Havana

Havana is not, in the usual sense, a city that welcomes tourists. It has no tourist infrastructure to speak of, no reliable ATM network, no apps that work as advertised, and in 2025 and into 2026 it has endured rolling blackouts of up to twelve hours a day. Yet it remains one of the most compelling cities in the Western Hemisphere, and the people who visit it tend to return. That paradox is worth unpacking before you book anything.

The current situation: what has changed

Cuba has been experiencing a severe energy crisis since late 2024, caused by aging power infrastructure and acute fuel shortages. Havana has fared better than the provinces, because the government prioritizes the capital, but scheduled cuts of several hours are still common. Larger tourist hotels maintain generators. Smaller casas particulares do not always have that option. As of mid-2026, Canada’s Global Affairs department has raised Cuba to “Avoid Non-Essential Travel,” and several Canadian airlines suspended flights through at least April 2026. Some have resumed; some have not. Check your own country’s advice before committing to flights.

Credit and debit cards from Visa and Mastercard stopped working in Cuba from June 6, 2026. Bring cash, in USD, Euros, or Canadian dollars. The practical amount depends on your spending level: a week for a mid-range traveller runs roughly USD $900 to $1,400 excluding flights. Do not count on getting cash from ATMs or exchanging currency through hotel desks reliably.

For US citizens: tourist travel to Cuba remains prohibited under US law, and OFAC licenses are required. This has not changed.

What Havana actually offers

The draw is not convenience. It is architecture that survived precisely because there was no money to knock it down and rebuild, a music scene that developed largely in isolation from the rest of the world, and a street life that still involves actual human beings talking to each other rather than staring at phones. The classic American cars from the 1950s, often cited as a cliche, are not a cliche when you understand why they are still running. After the revolution in 1959, the US embargo cut off the supply of new cars and parts. Cuban mechanics spent the next six decades improvising, cannibalizing parts from Soviet vehicles and domestic machinery, fabricating components by hand. What looks like nostalgia is actually engineering survival.

Where to spend time

Old Havana (Habana Vieja) is the most visited part of the city and deserves the attention it gets. The streets around Plaza Vieja and the Havana Cathedral contain some of the finest baroque and neoclassical architecture in the Americas. The Cathedral itself, finished in 1777, was described by a 19th-century writer as “music turned to stone.” The Museo de la Revolucion in the former Presidential Palace gives a thorough account of Cuban history from the Spanish colonial period through the revolutionary period, told entirely from one political perspective, which is itself instructive. The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes holds the most important collection of Cuban fine art in existence.

The Malecon, the five-kilometre seawall that runs along the north edge of the city, is best at dusk. It functions as a social space as much as a thoroughfare: families, couples, musicians, fishermen, and anyone who has nowhere else to be congregate along it in the evenings. Spray comes over the wall when the sea is rough. Bring a waterproof layer if the wind is up.

For most visitors, the Hemingway connection is a reliable anchor point. Finca Vigia, his house in the suburb of San Francisco de Paula about 15 kilometres from the city centre, is now a museum and open to visitors, though you view the interior from outside through the windows rather than walking through rooms. His bar, the Floridita in Old Havana, is famous and touristy in the way that famous bars in famous cities tend to be, but the daiquiris are actually good.

Eating: paladares over state restaurants

Private restaurants, called paladares, are almost always better than state-run establishments. La Guarida in the Centro Habana neighbourhood is the most celebrated. The building, constructed in 1913 and known then as La Mansion Camagüey, became the filming location for the 1994 Cuban film Fresa y Chocolate. Enrique Nunez del Valle opened the restaurant there in 1996. Two flights of marble stairs, wrought-iron banisters, and ornate stone walls lead to a dining room that still has the feel of a crumbling mansion pressed into service. The food is new Cuban cuisine using local ingredients. The rooftop bar has some of the better views in the city.

Other paladares worth seeking out include El del Frente in Old Havana, which has a rooftop setting and a creative menu, and Atelier in Vedado, located in an old mansion where the menu changes regularly and reflects what the market has that week. El Cocinero, also in Vedado, operates in a converted vegetable oil factory with an outdoor terrace and a reliably good kitchen. None of these are cheap by Cuban standards, but meal prices at good paladares typically run USD $15 to $35 per person, which is reasonable by international standards.

Where to stay

The Hotel Nacional de Cuba on the Malecon is the city’s most iconic hotel, open since 1930 and bearing the fingerprints of every significant person who has passed through Havana since then. Its gangster history alone is worth a visit: Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, and Frank Sinatra all stayed here during the Batista years. Rates sit at mid to upper range and the building, while showing its age, is properly maintained. The Melia Habana in Miramar is a more modern option with reliable air conditioning and generator backup, which matters given the current power situation.

Casas particulares are private homes that rent rooms, and staying in one gives you a more direct experience of Cuban daily life than any hotel can. Expect to pay USD $30 to $70 per night for a decent room in Havana. The arrangement typically includes breakfast for a small additional charge. Book through direct contact or through trusted third parties rather than large booking platforms, as cancellations and changes are difficult to manage once you are on the ground without reliable internet access.

Getting around

Classic car tours are the most enjoyable way to see the city from the outside. An hourly rate of roughly CUC 25 to 40 gets you a 1950s convertible and a driver who will take you along the Malecon, through Old Havana, and out to Finca Vigia if you want. The cars are not props: they are working vehicles maintained by people whose family incomes depend on them running. Several operators cluster near Parque Central.

Public transport within Havana is unreliable and difficult to navigate without Spanish. Taxis negotiated directly with drivers are practical but require agreeing on a price in advance. Ride-hailing apps do not work in Cuba. Cocotaxis, the three-wheeled yellow vehicles, cover shorter distances in the tourist areas at low cost.

Practical notes

Bring everything you might need. Pharmacies are frequently empty. Sunscreen, medications, phone chargers, and any specialist item you might want are best sourced before arrival. Download offline maps before you land; internet connectivity is via government-sold data cards and is slow and intermittent. Cuba Standard Time is UTC-5 in winter, UTC-4 during daylight saving from mid-March to late October.

The best time to visit, if you are choosing on weather grounds alone, is November to April, when temperatures sit between 20 and 27 degrees Celsius and rainfall is lower. The shoulder months of November and December combine manageable heat with lower tourist numbers than the peak Christmas period.

Havana rewards travellers who go with low expectations for logistics and high expectations for surprise. Almost everything that makes it worth visiting is the unintended result of isolation and constraint. That is not a romantic observation; it is just the history.