.C. It was inaugurated in 1929
and today is a museum, convention and exposition
center. There is a small Chinatown, but
nothing like the ones in San Francisco,
New York or Los Angeles. The remnants of
Cuba's once thriving Chinese community live
in this part of the city.
Vedado, to the west, is Havana's
main commercial and residential center.
There are mostly hotels and apartments located
in this part of the city. There are some
art deco buildings like the ones found in
Miami. The University of Havana,
and a couple of museums are among the attractions
found there.
La Rampa, the name for Calle
23 from Calle L to the sea in
Vedado, is the five block area and the vibrant
nerve center of Havana. It begins at around
the halfway point on the Malecón
and ends at the Havana Libre Hotel.
The Hotel Capri, Hotel Riviera
and Hotel Nacional are high rise
hotels which originally catered to Americans
in the pre-Castro days. Travel agencies,
restaurants, cabarets, stores and theaters
are found within this district. One of the
cities most popular meeting places is the
famous Coppelia Ice Cream Parlour
and Park.
The exclusive suburb of Miramar,
west of Vedado on the west bank of the Almendares
River, gives us a glimpse of life before
the revolution with its tree lined avenues,
mansions and villas. This is where the richest
of Havana's residents lived before the revolution.
Now, most of the mansions are embassies,
offices and schools. The main drag of this
formerly glitzy upper class area is appropriately
called Fifth Avenue. The Acuario Nacional
or National Aquarium (Avenida 1 No 6002
at calle 60) is found in this neighborhood.
It contains saltwater fish and performing
dolphins. The Convention Center and
Tropicana Nightclub are also found
here along with a few good restaurants.
To the west of Miramar are a string of
seemingly endless suburbs. On Havana's outskirts
there are many places of interest. About
eight miles west of Havana on the coast
is the Hemingway Marina. It is Cuba's
largest marina and has space for over 400
yachts. There are restaurants - including
the famous Papas, a hotel, supermarket
and shopping center in this complex. The
marina is the site of the annual Ernest
Hemingway Fishing Tournament held each
May. Scuba diving, water skiing and jet
skiing are also available at the marina.
About 7 miles east of Havana is the suburb
and little town of San Francisco de Paula,
where the Museo Hemingway or Hemingway
Museum, is found. It contains many of the
late writer's relics. Cojímar, about
6 miles east of Havana, is a picturesque
little fishing village famous for being
the setting of Hemingway's classic novel,
The Old Man and the Sea. This village has
a laid back Caribbean atmosphere and a seafront
promenade. Go to La Terraza restaurant
to check out the Hemingway memorabilia.
It was a favorite local hangout of his,
and the sea food is delicious.
Playas del Este, Havana's eastern
beaches, offers something for beach lovers.
There are a series of fourteen beaches strung
along miles of beautiful coastline. Bacuranao
is the first beach east of Havana. Santa
María del Mar is the longest of these
beaches and is as popular with tourists
as is Guanabo with the locals. Other
good beaches are Mégano and Boca
Ciega. The last of these beaches Jibacoa,
about fifty miles east of Havana, is a good
snorkeling beach because of the numerous
reefs offshore. It is less expensive than
most of the other resorts in the area. All
these beaches have accommodations and food
as well as fine white sand, crystal clear
blue water and recreational facilities.
These nearby beaches can be reached by either
bus or electric train.
If readers wish to know more about Havana
they should read Christopher Baker's
Havana Handbook. This fine work is the
companion guide to Mr. Baker's classic,
Cuba Handbook. It is the first ever
travel guidebook in English devoted solely
to the Cuba capital and is filled with 450
pages of indispensable information. Please
see the "Suggested Reading" section
in Chapter 9 for additional details.
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