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What to do in Old Havana, Havana’s coolest neighborhood
What’s the deal with Old Havana? Havana has always been a seducer. From the pirates who hovered at the mouth of her ample bay wanting to snatch the loot of Spain’s New World colonies, to today’s visitors who swoon at the sight of candy colored American cars and perked-up plazas, she’s a magnet. And on her 500th birthday this year, she shows no sign of dimming attraction. Walking the streets of Spanish colonial, art deco, art nouveau and modern buildings is like stepping across the black and white squares of a checkerboard. One square is utterly gorgeous and filled with alfresco cafés. Around the corner, a ruin slumps, a pedicab swerves a tarmac chasm and corral of cats, wooden scaffolding pins up a city block, and fruit and veg sellers call out amid decades of debris. Old Havana’s tight streets are hot, broken down, pot holed and bursting with life - the bars, restaurants, boutique stays and artisan shops of the communist government’s new economic era have injected creativity and promise into this extraordinary ancient city. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world RECOMMENDED: The best Airbnbs in Havana Off the beaten track In southern Old Havana’s tumbledown streets, spray-painted murals, art galleries, and an emerging bar and restaurant scene in barrio San Isidro are reviving this once-famous haunt of brothels and pimps. Swing by Galería Taller Gorría for the low down; and check San Isidro Distrito de Arte on Facebook for music and art events