A Long Weekend in Havana: The Offbeat Plan
This 3 day Havana plan takes the same Habana Vieja and Vedado core as our 2 day itinerary and adds a full third day for Fusterlandia and Colon Cemetery. Bring all your trip cash before you land, since cards and ATMs are effectively dead in Cuba as of 2026. Longer trip? See the 4 day version or the Havana hidden gems guide .
Book these before you go
- Check casas and hotels in Havana on Booking.com : cash-only lodging fills up faster than the reviews suggest
- Reserve a classic car tour at a fixed price agreed before you get in, useful for Day 3’s sunset loop
- Book a Habana Vieja walking tour for context on your first pass through the plazas
Day 1: Habana Vieja and the camera nobody looks for
Morning
Start in Plaza Vieja and find the camera obscura in the corner building: a darkened room projecting a live, rotating image of the surrounding rooftops onto a concave screen, rooftop access included for a few dollars cash. Coffee at a plaza-side cafe before the heat sets in.
Afternoon
Walk through Plaza de la Catedral and Plaza de Armas, all part of Old Havana’s UNESCO-listed core since 1982, then Calle Obispo. Lunch at a paladar rather than a state restaurant, $10 to 15 per person; expect the odd dish to be unavailable, a supply reality here, not a bad sign.
Evening
Walk the Malecon toward sunset, then close at a rooftop bar with a live trio playing son, minimal or no cover.
Day 2: Vedado, the Cold War bunker, and Fabrica de Arte Cubano
Morning
Wander the free grounds of the Hotel Nacional, including its Missile Crisis-era bunker museum. Opened in 1930, it hosted a 1946 mob summit; the terrace over the Malecon is worth one cocktail even on a tight budget.
Afternoon
Cut through Parque John Lennon and past the University of Havana steps for a slower afternoon; Cuba’s power situation makes an unhurried pace more realistic than a packed one.
Evening
If this night lands Thursday through Sunday, end at Fabrica de Arte Cubano, a former cooking-oil factory turned gallery-nightclub hybrid, 8pm to as late as 4am, cover around $2 that converts to your first drink. Otherwise, a Vedado paladar dinner and another rooftop son bar covers it.
Day 3: Fusterlandia, Colon Cemetery, and a farewell car loop
Morning
Taxi 20 to 30 minutes to Jaimanitas for Fusterlandia, artist Jose Fuster’s mosaic-covered street art sprawl. Free to walk, though a small tip at houses run by working artisans is expected. Pass through Miramar on the way back, Havana’s quiet, embassy-dense western district.
Afternoon
Visit Colon Cemetery, a 57-hectare necropolis of full-scale marble mausoleums including La Milagrosa. Entry runs about $5 cash, open 8am to 5pm; a guided tour costs closer to $20.
Evening
Close the trip with a classic car sunset loop along the Malecon; agree the price and route before getting in, since open-asking rates swing from $20 to $140 for what is nominally the same 1 to 2 hour loop, and $35 to 80 an hour is a fair negotiated range. Dinner at a paladar near the Vedado-Miramar boundary afterward.
US travelers should confirm their OFAC travel category before booking (most use “Support for the Cuban People”) at ofac.treasury.gov .
Concrete tip: change your cash with your casa host or an established paladar, never a street changer, and count it before you walk away.