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Parque Almendares
Running along the banks of the Río Almendares below the bridge on Calle 23 (La Rampa), this wonderful oasis of greenery and negative-air ions in the heart of chaotic Habana is sometimes referred to as the lungs of the city. The park was restored in 2003 and a beautiful job has been done. There are also several good places to eat.
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Parque Central
A small but scenic haven from the belching buses and roaring taxis that ply their way along Paseo de Martí, Parque Central has long been a microcosm of daily Habana life. The park was expanded to its present size in the late 19th century after the city walls were knocked down, and the marble statue of José Martí at its center was the first of thousands to be erected in Cuba.
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Parque de Enamorados
Preserved in 'Lover's Park', lies a surviving section of the colonial Cárcel (Tacón Prison), where many Cuban patriots, including José Martí, were imprisoned. Built in 1838, it was a brutal place that sent unfortunate prisoners off to perform hard labor in the nearby San Lázaro quarry. The prison was finally demolished in 1939, and the park that took its place is dedicated to the memory of those who had suffered so horribly within its walls.
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Parque de la Fraternidad
'Fraternity Park' was established in 1892 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the Spanish landing in the Americas. A few decades later, it was remodeled and renamed to mark the 1927 Pan-American Conference. The name was meant to signify American brotherhood, hence the many busts of Latin and North American leaders that have been set up around the park - including one of US president Abraham Lincoln.
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Parque Lennon
No, not the Russian Lenin (he already has two monuments dedicated to him in Habana). This hyperrealistic bronze statue is of ex-Beatle John Lennon, and was unveiled by Fidel Castro in December 2000 on the 20th anniversary of the singer's death. Culturally speaking, it was one of the Cuban leader's more remarkable policy U-turns, as the Beatles' music had been banned in Cuba in the 1960s for being too 'decadent.'
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Parque Zoológico Nacional
The extensive Parque Zoológico Nacional is 2km (1.2mi) west of Parque Lenin. Worlds away from the inner-city zoo in Nuevo Vedado, with its stagnant crocodile ponds and jail cells for cages, this is more of a zoo-cum-safari-park where rhinos, hippos and other imported fauna have free rein. A trolley bus tours the grounds all day (included in admission).
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Real Fábrica de Tabacos H Upmann
Upmann's cigars are legendary in Cuba and have been produced in the country since 1844, when two avid German cigar smokers, Hermann and August Upmann, bought a factory in Habana. Indeed, the Petit Upmann brand was a longtime favorite of US president John F Kennedy. Currently one of only two cigar factories offering tours in Habana, the grand neoclassical Upmann building is a little out of the way and generally only accepts organized groups.
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Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás
One of Habana's oldest cigar factories and certainly its most famous, this neoclassical Habana landmark was founded in 1845 by a Spaniard named Jaime Partagás. Today some 400 workers toil here for up to 12 hours a day, rolling such famous cigars as Montecristos and Cohibas. As far as tours go, Partagás is the most popular and reliable factory to visit.
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Russian Embassy
The strikingly ugly Russian Embassy sticks out like a sore thumb in the graceful avenues of Playa and Miramar, casting its dark Stalinist shadow over an otherwise quiet and attractive neighborhood. With its imposing double tower visible for miles around, this monstrous structure is testament to the once weighty influence of Cuba's superpower patron on the island.
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Santuario de San Lázaro
The object of one of Cuba's most important pilgrimages, this small, sparkling church is the venerated shrine of San Lázaro, a Christian saint known for his ministrations to lepers and the poor. Every year on December 17 (Saint Lazarus' feast day), thousands of Cubans descend on the sanctuary en masse, some on bloodied knees, others walking barefoot for kilometers through the night to exorcise evil spirits and pay off debts for miracles granted.
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Torreón De Cojímar
Overlooking the harbor, this old Spanish fort dating from 1649 is presently occupied by the Cuban coast guard. It was the first fortification taken by the British when they attacked Habana from the rear in 1762.
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Torreón de San Lázaro
This tiny watchtower was built by the Spanish in the 18th century. Like La Chorrera, the San Lázaro tower quickly fell to British troops during the invasion of 1762. You can admire it from the outside only.
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Torreón de Santa Dorotea de la Chorrera
One of a number of small battlements that once guarded Habana from pirates and warships, this two-story tower at the mouth of Río Almendares contained sentry posts, artillery emplacements, storage rooms and a military barracks. Designed by Italian engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli, it was completed during the Álvaro de Luna y Sarmiento administration. In 1762 the tower was taken by the British. Today it houses a restaurant, Mesón la Chorrera.
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Universidad de la Habana
Founded by Dominican monks in 1728 and secularized in 1842, Habana University began life in Habana Vieja before moving to its present site in 1902. The existing neoclassical complex dates from the second quarter of the 20th century, and today some 30,000 students (2000 of them foreigners), taught by 1700 professors, follow courses in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, mathematics and economics here.
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US Interests Office
Set up in 1977 during a brief thaw in Cuban-American relations under President Jimmy Carter, the US Interests Office remains a source of controversy between the two countries, with Cuba accusing its US neighbor of sponsoring all kinds of political dissent across the island from behind its heavily guarded doors. It's surrounded by billboards displaying hysterical graffiti that liken George W Bush to Adolf Hitler.
