Cuba

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean — 1,250 kilometres of sugarcane, tobacco fields, limestone mogotes, coral reefs and crumbling-yet-magnificent Spanish colonial cities, home to roughly 11.1 million people and one of the most powerful cultural identities on Earth. Since 1959 it has lived under a one-party socialist state that, for all its contradictions, produced near-universal literacy, a globally respected medical system, and a country where poverty feels nothing like the poverty of comparable economies. A visit to Cuba is a visit to a place where time genuinely moves differently.

For the traveller, Cuba offers three immediate pleasures and one long aftertaste. The pleasures: Havana's impossible, decaying beauty; the music that seems to rise from the streets themselves; and rum-drenched cocktails served in the bars where they were invented. The aftertaste is subtler — the warmth of Cubans, the conversations on front stoops, the sense that here, more than almost anywhere, the human connection outweighs the infrastructure. You come for the classic cars and you leave remembering the people.

This guide covers the whole island: Havana and its Malecón, Trinidad's cobblestone time capsule, the tobacco valleys of Viñales, Santiago de Cuba's Afro-Caribbean heart, Varadero's beaches and the practical realities of travel in a country that still runs largely on cash, improvisation, and the kindness of strangers.

The name Cuba comes from the Taíno word cubao, variously translated as "where fertile land is abundant" or "great place". Christopher Columbus, who landed on the north-eastern coast on 28 October 1492, initially believed he had reached mainland Asia and named it Juana after the Spanish heir-apparent. The indigenous name, however, survived four centuries of colonial rebranding and became official when Cuba declared independence in 1902.

Today the country's full formal name is the República de Cuba (Republic of Cuba). Cubans call their home La Isla ("The Island"), La Mayor de las Antillas ("The Largest of the Antilles"), or affectionately El Cocodrilo Verde ("The Green Crocodile") — a reference to the island's elongated, reptilian shape when viewed on a map. The flag, designed in 1849, features three blue and two white stripes, a red triangle, and a single white star — the Estrella Solitaria ("Lone Star") — symbolising independence.

Cuba sits at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, 150 km south of Florida and 210 km east of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. The main island stretches 1,250 km west-to-east but averages just 100 km wide, giving it 109,884 km² of territory — roughly the size of Tennessee or Bulgaria. Including some 4,195 surrounding islands and cays (most notably the Isla de la Juventud and the Archipiélago de los Jardines del Rey), Cuba has one of the longest coastlines in the Caribbean: over 5,700 km of beaches, mangroves, limestone cliffs and coral reef.

Three mountain systems punctuate an otherwise rolling terrain: the Sierra Maestra in the east (whose peak, Pico Turquino at 1,974 m, is the country's highest), the Sierra del Escambray in the centre, and the Guaniguanico range in the far west — home to the extraordinary limestone mogotes of the Viñales Valley. Between them stretch fertile plains of red soil, cultivated for sugarcane, tobacco and citrus. The Zapata Peninsula on the south coast holds the Caribbean's largest wetland, a biosphere reserve teeming with crocodiles, flamingos and the bee hummingbird — the world's smallest bird, endemic to Cuba.

Cuba's elongated shape — stretched like a crocodile from Cabo de San Antonio in the west to Punta Maisí in the east — is best appreciated from above. Use the interactive map below to get your bearings.

Cuba's human story begins around 4000 BCE with the Guanahatabey and later Taíno peoples — Arawak-speaking farmers and fishers whose culture was extinguished within a few generations of Columbus's 1492 landing. Spanish colonisation, formalised by Diego Velázquez from 1511, turned the island into a strategic waypoint for silver fleets returning from Mexico and Peru, and into a brutal slave-labour sugar economy that, by the 19th century, was the largest producer of sugar in the world. Cuba was one of the last places in the Americas to abolish slavery (1886).

Three wars of independence (1868–98) culminated in the 1895 uprising led by the poet-revolutionary José Martí. US intervention in 1898 — following the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbour — ended Spanish rule but replaced it with a de-facto American protectorate that lasted, in various forms, until 1959. The Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and Raúl Castro, toppled the Batista dictatorship on 1 January 1959 and turned sharply socialist after the failed US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point before or since.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 triggered the "Período Especial" — a decade of extreme scarcity that reshaped Cuban society. Raúl Castro succeeded Fidel in 2008 and oversaw cautious economic liberalisation. In 2021 Miguel Díaz-Canel became the first non-Castro president since the revolution. The US embargo, in place since 1962, remains the single largest external constraint on Cuba's economy.

Cuba's 11 million people are ethnically diverse—a mixture of Spanish colonizers, enslaved Africans, Chinese contract laborers, and smaller groups that merged over centuries. Official statistics show about 65% white, 25% mixed-race, and 10% Black, though these categories are contested and self-identification varies. What unites Cubans is a powerful national identity forged through independence struggles, revolution, and shared hardship.

Music permeates Cuban life to an extraordinary degree. Son—the foundation of salsa—emerged from the fusion of Spanish guitar and African rhythms. Rumba, born in Havana and Matanzas, celebrates African heritage with complex percussion and dance. Contemporary Cuba produces reggaeton, timba, and hip-hop alongside traditional forms. You'll hear live music everywhere—from concert halls to street corners, from casa de la trova to spontaneous gatherings.

Santería, blending Yoruba religion brought by enslaved people with Catholicism, remains widely practiced despite official atheism during the revolutionary period. Orishas (deities) map onto Catholic saints; elaborate rituals involve animal sacrifice, possession trance, and divination. You'll see practitioners dressed in white, beaded necklaces indicating their patron orisha. The religion coexists with Catholicism, Protestantism, and secular socialism.

Cuban hospitality is legendary—and genuine. Despite (or perhaps because of) material scarcity, Cubans share freely. Conversations happen easily; strangers become friends. The culture values education highly—literacy is nearly universal, and Cuba produces remarkable numbers of doctors, teachers, and artists relative to its economy. This combination of warmth, education, and creative energy makes human connection Cuba's greatest attraction.

Havana is unlike any other city on Earth. Two million people inhabit a sprawling metropolis where baroque churches face art deco apartment blocks, where 1950s Chevrolets share streets with horse-drawn carts, where revolutionary murals fade on crumbling walls while rooftop bars serve craft cocktails to tourists. The city demands time—not just to see its sights but to absorb its rhythm, to sit on the Malecón at sunset, to wander without destination through neighborhoods that reveal themselves slowly.

Habana Vieja (Old Havana), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, contains the colonial core: Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja, Plaza de Armas, and the restored palaces along Calle Obispo. The Capitol building, modeled after Washington's, anchors Centro Habana. The Paseo del Prado promenade leads to the Malecón—the eight-kilometer seawall where all Havana eventually gathers to fish, flirt, drink rum, and watch waves crash.

Vedado, developed in the early 20th century, offers tree-lined streets of eclectic mansions, the Hotel Nacional (where everyone from Churchill to Sinatra stayed), and the Revolution Square with its iconic Che Guevara portrait on the Ministry of Interior building. Further out, Miramar's embassy district and the formerly exclusive Havana Country Club—now a public park—show pre-revolutionary wealth.

Essential experiences: cocktails at La Floridita (Hemingway's daiquiri bar) or Bodeguita del Medio (mojito); the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC) for contemporary culture; the Museo de la Revolución in the former presidential palace; the vintage car taxi ride along the Malecón at sunset. Stay in a casa particular for authenticity, or the Hotel Nacional for faded glamour.

Trinidad is Cuba's most perfectly preserved colonial town—a UNESCO World Heritage Site that looks much as it did in the 1850s when sugar wealth built its grand mansions. Cobblestone streets wind between pastel-painted houses with terracotta roofs, wrought-iron grilles, and interior courtyards. The Plaza Mayor, surrounded by 18th-century palaces now housing museums, forms the heart of this living museum where residents go about daily life amid architectural splendor.

The town's wealth came from the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills), itself a UNESCO site. The Manaca Iznaga tower—a 45-meter-tall observation post where overseers watched enslaved workers—survives as testimony to the brutal plantation system. Today the valley offers horseback riding, scenic drives, and reminders of Cuba's complicated history with sugar and slavery.

Trinidad's nightlife centers on the Casa de la Música, an open-air staircase where live bands play salsa and timba under the stars. Nearby Playa Ancón offers the best beach on Cuba's south coast. The Topes de Collantes mountains provide hiking through waterfalls and coffee plantations.

Other central Cuba highlights include Cienfuegos ("the Pearl of the South"), with its French-influenced neoclassical architecture, and Santa Clara, where Che Guevara's mausoleum and the derailed armored train from the revolutionary battle anchor the city's revolutionary heritage.

The Viñales Valley looks like nowhere else: massive limestone mogotes—rounded karst hills covered in vegetation—rise from a flat valley floor of rust-red soil where tobacco is cultivated by traditional methods little changed in centuries. The UNESCO-protected landscape feels prehistoric, almost Jurassic. Farmers in cowboy hats still use oxen to plow fields; tobacco dries in thatched barns called casas de tabaco.

The valley is Cuba's premier tobacco region, producing the leaves that become the world's finest cigars. Tours of tobacco farms (fincas) explain the process from seed to smoke. The vegueros (tobacco farmers) often roll cigars for visitors—unofficial but excellent products at a fraction of official prices. The Mural de la Prehistoria, a massive painting on a mogote face, is kitschy but somehow appropriate.

Adventure activities abound: horseback riding through the valley, rock climbing on the mogotes, caving in the extensive limestone systems including the Cueva del Indio (with its underground river boat ride). The town of Viñales itself is pleasant, with its single main street of casas particulares, restaurants, and bars where nightly live music keeps the party going.

Further west, the Guanahacabibes Peninsula offers Cuba's best diving and pristine beaches with virtually no development. María la Gorda, at the peninsula's tip, provides access to exceptional coral walls and endemic species. The drive across Pinar del Río province reveals rural Cuba at its most authentic.

Cuban cuisine reflects the island's history—Spanish foundations with African influences, adapted to tropical ingredients and, since 1959, constrained by scarcity. The result is comfort food that rewards those who find it done well while frustrating those who encounter it done poorly. State restaurants often disappoint; private paladares deliver everything from traditional criolla cooking to sophisticated contemporary interpretations.

Classic dishes include ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce), lechón asado (roast pork), arroz con pollo (chicken with rice), and the ubiquitous moros y cristianos (black beans and rice). Tostones (twice-fried plantains) and yuca con mojo (cassava with garlic sauce) accompany most meals. The Cuban sandwich originated with exiles in Tampa and Miami but has returned home. Seafood, especially lobster, can be excellent when available.

Rum is Cuba's national drink—Havana Club being the iconic brand, though Santiago's Ron Caney and others compete. The classic cocktails were perfected here: mojito (white rum, lime, mint, sugar, soda), daiquiri (white rum, lime juice, sugar), and Cuba Libre (rum and Coca-Cola with lime—though authentic Coke requires effort to find). Cuban coffee comes strong and sweet; café cubano is essentially espresso with sugar.

Cigars complete the experience. Cuba produces the world's finest—Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Partagás. Visit a factory to watch torcedores (rollers) at work; buy from official Casa del Habano shops to ensure authenticity (street vendors often sell fakes). Lighting a good Cuban cigar as the sun sets over the Malecón is a quintessential Cuba experience.

Lechón Asado

Roast Pork

Whole roast pig marinated in mojo criollo—Cuban celebration centerpiece.

Ingredients: 1kg pork shoulder, For mojo: sour orange juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, Olive oil, Onion.

Preparation: Blend mojo ingredients. Marinate pork overnight. Roast low and slow (160°C (320°F), 4 hours). Then baste with mojo. Until crispy outside, tender inside. Finally, serve with mojo on side.

💡 Sour orange is key—mix regular OJ with lime if unavailable.

Moros y Cristianos

Moors and Christians

Black beans and rice cooked together—Cuba's most famous side dish.

Ingredients: 240ml black beans, 240ml rice, Sofrito (onion, pepper, garlic), Cumin, oregano, Bay leaf, Olive oil.

Preparation: Cook beans until almost tender. Make sofrito, add spices. Add rice and bean liquid. Then cook until rice is done. Should be moist, not dry.

💡 Beans and rice in one pot—not served separately.

Cubano Sandwich

Cuban Pressed Sandwich

Roast pork, ham, cheese, pickles, and mustard pressed until crispy.

Ingredients: 1 Cuban bread roll (or 20cm baguette), 100g roast pork (sliced), 50g ham, 50g Swiss cheese, 4 dill pickles, 15ml yellow mustard, 30g butter.

Preparation: Slice bread, spread with butter and mustard. Layer ham, pork, cheese, pickles. Press in sandwich press or heavy pan. Then grill until cheese melts and bread crispy. To finish, cut diagonally.

💡 The press is essential—it's not a cubano without it.

José Martí International Airport (HAV) in Havana receives most international flights. Airlines from Canada, Mexico, Europe, and (for authorized travelers) the United States fly regularly. Other international airports include Varadero (VRA), Santa Clara (SNU), and Holguín (HOG). Remember: US travelers must qualify under one of 12 authorized categories—standard tourism is not permitted.

Internal transport presents challenges. Viazul tourist buses connect major destinations reliably if slowly. Shared taxis (colectivos) offer faster point-to-point travel. Rental cars are expensive and often unavailable—book well ahead if needed. The road network is adequate but poorly lit at night; expect horses, bicycles, and pedestrians on highways. Domestic flights exist but often cancel or reschedule.

Within cities, classic car taxis (often charging in dollars) serve tourists; yellow cocos (motorcycle taxis) and shared almendrones (route taxis) serve locals at lower prices. Havana's HavanaBusTour offers hop-on/hop-off service. Walking is often the best option in colonial centers. Ride-sharing apps don't operate; negotiate prices before departing.

Accommodation divides between state hotels and casas particulares (private homestays, marked by blue anchors on doors). Casas offer better value, authentic experience, and direct support for Cuban families. Quality varies—read reviews carefully. Airbnb operates in Cuba despite legal ambiguity. Book ahead during high season (December-April) and always for popular destinations like Trinidad and Viñales.

Cuba is, quite simply, one of the most important cocktail nations on Earth. The island that gave the world the mojito, the daiquiri, the Cuba libre, and the Presidente — and whose rum traditions stretch back to the 16th-century Spanish colonial sugar mills — has shaped global drinking culture far beyond what its modest size would suggest. Cuban drinking is inseparable from Cuban identity: the sound of son cubano drifting from a crumbling Havana bar, the clink of rum glasses on a Malecón seawall at sunset, the ritual of sharing a bottle of Havana Club between friends on a front porch in Trinidad. This is a country where rum isn't just a spirit; it's a way of life.

The Mojito — Born in Havana · Cuba gave the world three iconic cocktails — the mojito, daiquiri, and Cuba libre — all built on the island's legendary sugarcane rum. At La Bodeguita del Medio, Hemingway's legendary haunt, the mojito ritual continues unchanged.

🥃 Havana Club & Cuban Rum

Havana Club is Cuba's flagship rum brand and one of the most recognizable spirits in the world — though Americans may not know it, thanks to the U.S. embargo that has kept Cuban rum off American shelves since 1962. The brand's range spans from the ubiquitous Havana Club 3 Años (the default mojito rum) through the elegant 7 Años (best sipped neat or in an old fashioned) to the extraordinary Selección de Maestros and ultra-premium Máximo Extra Añejo, which rival the world's finest aged spirits. The state-owned distillery in San José de las Lajas, guided by maestros roneros (master rum makers) trained in a tradition stretching back generations, produces rum using a continuous column distillation process and ages it in white oak barrels in Cuba's tropical climate, where the "angel's share" — the portion lost to evaporation — is dramatically higher than in cooler climates.

Beyond Havana Club, Santiago de Cuba rum (produced in the eastern city that claims to be rum's spiritual birthplace) offers excellent aged expressions, and the budget-friendly Cubay and Legendario brands serve everyday drinking needs. Cuba's rum tradition is governed by the Denominación de Origen Protegida "Ron de Cuba", which mandates production methods and aging standards — making Cuban rum one of the most regulated spirits in the Caribbean.

🍹 The Holy Trinity of Cuban Cocktails

Three cocktails define Cuba's contribution to global bar culture. The Mojito — white rum, fresh lime juice, sugar, mint, soda water, and crushed ice — was allegedly born at La Bodeguita del Medio in Old Havana, though its true origins likely predate that famous bar. Hemingway's apocryphal quote ("My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in El Floridita") has cemented both bars as pilgrimage sites. The Daiquiri, named after a beach near Santiago de Cuba, is nothing like the frozen, fruit-flavored abominations served at resort pools — the original is simply white rum, fresh lime, and sugar, shaken hard with ice into a crystalline, perfectly balanced sour. The Cuba Libre — rum, Coca-Cola, and lime — was reportedly invented in 1900 to celebrate Cuban independence from Spain, making it perhaps the only cocktail born as a political statement.

🎶 The Bar as Cultural Institution

Cuban bars are not mere drinking establishments; they are cultural institutions where music, conversation, politics, and rum intertwine in a uniquely Cuban alchemy. El Floridita, the "cradle of the daiquiri," maintains its art deco elegance and live son bands since the 1800s. La Bodeguita del Medio's graffiti-covered walls have been signed by everyone from García Márquez to Nat King Cole. But beyond these tourist landmarks, the real Cuban drinking experience happens in paladares (private restaurants), front porches, and neighborhood bars where a bottle of rum costs less than a dollar and the conversation is the main event. The tradition of ron con hielo (rum on ice) shared among neighbors on warm Havana evenings is as central to Cuban social life as the family dinner is to Italian culture.

🍺 Beer & Beyond

Cristal and Bucanero are Cuba's two main beer brands — Cristal a light, easy-drinking lager and Bucanero a slightly stronger, more full-bodied brew. Both are produced by Cervecería Bucanero, a joint venture with InBev. In a country where rum is cheaper than bottled water, beer occupies a secondary but still important role, particularly during baseball games and domino sessions. Guarapo, freshly pressed sugarcane juice, is Cuba's great non-alcoholic drink — electric green, intensely sweet, and sold from hand-cranked presses on virtually every street corner.

Three Cuban cocktails belong on the Mount Rushmore of classic mixology. Here are the authentic recipes — the ones Cuban bartenders actually make, not the sugary resort versions.

Cuba has a tropical climate moderated by trade winds — two seasons rather than four. The dry season (November–April) is the peak travel window: sunny days, temperatures of 22–28 °C, low humidity and almost no rain. December to February can bring cool "nortes" blowing down from the Gulf. The wet season (May–October) is hot, humid, and prone to short, intense afternoon downpours. August to October is hurricane season; while direct hits are infrequent, storms can disrupt travel. For most travellers, December–March offers the best weather at the cost of higher prices and fuller casas particulares.

Visa: Most visitors need a tarjeta del turista (tourist card) — typically sold by airlines or Cuban consulates — valid for 30 days (90 for Canadians), extendable once in-country. US citizens must travel under one of 12 authorised OFAC categories; standard tourism is not among them.

Money: Since 2021 Cuba has a single currency, the Cuban peso (CUP), alongside a parallel digital dollar (MLC) used in state shops. The real economy runs on cash — euros, Canadian dollars and pounds are easiest to exchange; US dollars incur a penalty. US-issued cards do not work. Bring all the cash you need.

Health: No required vaccinations. Cuba's public health system is good by regional standards but shortages are chronic — bring any medications you need and a basic first-aid kit. Tap water should be avoided; bottled water is widely available.

Connectivity: Wi-Fi is available at hotels, parks and via ETECSA Nauta cards. Mobile data has improved dramatically since 2018 — a local Cubacel eSIM is worth the trouble. Expect slow speeds and censored apps.

Safety: Cuba is one of the safest countries in the Americas. Violent crime against tourists is extremely rare. Petty scams and overcharging do happen; agree prices up front and count your change.

Cuba is mid-priced by Caribbean standards but cash-only planning is essential. Expect: Casa particular €25–45 per night (private room with breakfast); budget meal at a paladar €8–15; classic-car taxi across Havana €10–20; Viazul long-distance bus €15–40; mojito in a tourist bar €3–5; decent bottle of Havana Club 7 Años €12–15. A reasonable daily budget runs €60–90 per person mid-range, €120+ for comfortable travel.

The single best decision you can make in Cuba is to stay in casas particulares — licensed private homestays marked with a blue anchor on the door. You get a private room (often with private bathroom), a proper Cuban breakfast, local knowledge no guidebook can match, and your money goes directly to a Cuban family. State hotels are often dreary and overpriced; exceptions include the iconic Hotel Nacional in Havana and the restored colonial hotels of Old Havana (Hotel Santa Isabel, Hotel Los Frailes). Airbnb works in Cuba but bookings route through US servers — many casas prefer direct email or WhatsApp.

Cuba's festival calendar is dense. Highlights: Carnaval de Santiago de Cuba (July) — the island's loudest, most Afro-Caribbean celebration; Havana International Jazz Festival (January) — founded by Chucho Valdés, one of the best jazz gatherings in the Americas; Havana International Ballet Festival (October–November, biennial) — legacy of Alicia Alonso; Havana Biennial (contemporary art, biennial); Romerías de Mayo (Holguín, May); Festival del Habano (February) — the world's biggest cigar festival; and Parrandas de Remedios (December) — a chaotic, fireworks-heavy village competition unlike anything else in the Caribbean.

Cuba has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites — seven cultural and two natural:

• Old Havana and its Fortifications (1982) — the colonial core of the capital.
• Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios (1988) — colonial sugar town and its plantation valley.
• San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba (1997) — 17th-century Spanish fortress.
• Desembarco del Granma National Park (1999) — dramatic marine terraces on the south-east coast.
• Viñales Valley (1999) — tobacco landscape and karst mogotes.
• Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations (2000) — in the Sierra Maestra foothills.
• Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (2001) — extraordinary biodiversity in eastern Cuba.
• Historic Centre of Cienfuegos (2005) — 19th-century French-influenced urban planning.
• Historic Centre of Camagüey (2008) — labyrinthine colonial town with its famous tinajones.

Skip the resorts and try these: Baracoa — Cuba's oldest Spanish settlement, isolated at the eastern tip, famous for its cocoa, coconut and the Yunque tabletop mountain. Las Terrazas — an ecological community built around a reforestation project, with zip-lines, bathing pools and an artists' colony. Gibara — a tiny, crumbling port town that hosts an independent film festival and feels like Cuba forty years ago. Cayo Jutías — a wild, undeveloped white-sand cay reached by a rough road through mangroves. The Bay of Pigs — worth visiting not only for the history but for some of the Caribbean's best shore diving at Playa Girón and Caleta Buena.

Cuba rewards the prepared traveller. Essentials: all the cash you need (euros, CAD or GBP), a basic medical kit (ibuprofen, antibiotics if your doctor agrees, rehydration salts, plasters), insect repellent with DEET, reef-safe sunscreen, a reusable water bottle with a filter, universal plug adapter (Cuba uses both type A and type C, 110 V and 220 V — unpredictable), a small torch (blackouts are common), and small gifts for hosts (toiletries, school supplies, good-quality coffee from home are appreciated).

• Official Cuba Travel portal (MINTUR)
• Viazul long-distance buses
• ETECSA — Cuban telecoms, Wi-Fi cards, eSIM
• CADECA — official exchange rates
• UNESCO — Cuba World Heritage Sites

• The Old Man and the Sea — Ernest Hemingway. The Nobel-winning novella set in Cojímar, east of Havana.
• Our Man in Havana — Graham Greene. A delicious Cold-War satire of 1950s Havana.
• Dirty Havana Trilogy — Pedro Juan Gutiérrez. Raw, funny, bruising dispatches from Havana's Special Period.
• Cuba: An American History — Ada Ferrer. Pulitzer-winning, highly readable 500-year survey.
• Havana Nocturne — T. J. English. The mafia, Batista and the lost Havana of the 1950s.
• Telex from Cuba — Rachel Kushner. A novel of the American sugar enclaves on the eve of the revolution.

Search on YouTube: "Buena Vista Social Club — Chan Chan" (the song that reintroduced Cuban music to the world); "Cuba drone 4K" (spectacular aerials of Havana and Viñales); the BBC's "Simon Reeve — Cuba" travel documentary; and "How to make a real mojito — La Bodeguita del Medio" for the authentic technique.

• Cuba's bee hummingbird (zunzuncito) is the world's smallest bird — 5 cm and 2 grams.
• Cuba has the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the world and exports medical personnel to more than 60 countries.
• The average Havana car is over 50 years old — a direct consequence of the US embargo freezing imports in 1960.
• Cuba's literacy rate is 99.8%, among the highest on Earth.
• Until 2021, Cuba had two simultaneous currencies (CUP and CUC) — one of the strangest monetary systems in modern history.
• The internet only became available to private citizens in 2018.

José Martí (1853–1895) — poet, journalist and architect of Cuban independence, the national apostle. Fidel Castro (1926–2016) — the revolutionary who ruled Cuba for nearly 50 years. Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928–1967) — Argentine-born revolutionary, whose face is Cuba's most exported image. Alicia Alonso (1920–2019) — one of the 20th century's great ballerinas, founder of the Cuban National Ballet. Celia Cruz (1925–2003) — the Queen of Salsa. Compay Segundo, Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer — the Buena Vista Social Club generation. Chucho Valdés — multiple-Grammy-winning jazz pianist. Leonardo Padura — the country's most internationally read novelist.

Baseball is the national obsession — pelota — and Cuba has produced an astonishing number of Major League stars despite the embargo, including Aroldis Chapman, Yasiel Puig and José Abreu. The domestic Serie Nacional runs November to April. Cuba is also a perennial boxing superpower (Teófilo Stevenson, Félix Savón — each three-time Olympic champions) and has dominated amateur boxing for decades. Watch a ballgame at Havana's Estadio Latinoamericano, or join the daily shouting match at Esquina Caliente ("Hot Corner") in Parque Central where Cubans argue baseball for hours.

Cuba has one of the most restrictive media environments in the Western Hemisphere. All major outlets — Granma, Juventud Rebelde, Cubavisión and the national radio network — are state-owned. Independent journalism exists (14ymedio, founded by Yoani Sánchez; El Toque; Periodismo de Barrio) but operates under legal harassment and blocked domestic access. Cuba ranks consistently near the bottom of the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. Since the 2018 arrival of mobile data, social media has become the de-facto alternative public sphere — and a flashpoint, notably during the July 2021 protests.

Click any image to enlarge.

I arrived in Havana on a humid February night expecting the Cuba of the postcards — the classic cars, the peeling pastel façades, the old men playing dominoes under flickering streetlamps. I found all of it. What I did not expect was how fast the clichés would dissolve into something more difficult and more interesting: a country that refuses every simple story told about it. Havana is not a museum. It's a living, creaking, arguing, dancing city where the revolution is both monument and daily grievance, where the decay is genuine and so is the resourcefulness that keeps 1956 Chevrolets running on Lada engines and Russian pistons.

I spent my best afternoon in Cuba not at any listed landmark but on a wooden chair outside a casa particular in Trinidad, listening to my host — a retired schoolteacher called Maritza — explain how she had survived the Período Especial on sugar water and solidarity, and watching her grandson teach a German backpacker how to dance rueda in the street below. The mojito came later. By then it felt almost superfluous. Cuba's greatest export isn't rum or cigars or music; it is the stubborn, maddening, generous genius of its people for turning scarcity into life.

—Radim Kaufmann, 2026