For visitors, Old Havana may be where it's at, but for Cubans the city's heart and soul lie on this five/mile-long boulevard running along Havana Bay from the mouth of the harbor through Centro Habana and out to the mouth of the Almendares River in the El Vedado district. It´s a popular gathering spot for all ages (and fair warning: foreign men may be approached by prostitutes along here). Many of the building façades are derelict or at the very least worn thanks to the stress of being exposed to the sea while not receiving much in the way of maintenance and upkeep. There are also several notable landmarks along here, such as the Brutalist U.S. Embassy; the monument to the 266 U.S. sailors who lost their lives in the murky sinking of the USS Maine sailing ship, which was used as a pretext to start the Spanish-American War in 1898; another small defensive fortress, the late-16th-century Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta (housing a museum): the historic, iconic Hotel Nacional (on a low bluff above the Malecón); and the grand 1916 bronze monument to Antonio Maceo, a lionized hero of the war of independence.
Read more in Tripatini contributor Lowest Flight Fares´ post What Definitely Not to Miss in Havana.
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