Top 10 things to do in Havana

Havana ooh na na… In spring, Cuba’s capital is bathed in glorious light and cooler temperatures making it the perfect time to see her colourful buildings and gelato-coloured classic cars. Dip into her thrilling nightlife and spend time in her bars and cafés that spill out on to sun-splashed pavements. Don’t miss these top 10 things to do on your visit!

Havana’s curving coastal road is best viewed from the seat of a convertible Detroit classic. Take your pick of 1950s American beauties – Chevvies, Cadillacs or Fords in hues of canary yellow, candy floss pink or turquoise blue. With their top downs and your driver doing all the work, you’ll have panoramic views of salt-bitten buildings along the Malecón, the mercurial sea, castles, and a cluster of high-rises behind the cream-coloured iconic National Hotel.

For almost 10 years, an artsy powerhouse in an ex-factory building has been luring Cuba’s creatives and curious visitors for its incredible programme of dance, live music, fashion walks, theatre, and photography. At the mural decorated Fábrica de Arte Cubano, come for the shows, the buzz, the indie concessions, bars, and the restaurant.

Discover Havana’s thriving art scene. Check out the Museum of Fine Arts where you’ll find the pop art of Raúl Martínez, paintings by Manuel Mendive and Wifredo Lam infused with African symbolism, the bold colours of Amelia Peláez, and the thought-provoking work of Antonia Eiriz, Sandra Ramos and Esterio Segura. Then, hit Havana’s streets with guidebook Cutting Edge Art in Havana: 100 Cuban Artists and tour private studios of artists across the capital.

Cuban culture is dipped in rum. Savour this most delicious of drinks on a guided tour of the Museum of Havana Club Rum. With your new spirit know-how, bar hop your way through the city. The museum’s guided tour is excellent and is followed by a rum tasting session at its long, wooden bar. Following the tour, hit the city’s bars for cocktails and tipples. At El Floridita, once frequented by Hemingway, ask for a daiquiri perfected to the writer’s wish, and at El del Frente, its moreish double-strength mojitos.

Fidel Castro smoked a Cohiba especially crafted for him. Get the lowdown on Cuba’s cigars, the island’s most famous export, on a visit to a cigar-making factory in Centro Havana. The relocated Partagás Cigar Factory tour talks you through each delicate process from tobacco seed to luxury smoke. You’ll see workers rolling cigars for brands such as Montecristo and staff preparing cigar boxes made from cedar, with their powerful scent.

Havana’s old city, La Habana Vieja, covers a couple of square miles of elegant historic buildings: Spanish colonial villas, cobbled squares, churches, and civic buildings. With fountains in pretty patios, stained glass windows, wooden balconies, and wooden shuttered windows, it’s a glorious ancient warren of streets to wander on foot. Make sure you see Old Havana’s four main plazas: Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, Old, and San Francisco.

Stroll the leafy streets of Cuba’s bourgeois El Vedado neighbourhood lined with wedding cake mansions, gated villas, and small parks. Calle 17 takes you past the impressive Decorative Arts Museum, a former private mansion, and west to John Lennon Park. Don’t miss the city of angels, Havana’s Christopher Columbus Necropolis, best visited with a guide.

Cuba’s stellar culture is world renowned. Catch the lilting sounds of son, the energetic percussive tunes of salsa or party with the latest Cuban DJ at a rooftop bar. Fancy theatre or dance? Check out billboards at the Gran Teatro opposite central park and keep your ears to the ground for dance, ballet, jazz, and percussion festivals and events.

Down in the southern lanes of Old Havana, Cuban artists and foreign street artists spray paint the peeling colourful walls of San Isidro district. Once a former roaming ground of a famous early 20^th-century pimp Alberto Yarini, San Isidro is changing with its mural revolution. Stroll San Isidro Art District on foot south of Jesús María Street. Spearheading the change is well-known actor Jorge Perugorría who, along with his sons, opened Galería Taller Gorria for showcasing contemporary art. Above is the family’s popular rooftop bar Yarini.

Havana’s new wave of creative entrepreneurs have changed Havana. Just 15 years ago you’d pack your bags with souvenirs of rum, cigars, socialist badges, papier mache models and handworked lace. Today the indie shopping scene is vibrant and growing. For cool designer items such as tees, totes and posters, head to Clandestina. For handmade clothes to Dador. Piscolabis have beautiful handmade gifts; La Marca offers tattoos, clothes, and gifts. And Beyond Roots sells clothes, souvenirs and collectibles rooted in Afro-Cuban experience.