Budget · 3-hour walk · Havana
Habana Vieja in three hours
The four colonial squares, the bookseller street, the capitol and the sea wall at the end.
Old Havana is four squares linked by streets that are being restored one building at a time, so a beautifully finished plaza sits next to a propped-up ruin. The walk finishes on the Malecon, the sea wall the whole city sits on in the evening. Take cash; card acceptance is unreliable and often absent.
The route, stop by stop
-
Plaza de la Catedral
Cuban baroque at its best, in a square that was a swamp until the 18th century.
25 min here Walk here → -
Plaza Vieja
The most completely restored of the four, ringed by balconied mansions and with a camera obscura in one corner.
25 min here Walk here → -
Calle Obispo
The pedestrian spine of the old town, running from the cathedral quarter to the Capitol.
30 min here Walk here → -
El Capitolio
Modelled on Washington's and slightly taller. The seat of the National Assembly again since restoration.
30 min here Walk here → -
Malecon
Eight kilometres of sea wall and the city's front porch. Go at sunset; the whole of Havana does.
25 min here Walk here →
More in Havana
Every walking route in Havana, or the full Havana guide for where to stay and what a day costs.