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Anfiteatro Parque Almendares
This riverside amphitheater hosts regular musical events and special concerts by the likes of Frank Delgado and Interactivo. It's an intimate place to catch some terrific music. Regular peñas (performances) include reggae and rap.
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Bar Dos Hermanos
Out of the way and a little seedy, Bar Dos Hermanos was a favorite Habana hangout of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca during his three months in Cuba in 1930. With its long wooden bar and salty seafaring atmosphere, it can't have changed much since.
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Bar La Marina
This pleasant outdoor courtyard with a 'ceiling' made out of twisted vines is as agreeable an old-town nook as any. You can grab a bite to eat, feast on popcorn, or just sip quietly on a mojito while the resident Cuban combo strums along.
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Bar-Club Imágenes
This upscale piano bar attracts something of an older crowd with its regular diet of boleros (romantic love songs) and trova (traditional poetic songs), but sometimes there are surprise concerts by big-name musicians; check the schedule posted outside. Meals are available (and affordable).
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Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Plaza de San Francisco de Asís' glorious church, which dates from 1737, has been reincarnated as a 21st-century museum and concert hall. The old nave hosts choral and chamber music two to three times a week (check the schedule at the door), and the acoustics inside are excellent. It's best to bag your ticket at least a day in advance.
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Bosque Bologna
A fern-filled terrace that fills the space of a demolished building on Calle Obispo, the Bologna is always busy with drinkers and diners drawn in by a combination of its effervescent music and highly persuasive waiters. It's a perfect warm-up for an extended Habana Vieja bar crawl.
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Cabaret Las Vegas
Don't get duped into thinking this is another Tropicana. On the contrary, Cabaret Las Vegas is a rough and seedy local music dive (with a midnight show) where a little rum and a lot of No moleste, por favor will help you withstand the overzealous entreaties of the hordes of haranguing prostitutes.
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Cabaret Nacional
The Cabaret Nacional has a show nightly if enough patrons are present. It's a little camper than other Habana cabarets, and quite noisy! There's a couples-only policy here and dress standards - no shorts or T-shirts. The Nacional also has a halfprice matinee known to locals as the disco temba. These popular afternoon get-togethers feature taped music from the 70s and 80s, and are all the rage in Habana at the moment with the 35-plus set.
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Cabaret Parisién
Cabaret Parisién is a rung down from the Tropicana in price and quality. Nonetheless, this longstanding nightly cabaret show is well worth a look. Typically, doors open just after , with dinner half an hour later and then the show. It's the usual mix of frills, feathers and semi-naked women, but the choreography is first class and the spectacle has excellent kitsch value. As with most cabarets, the Parisién becomes a disco after midnight.
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Cabaret Salón Rojo
Although George Raft's opulent Hotel Capri closed a couple of years back, its once notorious cabaret show, the Salón Rojo (Red Room), seems to have been given an indefinite reprieve. While the cabaret is no longer the Mob-infested gambling den of yesteryear, the acts and music in the trussed up and revamped Salón Rojo are still hot, and ever popular with affluent Cubans. For scorching music and no-holds-barred dancing, this is the place to come.
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Cabaret Turquino
If you want a classy but affordable cabaret show, look no further than the Turquino. Popular bands (including Los Van Van) play here regularly, and the views are spectacular. Locals swear by this place.
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Café Cantante Mi Habana
This hip disco that offers live salsa music and dancing as well as bar snacks and food. Frequented mainly by 'yummies' (young urban Marxist managers) and aging sugar daddy tourists with their young Cuban girlfriends in tow, this place can get feisty. The music is quality and includes regular appearances from name singers such as Haila María Mompie. There's a dress code, no entry for those under 18, and no photos are allowed.
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Café Fresa Y Chocolate
A small patio bar at the Centro Cultural Cinematográfico, this place is the nerve center of Habana's cinema community, with a young, hip clientele of actors, writers and film-lovers. Named after Tomás Gutierrez Alea's Oscar-nominated movie, it hosts a number of regular happenings, both here and in the adjoining building, including the once-monthly El Último Jueves del Mes (Last Thursday of the Month) debate night.
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Café París
Jump into the mix by grabbing one of the rough-hewn tables at this Habana Vieja standby known for its live music and gregarious atmosphere. On good nights, the rum flows, talented musicians jam and spontaneous dancing and singing erupt in the crowd.
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Café Taberna
A rocking bar-restaurant that pays both pictorial and musical homage to Cuba's Bárbaro del Ritmo (Barbarian of Rhythm), Benny Moré, the Café Taberna is where you can witness some of Habana's biggest and brassiest salsa sounds. Characterized by its long, well-stocked bar, and evocative images of Moré and other assorted mambo kings, the building fills a pale blue 18th-century house on the corner of Plaza Vieja and is always busy.
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Callejón De Hamel
Aside from its funky street murals and psychedelic art shops, the main reason to come to Habana's high temple of Afro-Cuban culture is for the frenetic rumba music every Sunday afternoon. This is about as raw and hypnotic as it gets, with interlocking drum patterns and lengthy rhythmic chants powerful enough to summon up the spirit of the orishas (Santería deities).
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Casa De La Amistad
Housed in a lovely rose-colored mansion on leafy Paseo, the Casa de la Amistad hosts son and salsa music six nights a week in a classic Italian Renaissance-style garden. Buena Vista Social Club luminary Compay Segundo was a regular before his death in 2003, and a number of Cuban TV shows have been made at this site. Other perks include a reasonably priced restaurant, a bar, a cigar shop, and the house itself, which is a real Cuban beauty.
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Casa de la Música Centro Habana
Imagine seeing U2 play live for around five US dollars. One of the understated successes of the Cuban revolution is that you can witness top musical performers in concert for next to nothing. This Casa de la Música is a little edgier than its counterpart in Miramar, and there are big salsa bands and plenty of 'name' acts thrown in for good measure. There are two daily shows; both are popular with locals.
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Casa de la Trova
Strangely, Habana's Casa de la Trova is a bit of a damp squib compared to other famous Casas de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. It's traditionally a haven for son music of the type popularized by Ry Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club , but the schedule here is sporadic. Check the upcoming program before turning up.
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Centro Andaluz
A major Habana flamenco venue, the spit-and-sawdust Centro Andaluz on Paseo de Martí (Prado) regularly hosts blinding performances of what Spanish playwright Federico Lorca once poetically referred to as 'the music of hope and despair.' The dancing embodies much the same essence. The venue serves food, and you can inquire about guitar lessons.
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Cine Actualidades
The Actualidades is a timeworn cinema in a central location behind the Hotel Plaza. Check out the handwritten schedule posted on the window to find out what's on.
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Cine Charles Chaplin
The Chaplin is an art-house cinema that shows quality Cuban movies, film festivals and other rare cinematic gems. It is closely associated with the Cinemateca de Cuba.
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Cine La Rampa
La Rampa hosts film festivals and houses the country's extensive film archive. You can catch specialist movie seasons here dedicated to contemporary film icons such as Robert de Niro.
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Cine Payret
Habana's largest and most popular cinema is situated opposite the Capitolio Nacional, and presents a good variety of both Spanish-speaking and Hollywood movies. The Payret has been in operation since 1878.
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Cine Riviera
Another classic old-school movie house on Calle 23 that shows a good selection of North American, Cuban, Latin American and European films. As well as movies, this place sometimes hosts pop, rock and rap concerts.
