Travel to Havana pdf

Download free ebooks at bookboon.com5 A visit to Havana www.cubatravel.cu With its two million inhabitants, Havana is the largest city of the Caribbean and at the same time one of the

Trang 3

Download free ebooks at bookboon.com

Translation: Maria Lundberg

All rights and copyright relating to the content of this

book are the property of Ventus Publishing ApS, and/or its

suppliers Content from ths book, may not be reproduced

in any shape or form without prior written permission from

Ventus Publishing ApS.

Quoting this book is allowed when clear references are made,

in relation to reviews are allowed.

ISBN 978-87-7061-261-6

1st edition

Pictures and illustrations in this book are reproduced according

to agreement with the following copyright owners

Stig Albeck.

The stated prices and opening hours are indicative and may

have be subject to change after this book was published.

Trang 4

4

Trang 5

5

A visit to Havana

www.cubatravel.cu

With its two million inhabitants, Havana is the

largest city of the Caribbean and at the same time

one of the most charming and worth seeing cities

The happy Cuban national mind is felt everywhere,

and the beautiful frame with the many old and

colourful buildings from the Colonial Period as

well as the abundance of the American cars from

the 1950es, make the city unique in the world

Cuba is an attraction like few other places The

history with Fidel Castro’s alteration of the

Communist Cuba in the tropics only few

kilometres from the United States, has been a

source of inspiration for many and an irritation for

others No matter what you think, the Cuban

people and country offer experiences like no other

The many showy American cars from the 1950’es, when the society was inspired by the United States, drive around as if nothing has changed in the last decades The houses are more or less preserved from back then, so the centre of Havana is quite homogenous without a lot of modern buildings among the old, low buildings in Spanish style

If you go to the countryside, the optimistic Cuban soul follows along, and everywhere you are met with smiles, joy, beautiful nature, cosy towns and tropical beaches

Have a nice trip!

Trang 6

6

Historical outline

Before Christopher Columbus arrived to the

eastern part of Cuba in 1492, several local tribes

had lived on the island for a long period of time

Baracoa was founded as capital of the new Spanish

country, and the island was later an important

intermediate station on the way to the colonisation

of the American mainland

Havana was founded by the Spanish explorer

Diego Velásquez de Cuéllar at the entrance of the

natural harbour in the – at that time called –

Carenas Bay in 1519 Since 1515 De Cuéllar had

tried a few other placements of the city, but this

failed because of the swampy ground of the places

first chosen

Havana was situated far away from the island’s

Spanish administrative centre, and therefore it

mainly developed because of its favourable

position on the road for transportation between

Spain and the American mainland The city

steadily grew up through the 16th century, and in

1607 it was made capital of the country

Through the 17th and the 18th centuries, the

Spanish Cuba mainly developed through the

extraction of raw materials and the growing of for

example tobacco and the main crop sugar

Spain was involved in the Seven Day War between

Great Britain and France, and the British people

took advantage of their strength and besieged and

conquered Havana in 1762 The British people

stayed here for eleven months, after which Spain

regained control over the city through a trade with

Florida on stake

The intense production on the plantations of the

island had increased the number of slaves to about

half of the inhabitants of Cuba This happened in

the first half of the 19th century when two

rebellions against the Spanish regime took place in

1812 and 1848 – both times the rebellions were put down During this period in Havana, far away from the plantations, a lot of fine palaces and public buildings such as Gran Teatro were built

An increasing number of the inhabitants of Cuba, also many Spanish descendants, went along with the idea of an independent nation, and in 1868 the first war of independence, which Spain won after ten years of battle, began

Jose Martí, of whom you find monuments even today in Havana and other cities, founded PRC, The Cuban Revolutionary Party, in 1892 Three years later the second war of independence began, and in 1898 the Spanish regime surrendered Cuba was formally an independent republic in 1902, and now under strong influence from the United States, which dominated Havana in the 20th

century The most visible result of this is the government building, Capitolio, which is meant to

be a copy of the American Congress building in Washington, and reminds of the seat of the government in every American federal state

During the Prohibition Period in the United States

in the first half of the 20th century, the rich people

of the dried United States and also quite a few criminals went to Cuba, where they could live the wild life and earn a lot of money Havana was only

150 km from Florida, and this created an enormous activity in the Cuban capital Luxurious hotels such as the Nacional, restaurants, clubs and cabarets, such as the Tropicana, were built everywhere and welcomed the Americans This was the beginning of the luxurious life of Havana, which attracted a lot of people with its

extravaganza and its agreeable tropical climate

The presence of the Americans created an economic growth in the city which hadn’t been seen before, but at the same time, this

development created an increase in the city’s social problems for many of the poor sections of the

Trang 7

7

Cuban population, who didn’t get a share of the

relatively great prosperity according to South and

Central American standards

Since 1933, Cuba had been governed by Colonel

Fulgencio Batista, whose regime was abruptly

stopped in 1959 when Fidel Castro, after sailing

with some of his men from Mexico to the Eastern

Cuba three years before, had begun the battle for a

Cuban revolution, which was now a reality Batista

had to escape from Cuba, and Fidel Castro

became the new ruler

In 1961 an invasion of the Bay of Pigs supported

by the Americans was stopped, and the same year

Fidel Castro declared himself a Communist The

tropical island state was now part of the sphere of

interest of the Soviet Union, and the United States

stopped their diplomatic ties to the country From

this year, Cuba politically and economically

developed in a different way than the surrounding

countries; among other things, heavy investments

were made in a health and education system,

which became among the best of the region From

1989 to 1990, the Soviet dominated Eastern bloc

changed characteristically because of the change in

regimes in a number of countries, which caused an

increasing integration with Western Europe This

caused a large recession in Cuba, which opened up

for tourism in order to compensate for the annual

support from the Soviet Union

In 1991 the Pan American Games were held in Havana, and at that time, the Eastern suburbs were extended At the same time, renovations of the historical buildings of the old part of the city, the Habana Vieja, were started

In 1998 Pope John Paul II came to Cuba, and he celebrated Mass in the cathedral of Havana The church as well as the square and the streets in front of the church were filled with people, and this is also the case at the annual May Day Festivities, which take place at Plaza de la Revolucíon

Today the renovation of Havana is well under way Large parts of the city are looking as beautiful as in the old days, and the tourist industry is developing rapidly in the capital of the most exciting country

in the Caribbean

Trang 8

8

Tour 1: Havana

1 Plaza Vieja

Plaza Vieja

Plaza Vieja means The Old Square, and it was built

in the 16th century in order to accommodate different events such as bull fighting Today the houses have been renovated, and they give a moving impression of the old part of Havana, La Habana Vieja

2 Plaza de San Francisco

Plaza de San Francisco

At the San Francisco Square, you can see the stately old commodities exchange, Lonja del Comercio, which is now an office building The church, Iglesio de San Francisco de Asis, which was built in 1608, is also situated here However, the church underwent a large renovation in 1737 When the Protestants had used the church during the British period from 1762 to 1763, the

Catholics no longer wanted to use the church, which has since been used as storage as well as other things Today it is used as a concert hall The lion fountain at the square was put up in 1836

Trang 9

9

3 Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas

This square is the oldest square in the city, and you

can see the monument of the rebel hero, Carlos

Manual de Céspedes On the Western side of the

square, you can see the beautiful governor palace,

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, which was

built in beautiful Baroque style in 1780 Earlier the

palace was residence of the presidents of the

country, and today it is used as the City Museum

of Havana, Museo de la Ciudad Both the building

and the exhibition are very interesting and give a

fine impression of the country’s Colonial Period

At the Eastern side of the square, the hotel Santa

Isabel from the 18th century is situated Originally,

the hotel was called Palacio del Conde de

Santovenia You can also find the classic temple

building, El Templete

The central pedestrian street, Calle Obispo, branch

off from Plaza de Armas On a stroll on Calle

Obispo, you can experience the Cuban street life

as well as many beautiful buildings such as the

National Bank/Banco Nacional de Cuba (no 211),

the Hotel Florida (no 252) and the Hotel Ambos

Mundos (no 153) At the Hotel Ambos Mundos,

you can visit room no 511, where Ernest

Hemingway wrote the novel ”For Whom the Bell

Tolls” 117-119 Calle Obispo is the oldest house in

Havana, and was built in 1570 In the East end of

Calle Obispo, you find El Floridita, which was

among other things the favorite place of Ernest

Hemingway and other Hollywood celebrities

4 Castle of the Royal Force/

Castillo de la Fuerza

Calle O’Reilly 2

The Castle of the Royal Force is one of the oldest

buildings of Havana The fortifications were built

on orders from the Spanish King Filipe II in 1577,

and it is still well preserved with its bastions,

drawbridges and canons On top of the castle, you

can see the statue of the city’s symbol, La Giraldilla

de la Habana La Giraldilla was married to the explorer Hernande de Soto, who went to Florida to find the Source of Youth He died, and for four years, Giraldilla was in the tower looking for him

5 Plaza de la Catedral

Plaza de la Catedral

Havana’s Cathedral Square is one of the most beautiful squares of Central America The surrounding buildings from the 18th century are elegant, and there is often music and other events

to give it an even nicer atmosphere

5a Catedral de la Havana

The beautiful Baroque Cathedral of Havana was built in the period from 1748 to 1777 In 1793 the building was raised to its present status as the city cathedral In 1998 Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in this church – a visit that many of the inhabitants of Havana still remember

5b Museo de Arte Colonial

In the mansion, Casa del Conde de Casa Bayona from 1720, you find this museum, which has a very fine collection of arts and crafts from Cuba and Havana in the Colonial Period

6 La Bodeguita del Medio

Calle Empedrado 206

La Bodeguita del Medio started out as a grocer’s shop in 1942, and eventually it was turned into a

Trang 10

10

bar The bar is famous for being the place where

the Cuban national drink, Mojito, was created, and

it was also one of Ernest Hemingway’s favourite

places in Havana

7 Bacardi Building/Edificio Bacardi

Calle Monserrate 261

In 1930 the manufacturer of rum, Bacardi, built

his headquarters in Havana The tall and

beautifully decorated building is inspired by the

Art Deco high-rise blocks of New York from the

same period of time The materials for the

building were imported from countries such as

Norway and Germany

8 National Art Museum/Museo

Nacional de Bellas Artes

Calle Zulueta/Calle Trocedero

www.museonacional.cult.cu

At the National Art Museum, you can see the

country’s finest collection of Cuban art, not least a

large collection from the 20th century

The art museum also has a big department of international art, Arte Universal, which is situated east of Parque Central

9 Revolution Museum and Granma/ Museo de la Revolución y Memorial Granma

Calle Refugio 1 www.cnpc.cult.cu

The Revolution Museum of Havana has been established in the country’s former Presidential Palace, where you find some amazing rooms, among others a copy of the Mirror Room at the Versailles Castle in Paris The presidents resided here from 1913 to 1959

The collection of the museum finely describes the independence and the revolutionary periods of Cuba Among some of the most exciting effects is the beret of Che Guevara, an American spy plane, the boat Granma, in which among others Fidel Castro and Che Guevara sailed from Mexico to Cuba in 1956

10 Museo Nacional de la Música

Calle Capdevila 1

Music is a part of the Cuban national mind, and at the National Music Museum, you can among other things see a number of the country’s instruments and listen to Cuban songs You can also buy music from Cuba In the large square outside the

museum, you can see a monument of the hero from the independence war, Máximo Gómez

Trang 11

11

360°

Discover the truth at www.deloitte.ca/careers

360°

Trang 12

12

Tour 2: Havana

11 Parque Central

Parque Central

The Central Park is a beautifully laid out green

park, where you can breathe freely in the middle of

Havana Under the palm trees, many Cubans meet

to discuss all the things in the world In the middle

of the square, you find a statue of José Marti

12 Hotel Inglaterra

Paseo de Marti 416

The Hotel Inglaterra is one of the luxurious hotels

of Havana It was built in 1875 with a façade in

new Baroque style, and inside you can see

beautiful works in Moorish style, among other

things the dining room with mosaics in the lobby

13 Gran Teatro

Paseo de Marti 458

The Gran Teatro was opened in 1837 as the city’s leading theatre building The richly ornamented façade and the many richly decorated rooms inside are fine examples of the public building activities

of the 19th century Especially the Golden Room is interesting

14 Capitolio

Paseo de Marti

The Capitolio is the largest building of Havana, and it was built in the 1920es as a copy of and with inspiration from the United States Capitol in Washington The Capitolio was originally a presidential and government building, and on a guided tour you can still see the incredibly beautiful rooms

The Capitolio was built in the finest materials, and you can see this in among others the Congress Halls and in the President’s office, which is also open for visits

Trang 13

of buying some of the products

in Pagoda style

Trang 14

revolution

In the centre of the square, the 109 metres tall monument of José Marti is situated You can visit and get to the top of the monument from where there is a fine view

On the southern end of the square, the large government building, Palacio de la Revolución, is situated, where you among other things find the presidents’ offices If you turn towards the clock

of the square, you can see the Ministry of Defence/Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, the national library/Biblioteca Nacional, the Ministry

of Communications/Ministerio de Communicaciones, the Ministry of the Interior/Ministerio del Interior with the large portrait of Che Guevara made in black metal, and the National Theatre /Teatro Nacional

Increase your impact with MSM Executive Education

For more information, visit www.msm.nl or contact us at +31 43 38 70 808

or via admissions@msm.nl

the globally networked management school

For more information, visit www.msm.nl or contact us at +31 43 38 70 808 or via admissions@msm.nl

For almost 60 years Maastricht School of Management has been enhancing the management capacity

of professionals and organizations around the world through state-of-the-art management education.

Our broad range of Open Enrollment Executive Programs offers you a unique interactive, stimulating and multicultural learning experience.

Be prepared for tomorrow’s management challenges and apply today

Executive Education-170x115-B2.indd 1 18-08-11 15:13

Trang 15

15

18 Colón Cemetery/

Cementerio de Colón

Calzada de Zapata

With its 55 hectares, the Colón Cemetery is

particularly big It is almost a city in itself with its

many monumental chapels, mausoleums and other

buildings, which are laid out in a pattern from the

central chapel of the cemetery

At the main entrance you can see a monument of

faith, hope and charity made of Carrara marble

One of the large monuments at the cemetery is the

one for the soldiers fallen in the name of the

The exciting Napoleon Museum of Havana is set

up in a beautiful palace in Florentine style The

collection of Napoleon’s possessions has been

founded by Julio Lobo in the 19th century, and you

can for example see the guns that Napoleon used

at the Battle of Borodino

20 Universidad de la Habana

At the University of Havana, there is a nice

relaxing atmosphere among the large stone

buildings The university garden is finely put out,

and the large stairway entrance at the end of San

Lázaro leads to the museums of the university;

among others the Museo Antropológico Montané

that exhibits arts and crafts from the time before

Columbus arrived in America

21 Hotel Nacional

Avenida O/Calle 21 www.hotelnacionaldecuba.com

The Hotel Nacional is the most famous hotel of Havana It was built in the 1920es with inspiration from The Breaker’s Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida

A large number of celebrities have stayed at the hotel, which with its towers is the symbol of the suburb Vedados

North of the Hotel Nacional along Malecón, you can see the Monumento Al Maine, which has been put up in memory of the ship Maine, which went down in 1898 with 260 sailors

22 Malecón

Malecón

Malecón is the famous sea promenade of Havana, where many Cubans spend their spare time at all hours of the day People go for a swim here, they fish, or take a walk along the sea side Malecón is approximately seven kilometres long The most picturesque distance is along the part of the city called Centro Here you can see a long line of beautifully patinated buildings in for example new classic and Moorish inspired styles The distance goes from the Hotel Nacional to the entrance of the harbour of Havana, where the fortifications Castillo de San Salvador de la Puenta is situated, and which now houses an archeological museum

Trang 16

16

23 Parque Histórico Morro y Cabaña

Carretera de La Cabaña

In this historical area, you find the fortifications

which have helped defend Havana through

centuries If you drive through the central harbour

tunnel from the centre of the city, you first get to

the fort El Morro, which was built in the period

from 1589 to 1630 mainly as a defence against pirates You can walk around the old streets at the fort, at the bastions, and to the canons and the small museums which are established here The lighthouse, which is still in use, is from the 19th

century Further east lies the La Cabaña fortress, which was built in the period from 1764 to 1774

as an additional defence of the city

Trang 17

17

Day Tours from Havana

24 Museum of the Ministry of the

Interior/Museo del Ministerio del

Interior

Avenida Quinta, Miramar, 7 km W

The Museum of the Ministry of the Interior is a

funny museum and like no other museum in the

world Here you find an exhibition of the United

State’s numerous attempts to get rid of Fidel

Castro in more or less ingenious ways If you like

spy stories, this is the place to go

25 Tropicana

Avenida 43/Linea T, Marianao, 7 km W

The Tropicana is the world famous cabaret theatre

of the Caribbean From its opening in 1931 to Cuba’s Communist Revolution in 1959, this was the perfect example of the extravagant and pleasure-seeking tendencies which marked Havana The city was the region’s centre of entertainment, and stars flocked to Tropicana, not least from the United States

The shows that you can see there today are much the same as earlier with a large ensemble, brightly coloured costumes and seductive music The setting is an amphitheatre under the open sky, so that the Caribbean heat is added to the

outstanding atmosphere of Tropicana

Get “Bookboon’s Free Media Advice” Email kbm@bookboon.com

See the light!

The sooner you realize we are right,

the sooner your life will get better!

A bit over the top? Yes we know!

We are just that sure that we can make your

media activities more effective

Trang 18

18

26 Ernest Hemingway’s Havana

www.cnpc.cult.cu

The writer Ernest Hemingway is closely connected

to Havana He first came to Havana in the late

1920es to fish, and he was immediately so excited

about the island that he came back in 1938, when

he returned from the Spanish Civil War

Hemingway stayed in room 511 at the Hotel

Ambos Mundos at Calle Obispo From here, he

was not far away from some of his favourite places,

El Floridita and Bodeguita del Medio In 1940,

Hemingway and his wife moved to a magnificent

old country estate in Finca Vigía, 12 km south

west of the centre of Havana Here Hemingway

stayed for the rest of his life, and this means that

he lived in Cuba for more than 20 years altogether

However, he spent his last years in the United

States, where he went in order to get treatment for

his depressions He committed suicide in the

United States in 1961

You can visit the Museo Ernest Hemingway at the

writer’s house in Finca Vigía The house is kept in

the same way as in Hemingway’s time, and you

find a lot of his personal possessions, such as

books, paintings, and his type writer

In the city Cojímar 10 km east of Havana,

Hemingway went fishing from his boat, Pilar

A part of the writer’s spare time was spent in

Cojímar, and the city forms the setting of

Hemingway’s book "The Old Man and the Sea"

Here you find a bust of Hemingway, and you can

eat at his favourite restaurant, La Terraza

27 Casablanca

2 km E

By ferry from Calle O’Reilly

Casablanca is a charming suburb at the east side of

the entrance of the harbour of Havana The city is

known for its cosy atmosphere with its many

picturesque houses in beautiful colours

In Casablanca, you can also get close to the Statue

of Christ, El Cristo de Casablanca, which was revealed in 1958 The statue, which is made of Italian marble, is placed beautifully by the sea The National Observatory, Observatorio Nacional, is also situated in Casablanca

28 Parque Lenin

Rancho Boyeros, 10 km S

In Havana’s large Lenin Park, you can see a large monument of the Communist leader, Vladimir Lenin The park is big, and in the nice gardens, you can take many lovely walks and perhaps a sail

on the lake in a rented row boat

29 ExpoCuba

Carretera del Rocío, 13 km S

ExpoCuba is a large exhibition area with a number

of pavilions in which you can get an impression of the results of the Cuban society within among other things arts, health and science The different regions of Cuba are also represented, and as a tourist, you can learn about the whole country, sights and local production when visiting Here you also find Havana’s mess buildings for the city’s arrangements of large exhibitions

30 Pinar del Río

160 km SW www.cnpc.cult.cu/cnpc/monumen/

Pag002.htm

Tiêu đề	A Visit To Havana
Tác giả	Stig Albeck, Ventus Publishing ApS
Trường học	Not specified
Chuyên ngành	Travel and Tourism
Thể loại	Essay
Năm xuất bản	2008
Thành phố	Havana

Định dạng
Số trang	37
Dung lượng	3,58 MB