2 days in Havana

Day by day

1. Day 1: Plaza de la Catedral and Havana Cathedral and Plaza Vieja

   Plaza de la Catedral and Havana Cathedral, Plaza Vieja, El Capitolio and Classic car tour, then Malecón in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Plaza de la Catedral and Havana Cathedral

      One of them houses the Museo de Arte Colonial, with period furniture and stained-glass windows.

   2. Late morning

      Plaza Vieja

      Cafés, a microbrewery and the Cámara Oscura, a rooftop camera obscura projecting live views of the city, sit around it.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Ropa vieja

      Paladares across Old Havana, Centro and Vedado.

   4. Afternoon

      El Capitolio

      Guided visits take in the Salón de los Pasos Perdidos and the replica diamond set in the floor marking kilometre zero for Cuba's roads.

   5. Late afternoon

      Classic car tour

      Prices are per car, not per person.

   6. Evening

      Malecón

      Walk the stretch from the Prado to the Hotel Nacional at sunset, or ride it in a classic convertible.

2. Day 2: Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro and Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña

   Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro, Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña, Plaza de la Revolución and Plaza de Armas, then Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro

      It is part of the Morro-Cabaña historical park on the east side of the channel.

   2. Late morning

      Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña

      Every evening at 9pm, soldiers in 18th-century uniforms fire a cannon in the Cañonazo ceremony, a tradition that once signalled the closing of the city gates.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Moros y cristianos

      Every Cuban restaurant and casa particular dinner.

   4. Afternoon

      Plaza de la Revolución

      It has been the setting for major rallies for decades.

   5. Late afternoon

      Plaza de Armas

      On one side stands the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the former governors' palace now home to the City Museum; nearby, the small neoclassical El Templete marks the city's founding site under a ceiba tree.

   6. Evening

      Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso

      Ask at the box office for the week's programme; ballet tickets are good value compared with similar venues abroad.

If it rains

• Swap in Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Habana Vieja (Old Havana)): If time is short, choose the Cuban art building; it is the collection you can't see anywhere else.
• Swap in Castillo de la Real Fuerza (Habana Vieja (Old Havana)): Climb the tower for a view over the harbour and Plaza de Armas.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 10–14 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.7 hours in December to 13.5 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Walking. The plazas of Old Havana, the Prado, Parque Central and the Capitolio are all within 15 minutes of each other on foot; Vedado is about 45 minutes' walk along the Malecón.

More or fewer days

• One day in Havana
• 3 days in Havana
• 5 days in Havana

Questions travellers ask