Landing at Havana Jose Marti International Airport in Havana keeps everything close, with nearby cities and attractions within easy reach. Havana is a city of crumbling colonial grandeur, salt-stained seafront walls, and vintage cars rumbling past pastel buildings. Music spills out of doorways at all hours, and conversations happen on the street, on balconies, and along the seawall.

Experiences to plan in Havana: - Wander the plazas of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site - Walk the Malecon at sunset with half the city - Ride in a classic convertible through Vedado and past Revolution Square - Watch the nine o'clock cannon ceremony at La Cabana fortress - Catch Sunday rumba in Callejon de Hamel, an alley covered in Afro-Cuban art - Spend a night at Fabrica de Arte Cubano, a former oil factory turned arts club - Explore Fusterlandia, a neighborhood covered in colorful mosaics - Order ropa vieja and moros y cristianos at a paladar, a family-run restaurant - Have a daiquiri at El Floridita, Hemingway's old haunt

The surroundings of Havana are easy to explore. Hemingway's house at Finca Vigia is about half an hour away, and the fishing village of Cojimar, which helped inspire The Old Man and the Sea, is nearby. The beaches of Playas del Este are about thirty minutes east, and the eco-village of Las Terrazas in the Sierra del Rosario is about an hour west. Matanzas, a city of bridges and Afro-Cuban music, is roughly ninety minutes along the coast, with Varadero not far beyond. Slow down, learn a few salsa steps, and let Havana surprise you.