12/09/2019
You don't need a whole week, you just need "The Weekend".
"THE WEEKEND"
Friday
We start the weekend by visiting “La Habana Vieja” (old Havana), this is the place where the 500-year-old city was born. We will start by visiting “El Templete”, which is the exact place where San Cristobal de La Habana was founded in 1519. During our walking tour we will visit, “La Plaza de Armas”, “Plaza de San Francisco”, “Plaza Vieja” y “Plaza de La Catedral”; the four most important plazas of “La Habana Vieja”. Shortly after our walking tour, to recover our energy, we will be having a Mojito in “La Bodeguita del Medio”. In this entire zone, “Doña Eutimia” is the best place to try “real” Cuban food, this place is conveniently located beside “La Catedral” (The Cathedral).
The “Ron Havana Club” Museum is a very interesting place; with a little tour we will get to know a little about one of the best rums in the whole world. Right after the museum of rum, we will drive through a tunnel, under the bay, and we will arrive to the East of Havana.
Once on the other side of “La Bahia de La Habana” (The Bay of Havana); one of the biggest in the entire island, we will visit “La Fortaleza de La Cabaña”; this was one of the fortresses that protected Havana from privateers and pirates. Inside the fortress, we can find one of the best Cigar shops in Havana, and where we can find the biggest cigar in the world, declared by Guinness.
Right after, we will visit “El Cristo de La Habana”; a very beautiful sculpture of Jesus Christ, located on top of a hill, where you can find the best possible view of Havana. After this first part of the day, we will return to the Hostal, where you will be given time to rest and get ready for the night. For dinner, we will have reservations in “San Cristobal”; one of the best restaurants of Havana, and the place where former US president Barack Obama had dinner with his family during his visit of Havana in 2016. To finish our incredible day, we will visit the legendary "Cabaret Tropicana”.
Saturday
Early in the morning, we will leave for Viñales, located in the province that’s the farthest to the west in Cuba, Pinar Del Rio. On our way to “Valle de Viñales”, we will visit the estate of one of the most recognized families in the cultivation and plantation of to***co field, the Montesino family. In the estate, we will be able to watch part of the process taken to cultivate and plant the to***co, one of these processes is the drying and fermentation of the to***co leaf. In case you wish, you may buy ci**rs made by the family in the state. We will continue the trip to the valley. Once in Viñales, we will visit”La Cueva del Indio” (The Indian’s Cave). It is a small cave located in one of the “mogotes” (limestone hills). It is a short walk of approximately 10 minutes, and later on we will take a small boat, for another 10 minutes, which will take us to the exit that is located on the river “San Vicente”.
After this visit, we will have lunch in one of the local restaurants, where we can have once again some home cooked Cuban food. While still in the Valley, we will visit “El Mural de la Prehistoria”; which is a painting made by the artist Leovigildo Gonzales in where he attempts to show the evolution of the species. To finalize this interesting trip, we will spend some free time in the town of Viñales, to enjoy some of the culture and to buy some souvenirs. Once the free time is over, we will head back to Havana, and back to the Hostal.
Free night
Sunday
The first visit of the day will be to the “Plaza de la Revolucion”, one of the most important places in Havana, as well the whole country. Later, we will move to the west of the city, to the “barrio de Jaimanitas” (the Jaimanitas neighborhood), where we will visit the community of the artist Jose Fuster, and his artistic project; known as Fusterland.
After we finish in Fusterland, we will travel through the “Miramar” neighborhood; where most rich families lived in the first half of the 20th Century. Then, we will have lunch in “El Floridita”, home of the Daiquiri, and one of the writer Ernest Hemingway’s favorite places to visit.
Past noon, we will visit the recognized “Hotel Nacional”; run by Chicago and New York mafia members during the prohibition period.
After the visit, we will return to the Hostel.
We will have dinner in “La Guarida”; Cuba’s most recognized restaurant in an international scale, and place where the film “Fresa y Chocolate” was filmed.
We finish the night with a life show about the “Buena Vista Social Club”.
End of "The Weekend".
