"World Heritage and city planning" Havana by bzh

Havana is at the centre of the province of the same name, around a small bay, Bahia de Habana, that opens on the Straits of Florida.

Most of the city is on the West side of the bay. Directly West of the entrance to the bay is the old centre, Habana Vieja. Going West from there, you go through the modern centre, Centro Habana and a neighbourhood called Vedado.

East of the bay are the Eastern Forts that were built by the Spanish in the XVI, XVII and XVIII Centuries to protect the town. The rest of the Eastern part of the town, as well as the South are the most recent areas.

Hotel Nacional in Vedado

The two most interesting areas of Havana are Habana Vieja and Vedado.

Habana Vieja is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its narrow streets and Spanish colonial buildings are worth days of endless wandering, occasionally stopping in a coffee shop to watch the world go by.

Vedado is full of impressive buildings erected by 50's millionnaires who used Havana as their playground. The most famous of those is the Hotel Nacional, along Malecon.

Havana University building

The rest of the city is more recent and suffers from a bad case of traditional communist style city planning. Straight multi-lane avenues and soulless concrete buildings are the norm. The occasional monument or unusual building can be worth a look though.