Havana

Havana (City Guide)

Havana is a cultural powerhouse. A delightful and at times wicked set of contradictions, she is proud and boastful, unabashed and raw. Unlock the doors to the city - the Havana of delectable mojitos and proud intellectualism, of salsa and Santeria - with this comprehensive guide: cruise through Havana Vieja ona tailored walking tour, find romance along the Malecon, or simply puff knowingly on your Cohiba as you marvel at this cosmopolitan city on the verge of international stardom.

Discover Havana - dedicated Arts, Music and Architecture chapters reveal the culture, history, spirit and pathos of this Caribbean dynamo.

Find Yourself - detailed full-color maps guide you through Havana Vieja's narrow streets to her revolutionary monuments and neighboring beaches.

When Night Falls - immerse yourself in Havana's mambo rhythms or find that perfect hostel with expanded sleeping, eating and entertainment listings.

Under The Skin - comprehensive language and cultural coverage, and candid local interviews take you beyond the tourist trail.

Havana: Two Faces of the Antillean Metropolis

One of the oldest and most celebrated cities in the Western Hemisphere, Havana is a fascinating metropolis where history has left its handprint on every corner. Here, an international trio of well-known architects and planners assesses nearly five hundred years of development in the Cuban capital. They offer an insightful introduction to Havana's historic architecture and modern buildings, its social and economic fabric, its diverse people, and its contemporary challenges and opportunities.

From the colonial and early republican periods, through the 1959 revolution, and into the post-Soviet era and today, the authors trace Havana's physical evolution and place it in the context of important political, economic, and cultural developments. This new edition--which has been completely revised, redesigned, and updated since the book's original publication in 1997--also highlights recent restoration efforts in Old Havana, commercial development projects throughout the city, and the wide-ranging effects of international tourism.

Bicycling Cuba: Fifty Days of Detailed Rides from Havana to Pinar Del Rio and the Oriente

Discover all Cuba has to offer in this complete cycling guide.

Wally and Barbara Smith spent 6 months cycling 8,000 miles in Cuba to provide detailed directions for 50 days of cycling. The rides vary in length, many combining to create multi-day loops. Detailed directions describe rides leaving Havana to the west and east. Subsequent rides are clustered in the three best regions of Cuba for cycling: Pinar del Rio, Central Cuba, and the Oriente. A final section contains advice on connecting the regions for a long tour of the entire island. In addition, the authors provide information on getting to Cuba, equipment and accessories, food and water, safety considerations, overnight accommodations, and more.

Exploring this fascinating country on two wheels may just be the best way to fully appreciate its history, people, and culture. 50 black and white photographs, 12-page color insert, 15 maps, index.

• Most detailed routes of any Cuba guidebook
• Well written narrative gives travelers a feel for the island

The Rough Guide to Havana (Rough Guides)

"The Rough Guide to Havana" is the essential travel guide with clear maps and coverage of the unforgettable attractions of Cuba's lively capital. From the Museo de la Revolucion and other must-visit museums and galleries to splendid architectural gems including the Catedral de San Cristobal, the "Rough Guide" steers you to the best restaurants, stylish bars & cafes, and hottest nightlife in Havana across every price range. The guide provides comprehensive coverage of hotels as well as private homestays, the best places to stay for an up-close experience of life in Cuba. You'll find detailed coverage of the outer boroughs La Lisa and Marianao as well as an unprecedented level of detail for the main four city neighbourhoods, Habana Vieja, Centro Habana, Vedado and Miramar. Rely on insider tips on everything from where to go for local music and jazz, shop for Cuban film posters, guayabera shirts and rum, and witness the time, skill and effort involved in producing Cuban cigars. You can explore all corners of the city with authoritative background on Cuban history and a succinct political analysis of the Cuban Revolution, relying on the clearest maps of any guide and practical language tips. Make the most of your holiday with "The Rough Guide to Havana".

Havana Map by ITMB (Travel Reference Map)

Detailed, easy-to-read, indexed street map of Havana at a scale of 1:10,000 (1" to 800 ft). Inset of the region surrounding Havana. Places of interest, parks, museums, embassies and shopping areas are highlighted. Illustrated with photos. Legend in English and Spanish.

Time Out Havana: And the Best of Cuba (Time Out Guides)

Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana

Desperate to escape South Texas, Stephanie Elizondo Griest dreamed of becoming a foreign correspondent. So she headed to Russia looking for some excitement—commencing what would become a four-year, twelve-nation Communist bloc tour that shattered her preconceived notions of the “Evil Empire.”

In Around the Bloc, Griest relates her experiences as a volunteer at a children’s shelter in Moscow, a propaganda polisher at the office of the Chinese Communist Party’s English-language mouthpiece in Beijing, and a belly dancer among the rumba queens of Havana. She falls in love with an ex-soldier who narrowly avoided radiation cleanup duties at Chernobyl, hangs out with Cuban hip-hop artists, and comes to difficult realizations about the meaning of democracy.

is the absorbing story of a young journalist driven by a desire to witness the effects of Communism. Along the way, she learns the Russian mathematical equation for buying dinner-party vodka (one bottle per guest, plus an extra), stumbles upon Beijing’s underground gay scene, marches with 100,000 mothers demanding Elián González’s return to Cuba, and gains a new appreciation for the Mexican culture she left behind.

Havana and Other Missing Fathers

Mia Leonin spent the first sixteen years of her life believing her father was dead. All she knew of the man came through stories told by her mother. At times he had been a surgeon, at others a psychiatrist. In truth, he had been a fantasy.

Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Leonin learned from her mother that her father, a Cuban exile, was very much alive and living in Florida. Her attempts to contact him, however, were thwarted until four years later, when she left home in search of her roots.

She meets her father, but trying to discover the truth behind him proves to be a more daunting task. Her journey takes her to Miami, Colombia, and Cuba, and her search for cultural identity leads her to create memories, friendships, and romances. She finds moments of connection and redemption, ending up in Havana not as a cultural tourist but as an illegitimate daughter of Cuba looking for validation. What she discovers is an island bereft of fathers and brimming with paternalism. As she becomes entangled with two different men, she descends further into the Havana of poverty, humiliation, and despair, as well as the ever-inventive city that is as passionate as it is contradictory.

Insightful, imaginative, and often poetic, Havana and Other Missing Fathers is Mia Leonin’s recollection of this journey and her longing to learn more about her origins. In the end, she must learn to accept the answers she discovers as well as the questions that remain.

Wallpaper City Guide: Havana

Wallpaper* City Guides not only suggest where to stay, eat, and drink, but what the tourist passionate about design might want to see, whether he or she has a week or just 24 hours in the city. The guides feature up-and-coming areas, landmark buildings in an `Architour', design centers, and a selection of the best shops to buy items unique to the particular city.

Wallpaper* City Guides present travelers with a fast-track ticket to the chosen location. The edited guides offer the best, the most exciting, and the most beautiful of the featured city.

In addition to looking beautiful, the guides are expertly designed with function as a priority. They have tabbed sections so the tourist can easily find what he or she is looking for. Also included are color-coded city maps, rate and currency cards, and an easy navigational tool. They are the ultimate combination of form and function.

Compiled by the well-traveled editorial team of Wallpaper* and by an extraordinary network of international correspondents, the guides are truly the insider's guide to each featured city. The contributors to these guides have put their heads together to come up with fascinating, efficient guides that keeps the hip, urban traveler with his or her finger on the pulse.

The City Guides are being published as Wallpaper* magazine celebrates its tenth anniversary. For the past decade, Wallpaper* has been the first to uncover and enticingly present the best in new design and urban travel spots across the globe. The City Guides are the perfect way to present a decade of experience in one precisely edited guide to each of the 40 cities to be published in 2007.

Moon Spotlight Havana