"Beautiful, ruined, and sexiest place on this earth."

Other beautiful, ruined and sexy locations ... CLICK HOME - FRONT PAGE PROVINCES - ALL 16 Amancio Baconao Banes Baracoa Bayamo Cabo San Antonio Caibarien Camaguey Cardenas Casilda (Trinidad) Cayo Jutias Cayo Levisa Ciego de Avila Cienfuegos Cojimar Florida Gibara Guaimaro Guanabo (Playas del Este) Guanahacabibes Guantanamo Guardalavaca Habana del Este (Guanabo) Holguin Isle of Youth (La Isla) Jaguey Grande La Boca Playa (Trinidad) LA HABANA • INTRO • La Habana Centro • La Habana Miramar • La Habana Vedado • La Habana Vieja La Isla Las Terrazas Las Tunas Manzanillo Matanzas Milpas Moron Nueva Gerona (La Isla) Nuevitas Pasacaballo-Milpas Pinar del Rio Playa Giron (Zapata) Playa Larga (Zapata) Playa Las Bocas Playa La Herradura Playa Siboney Playas del Este Puerto Esperanza Puerto Guayabal Puerto Padre Remedios Sagua La Grande Sancti Spiritus Sandino San Diego de los Baños Santa Clara Santa Cruz del Norte Santa Cruz del Sur Santa Lucia Soroa SANTIAGO • INTRO ::: Centro Ciudad ::: Vista Alegre ::: Reparto Sueño ::: Otras Casas T R I N I D A D Viñales Varadero Zapata (Cienaga de) • TOP 100+ CASAS • Other towns (one-ofs) ITINERARIES ::: Centro ITINERARIES ::: Oeste ITINERARIES ::: Oriente

CASA PHONE NUMBERS DOWN HERE.

MAP — From the Yara Ciné to the Bacardi Habana Centro + Vedado to Vieja — Wide

MAP — Habana from west to east along the coast — Here

THE WHOLE CAPITAL IN A SNAP Greater Habana 30 km x 35 km — Wide

20 GREAT THINGS TO DO IN HAVANA As suggested by Time Out editors — Here

1000's of Havana photos on Panoramio — Here

RENTAL CARS • BUS • FLIGHTS • TRAINS See "Touring Cuba" Menu above or here.

Forecast Havana

CELL PHONES Rent from Cubacel 9cuc/day Look here

YOGA TEACHERS in CUBA Listed by the Embassy of India — Here.

E-MAIL Get yours in most hotels, many Internet cafés — list is too long to publish. Internet debit cards available from Etecsa and usable in other locations on the island - in 30 days max. Anyway, most casa owners will let you use their computer to get your messages with limited bandwidth — if you cannot exist without the Net for a few days. Wanna get a life?, get out of the casa and carpe diem !

GO WEST : MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS & CAYOS Road map to Soroa, Las Terrazas, Cayo Jutias, Cayo Levisa, Cabo San Antonio, Maria La Gorda — Here

GO EAST, TO THE BEACHES The famous Beaches del Este await where most Habaneros flock in summer— Here in Guanabo

GO ANYWHERE Island-wide bus skeds (horariodebuses.com/) — The renovated Viazul web site here.

UNDERSTAND CUBA in 8 minutes 40 seconds : Backyard food growing, Havana-Style "BEAUTIFUL, RUINED AND SEXIEST PLACE ON THIS EARTH", says the BBC's Monty Don — Here

BARGAIN HUNTING, CUBAN STYLE Cuban website revolico.com shows hundreds of articles for sale, "Craigslist" style. NYT article here.

MARIELA CASTRO, RAUL'S DAUGHTER Visiting Amsterdam's Red Light District as director of CENESEX — Cuba's national sex education program — talks about prostitution on the Havana Malecon and says that although the Dutch experience is not without fault, it has improved sex workers' rights © Radio Netherlands Worldwide — YouTube here. In Spanish.

GAY TOUR GUIDE English-speaking Cuban University student offers tours : "This is not an escort service (...) my parents would kill me." — Yunior's page here GAY BARS Cafetería 23 y P Calle 23, corner P; San Lázaro No. 8A San Lázaro No. 8A, between Prado & Cárcel.

CANADIAN CULTURE FAQ How to organize an art event, make a donation, an internship or studies. Check it out here, eh ?

URBAN FARMING EXPERTISE Who can I contact about urban farming in Cuba ? Answer on this havanatimes.org column here

HAVANA IN THE 30'S ? Wot ? We wasn't even born ! Check this video.

NICE BLOG & PHOTOS About eating out in Havana - London Foodie

CUBA'S BIGGEST CHANGE IN 50 YEARS : WATCH VIDEO "CUBAN HOUSING"

"CUBAN HOUSING" — Brook Silva-Braga HDNet + Vimeo.

ADVERTS OF CASAS (VIVIENDA) FOR SALE > HERE <

HOW CUBA SURVIVED THE PEAK OIL CRISIS A revealing 53-minute video about the involuntary (Russia dumped Cuba) eco agriculture advances of Cuba — making true the old adage : Necessity is the Mother of Invention and The Power of Community. LINK : YouTube

Traveling in dreams : They spend evenings and weekends imagining they are in “la Yuma” (abroad). A must-read : Irina Echarry's blog entry on HavanaTimes.org here © Caridad

In Cuba, the game of baseball (beisbol or pelota) is still played the old-fashioned way — and that is better, according to aficionado Peter Bjarkman — Wall Street Journal video. See Bjarkman's web site > here <

Mariela Castro Espin leading 400-strong parade — holding an Obama sign saying "give me five now" (refering to the Cuban Five) in May 2012 Conga in support of gay rights on the streets of La Habana taking place every month of May since 2009. The organizer of the event is Mariela Castro, niece of Fidel, daughter of Raul and Sierra Maestra combatiente Vilma Espin and GM of Cenesex (sex information institution). Link to video excerpt. Homophobia Is the Problem, Not Gays — Link to AP article quoting Mariela Castro on her father's stance here One million music and peace aficionados overflowed the Plaza de la Revolucion for the Paz sin Fronteras concert on September 21 2009 : Silvio Rodríguez and Los Van Van, Porto Rican merengue star Olga Tañon, Spanish crooner Miguel Bosé, New York latin-funk group Yerba Buena and hip-hop trio Orishas among others. Video excerpt on click.

MAIN AREAS Habana Vieja (Plaza de Armas, Plaza Vieja, Plaza San Francisco), Centro Habana (Barrio Chino, Capitolio, Malecon, Prado), Vedado (Cementerio de Colon, La Rampa, Malecon, Nuevo Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución) and west, beyond the Almendares river : Miramar/Playa (Convention Centre, Marina Hemingway, Atabey, Barlovento, Bélen, Buenavista, Cubanacán, Flores, Kohly, Nautico, Siboney). OTHER MUNICIPIOS & REPARTOS East of town, across the bay : Regla, Casablanca, Cojímar, Guanabacoa, Habana del Este (Alamar, Antonio Guiteras, Celimar, Ciudad Panamericano, Tarará) ; Further east : Playas del Este (Boca Ciega, El Megano, Guanabo, Santa Maria del Mar, Santa Maria Loma) ; West, across the Almendares river : Marianao (Ciudad Libertad, La Paz, Pogolotti, Zamora) ; South : Parque Lenin (Arroyo Naranjo, Boyeros, Calabazar, El Globo, Fontanar, and José Marti airport in Rancho Boyeros) including the Botanical Gardens (Jardin Botanico Celia Sanchez Manduley), neighbouring Parque Lenin as well as Parque Zoologico and Expo Cuba (Trade Fairgrounds) See our page here. DISTANCES — in the capital region Aeropuerto José Martí, 15 km (15-20cuc fare to centre) Alamar, 15 Artemisa, 60 Road map Cojimar, 10 — Our section here Las Terrazas, 40 Road map — Our page here Mariel, 45 Road map Playa Baracoa, 27 — Our section here Playas del Este, Guanabo, 25 — Our page here San Antonio de Los Baños, 35 Santa Maria del Rosario, 19 Soroa, 65 Road map — Our page here Surgidero de Batabanó, 56 (ferry to Isla de la Juventud, Isle of Youth, Isle of Pines - Nueva Gerona) Island road map — Our page here

Malecon Sunset © unk

Waiting for a cliente at Cuatro Caminos veg & fruit mercado © sogestour

::::: WHAT'S ON ::: WHERE ::: WHEN :::::

::: Cubarte web magazine - What's On > Here

::: Artists' Agenda - Havana Cultura > Here

::: Recording artists on stage > Egrem

::: Performances of the month > Canalcubano

::: Cultural events in the capital > La Jiribilla

::: Stage & other escenas > Cuba Escena

::: Movies Popular - Main venues > Cartelera

::: Conventions & Exhibitions > cuba.cu

::: Night Clubs 95 Spots > CubadeNoche

::: What's On from cuba-absolutely > Here

::: Plastic Arts National Council > Here

::: Literature Portal - Cuba Literaria > Here

::: Writers and Artists' Union - UNEAC > Here

Watching over the hardware : a Hawker Sea Fury FAR-542 from 1961 piloted by Enrique Carreras Rojas during the Bay of Pigs counter attack — at Museo de la Revolucion © bitboy, flickr •|• A view from the balcony of the Museo de la Revolucion © bitboy, flickr

The irony by Kate Forrester, a fotografo who took part in the annual Havana Times Photo Contest •|• Linda cocotaxista © sogestour

The Nacional : was built and run by Meyer Lansky and the US mafia, supported by Hollywood and yet-to-be President Richard Nixon; today, it's Havana's landmark hotel © sogestour •|• El Malecon : the long and winding seaside boulevard runs from the port in Habana Vieja all along Centro and Vedado and ends at the Almendares river where a tunnel crosses to Miramar and Playa burroughs (with the embassies and the Convention Centre) © Maxime Felder, wikimedia commons

Painters' Prado where artists exhibit and sell their art and where impromptu tango is danced : join in !© sogestour •|• Los angeles over Habana are watching over Parque Central from atop the Gran Teatro © sogestour

¡Alerta!, an exhibition of posters taking place in Habana Vieja in Spring 2013. Title reminds older Habaneros of their state of mind during the 1961 Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of pigs) invasion by Cuban exiles looking to take more US dollars out of Cuba.

We're happy here, contrary to what negationists would have you believe. Check the Pulitzer Center's Tracey Eaton page here. " The U.S. government spends millions of dollars every year to boost Cuba's "pro-wallstreet-walmart" movement. Is the money having any impact? " photo © unk

"Bus travel in Havana is generally a bitch, but for visitors who speak Spanish, I suggest taking at least one to eavesdrop : there is probably no more effective way to take the pulse of the population than to listen to a busload of Habaneros quibble and kvetch." Click for large bus route map. Conner Gorry — who has lived in New York and San Francisco before settling here — in her blog > Here is Havana

Scene from Chico and Rita, by Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba and designer Javier Mariscal. The Oscar-nominated feature length animation was "shot" entirely in Havana, as well as New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Paris in the late 1940s and early '50s. An homage to Bebo Valdes (1918-2013), father of musician Chucho Valdés.

Bocaditos en La Habana — some tourists call them ciabatta at home, a yummy combo of ham & cheese toasted just right - byom : bring your own mostaza © Havana Times

A dozen times per day, a Viazul bus (a.k.a. guagua) goes from Havana to towns and cities all over the island — Link to viazul.com site on click.

San Lazaro street (right) and the Paseo del Prado (left) still meet 100 years later. The biggest difference during those years is that in 2013, there are 100 times more f*&??&*g cars.

Parque Lenin — This statue of Celia Sanchez Manduley who, according to many scholars had, at least as much influence on remodeling Cuba as colleague Fidel Castro. Daughter of the doctor at Julio Lobo's sugar mill in Pilon (Granma province) near the spot where she waited — in vain* — for Fidel and 87 compañeros to reach Cuba aboard the Granma © unk - *But that's another story.

HAVANA'S LARGE OPEN SPACES
The Botanical Gardens (600 hectares, 4,000 species, 140,000 plants), Parque Lenin (645 hectares, amusement park Parque Mariposa, horse and rowboat rentals, lake, restaurants, rodeos), the Zoological Park (500 hectares, 145,000 trees from 75 varieties), Expo Cuba (fairgrounds on 48 hectares, 34 pavillons) and Club de Golf de La Habana (18 holes, BBQ, restaurant, bar, swimming pool) are all together, located 15 km south of the Plaza de la Revolucion : a 15-20cuc taxi ride or take the 174 bus to Vibora and connect to the 88 guagua. Altogether one of the American continent's largest city parks. — Map & Info Here

TIP # 3 — MONEDA NACIONAL ::: PRIVATE TAXIS ::: JALOPIES "Get around in private taxis. 6,000 choferes in Havana have applied for the freelance license; 2,000 have been granted. For 10 pesos cubanos (about 0.40 USD), you can hail endearing jalopies (Pontiacs, Capone-era Dodges and other ‘Yank tanks’) between Playa and Vedado or Habana Vieja, out to Miramar or Marianao. "Longer routes – from Habana Vieja out to the Playas del Este (Guanabo) beaches for example – will run double (0.80 USD). To grab one, just stick out your arm parallel to the ground and ask the driver if he’s going to where you need to be. "It helps to be on the right thoroughfare : 23 or Línea in Vedado, San Lázaro or Neptuno in Centro Habana, Avenida 31 or 41 in Playa, Calle 51 in Marianao, or 3ra Avenida in Miramar." "Now they can subcontract driving duties. Drivers are now young, restless, and reckless. I’m not the only one who lets these wild child choferes continue on their way, opting to wait for an older, more seasoned driver who cares at least for his car, if not his clients."

Trip Tips by Conner Gorry — Here is Havana - Aqui

A work of Infinite Love - Banner over calle San Lazaro in front of the Universidad, February 2010 © sogestour

Eight international Nobel Prize laureates have written to the U.S. Attorney General calling for freedom for the Cuban Five

BURBS & BARRIOS El Rincón (16-18 Dec, San Lazaro pilgrimage, 26 km distance; San Francisco de Paula (Museo Hemingway), 13; Guanabacoa (Museo, Jewish Cemetery), 6; Santa Maria del Rosario (Catedral de los Campos, Casa de la Cultura, Manuel Mendive mural), 19; San Antonio de Los Baños (Museo del Humor, Galeria Abela, Film & TV School EICTV "one of the best schools in the world", Hotel Las Yagrumas, 34 PROVINCIAL CAPITALS Artemisa, 60 Bayamo, 754 Camaguey, 544 Ciego de Avila, 439 Cienfuegos, 244 Guantanamo, 946 Holguin, 749 Las Tunas, 673 Matanzas, 102 Pinar del Rio, 172 Sancti Spiritus, 364 San José de las Lajas, 35 Santa Clara, 278 Santiago, 887 Trinidad, 335 Vinales, 205 Varadero, 140 Habana Radio in English

Nelson Ponce, Yo y Amy Let us know about your comments and discoveries webmaster[©]ubacasas.net

SUNRISE & SUNSET - HOY Be notified of page updates it's private powered by ChangeDetection

Lonely Planet's Top Dozen — Things To Do, See & Taste — out of a list of 412
shamelessly copy-pasted [albeit with direct links] from the LP web site here.

Dance like nobody's watching. Love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening...

Click above to open section.

ERNESTO GARCIA (7) 861-2753
CARY y NILO (7) 862-7109
HABANA 1932 (7) 863-6203
EL MIRADOR (7) 870-0937
SAMUEL y ALBERTO (7) 863-2075
CASA RAYMOND (7) 863-5107
ARAMIS (7) 879-8292
CASA ROSA (7) 860-3319
EVORA y MANUEL (7) 861-7932
MARITZA (7) 878-7109
MERCEDES FERRER (7) 863-8122
BOTELLO (7) 867-9987
BLANCA MARGARITA (7) 866-7113

LUNASS (7) 879-0019
IHOVANNA y GERARDO (7) 863-6005
YOYI ALVAREZ (7) 863-5533
ROSA VILLAMIL ALLENDE (7) 873-6746
JORGE LEON (7) 870-7723
VIKY (7) 863-8923
ZEILA (7) 862-5492
MARIA ELENA (7) 863-0119
MARTA (7) 878-5038
M'ALOJA (7) 879-1784
ALINA y VICENTE (7) 863-6257
DANIEL y FINA (7)870-0945
JORGE SILVIO (7) 879-0789

Click above to open section.

MERCY (7) 203-6735
CECILIA RUIZ (7) 209-1137
GUSTAVO GARCIA (7) 207-3646
DINORA PARRA CABRERA (7) 209-5853
VICTOR (7) 207-3159

Click above to open section.

ANGELA MUNIZ RUBIO (7) 879-6851
MERCEDES GONZALEZ (7) 832-5846
MIRTHA y JORGE (7) 878-2837
MADELEINE SILVA (7) 832-7480
CASA LETICIA (7) 873-3470
PEDRO GIL GONZALEZ (7) 832-3775
CARMEN SUAREZ (7) 870-0664
PRISCA y RAUL (7) 831-2783
CARLOS y NEYDA PEÑA (7) 833-5992
ELVIRA GOMEZ (7) 830-4682
ELENA TARAJANO (7) 832-0495
VILLA LOS FAROLES (7) 883-7377

Click above to open section.

CHEZ NOUS (7) 862-6287
CASONA DE OBRAPIA (7) 862-8285
L'AUBERGE DE RAQUEL (7) 867-5026
RAMON y MARITZA (7) 862-3303
ROBERTO y ZORAIDA (7) 864-4914
DOS LEONES (7) 860-3987
CASA JUANITA (7) 863-0382
CASA HABANA (7) 861-0253
HABANA LOURDES (7) 867-9329
ELIZABETH y SAUL (7) 866-2106
PABLO y LYDIA (7) 861-2111
PABLO y NORMA (7) 863-1279
CASA VITRALES (7) 866-2607
LUIS BATISTA (7) 863-0622
LAMPARILLA (7) 862-8285
CALLE CUBA (7) 862-7144
OLGA (7) 867-4561

HEED THE HINTS IN THIS FINE PRINT
::: Make sure that in your first email or phone call you specify that you want to book a room in that particular casa and that you will reconfirm your booking on arrival in Cuba. Unless you only want a room in any house which may be of the same quality, not the specific casa you booked through photos on these websites ::: So as to not abandon expecting owners with empty rooms, reconfirm (or call ahead to cancel) your booking by phone as soon as you can after arriving in Cuba ::: Please write or phone a casa owner to cancel a booking. As late as it may seem, it allows them a chance to rebook. ::: Children under the age of 16 may share a bedroom with adults for free. Specify the child's age when booking. ::: Since October 2010, maximum bedroom capacity is not limited to two adults ::: Also, large casas are not limited to renting only two bedrooms per night. ::: At the end of the casa name, the V signals the casa was suggested by travelers or owners but not verified by the website staff. If you try it and like it, write us about it. ::: Unless otherwise mentioned, the average room rates and service prices are : 20-25cuc per bedroom per night [up to 40+ for 4 in a room]; breakfasts 3-5cuc, dinners 7-10cuc. ::: Any casa particular anywhere in Cuba must have a hot water shower, otherwise it cannot have a permit to rent ::: Please share your Complaints, comments & suggestions webmaster [@]cubacasas.net

244 km / 151 miles

10 km / 6 mi.

25 km / 15 mi.

102 km / 63 mi.

65 km / 40 mi.

335 km / 208 mi.

140 km / 87 mi.

Unsollicited and shamefully un-capitalistic propaganda — A Cubacasas.net suggestion

Unsollicited advertising — Conner Gorry moved to Cuba from the USA in 2002; she blogs from La Habana.

Unsollicited advertising — A Cubacasas.net suggestion

Es Cuba is a poignant and passionate travel memoir about falling in love with a country and with one of its compañeros.

A seasoned traveler and a discerning observer, the author Lea Aschkenas never strays from her acute awareness that there is no way to separate her foreignness (intensified by U.S.-Cuba relations) from the complex mix of emotions—devotion and rejection, enrapture and apprehension—that she develops toward the country and its people.

This is conveyed through her relationship with Cuba, her access into the inner lives of the women she meets, and her budding love affair with a young Cuban named Alfredo. As her story unfolds, readers are taken on an unforgettable journey filled with beautifully woven descriptions of Cuba and the customs and habits of its people.