Where to stay in Havana in 2022? The Best Guide by a local
If you have ever thought about traveling to Cuba, exactly to the capital Havana. You may have wondered which is the best municipality or area to stay in the capital of the island.
Do you want to know which area is the safest if you travel alone or what type of accommodation is best for you according to your tastes and preferences?
In this post, Yalorde Yoga shares with you, secrets that only a local knows and that will help you have the best travel experience and stay in the best location in Havana.
Getting to know the municipalities of Havana
The province of Havana is currently constituted by 15 municipalities:
- La Habana Vieja
- Centro Habana
- Plaza de la Revolución
- Playa
- Marianao
- Diez de Octubre
- Cerro
- Regla
- San Miguel
- Cotorro
- Arroyo Naranjo
- Guanabacoa
- Boyeros
- Habana del Este y
- La Lisa.
But, which are the best municipalities to stay during your trip? That depends on the things you like to do. You are passionate about architecture or maybe you love the sea. Know which is your perfect municipality for your next trip to Havana. Continue reading this post.
# 1 Old Havana: For lovers of colonial architecture and history.
Old Havana is the municipality that corresponds to the oldest part of the province of Havana, Cuba. This is the only space that covered the city during the first colonial centuries, where the fortresses and other great ancient monuments sit, which makes it one of the richest colonial groups in Latin America. Its historic urban center is a World Heritage Site.
The history of Old Havana encompasses three fundamental periods, which are clearly reflected in the urban landscape. The Spanish colonial period (1519 to 1898), the North American neo-colonial period (1898 to 1959), and the revolutionary period (from 1960 to date).
The colonial period, which lasted almost 400 years, endowed Havana with a large number of buildings that distinguish it today, and that has led UNESCO to declare the city center, Old Havana, like Cultural Heritage of Humanity, in 1982.
Old Havana is one of the most tourist areas of Havana, due, in large part, to the restoration and conservation of its colonial architecture.
The old town of Old Havana has a varied cultural and gastronomic offer, ranging from restaurants of all kinds, bars, canteens and famous nightclubs. Due to a large amount of tourism, life in Old Havana is very active and artisan and book fairs, artistic presentations, sports clubs, and much Cuban art take place.
Old Havana may seem to travelers as a museum piece, a film set asleep in time but the truth is that it is a bustling community in which approximately 100,000 people live, interacting with their environment.
# 2 El Vedado: For lovers of modernity and neocolonial architecture.
Top recommendation for solo women travelers:
- Safe, central, with many restaurants, bars and easy to transport either on foot or by taxi.
Plaza de lRevoluciónon municipality is the protagonist of multiple important events for the life of Cuba, such as political rallies and labor marches in the Plaza de la Revoluciónon, student and revolutionary struggles around the university stairwell, places where they fell distinguished martyrs of the revolution, etc.
In this municipality is the neighborhood “El Vedado”, a neighborhood of the city of Havana whose construction began at the end of the 19th century and reached its maximum splendor in the first half of the 20th century.
Vedado is considered a model of urban development, it was characterized by the harmonious combination of streets and avenues populated by trees, portals and stately homes of the most varied styles, predominantly the eclectic.
The subsequent evolution of this neighborhood, led him to combine buildings, cinemas, restaurants, schools, public institutions that were completing its urban plot but without losing the charm of its walks and tree-lined streets in which the monumental residences of past times are still present, whose number possibly does not exist in any other city in Cuba.
Emblematic places of our history and traditions:
- The University of Havana, the Revolution Square, the Palace of the Revolution, the offices of the Central Committee and the State Council, La Rampa, the Christopher Columbus Cemetery, the Malecon, the Anti-Imperialist Tribune, and others.
The cultural institutions of the territory are dissimilar:
- Museum of Decorative Arts, Napoleonic Museum, Postal Museum, National Sports Museum, Historical Museum Revolution Square, Montané Anthropological Museum, Abel Santamaría Museum, Máximo Gómez Museum, Dance Museum, José Martí Memorial, Juan Marinello Memorial and Museum of Legal Medicine located in the Calixto García hospital and which is linked to teaching.
# 3 Playa Municipality: For lovers of the sea and tranquility.
If you are one of those who loves to be near the sea, feel the breeze and enjoy infinite tranquility, Playa is the perfect municipality for you.
In this municipality, there are embassies, large supermarkets, and luxury hotels as well as beautiful private houses that you can rent.
The municipality Playa is favored by the extensive area of the coast and the relative proximity between the rivers, whose routes create an environment of humidity that enlivens the territory, making it more cozy and comfortable.
In general, as a consequence of urban development, there is a fairly dispersed forest distribution, even when it has areas with large green spaces. One is located north of the Jaimanitas River bordering Marianao, another in the Cubanacán neighborhood and a third in the vicinity of the Almendares River (Havana Forest). The most abundant trees are Flamboyán, Ceiba, Alamo, mainly to the south.
Consider a tour for your first solo trip.
Taking a women’s tour for your first trip is just a great way to immerse yourself in the culture and meet new people. A tour can save you money since you will have everything included in a package and only spend on souvenirs.
Ludisis Mones
Ludisis is a Cuban certified yoga teacher who is passionate about yoga and the spiritual world.
During our tours, Ludisis will bring you to the best places where you can enjoy authentic Cuba.
Ludisis is educated as a dance instructor, tourist guide, and yoga teacher.
She understands the subtle difference between making you a plain tourist and making you a partaker of the real, local Cuban culture.
Leave a Replay
About Yalorde Yoga
Yalorde Yoga is a Cuban organization dedicated to sharing the beauty of Cuba and its culture through Yoga Holidays. Our passion is to show you the sites and secrets that just locals know.
Our goal is to delight you, by creating and organize events in Cuba that exceed your needs and expectations. We welcome all kinds of travelers, solo travelers, families, seniors.
Discover Cuba with Cubans!
