Cuba - Lonely Planet [116]
Information
INTERNET ACCESS & TELEPHONE
Hotel Business Centers (Hotel Meliá Habana; Av 3 btwn Calles 76 & 80, Miramar) Meliá Habana charges CUC$7 per half-hour for internet access. Also try the Aparthotel Montehabana (p157O) and the Occidental Miramar.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Clínica Central Cira García ( 204-2811; Calle 20 No 4101 cnr Av 41, Playa; 9am-4pm Mon-Fri, emergencies 24hr) Emergency, dental and medical consultations for foreigners (consultations CUC$25 to CUC$35).
Farmacia Internacional Miramar ( 204-4350; cnr Calles 20 & 43, Playa; 9am-5:45pm) Across the road from Clínica Central Cira García.
Pharmacy ( 204-2880; Calle 20 No 4104 cnr Calle 43, Playa; 24hr) In Clínica Central Cira García; one of the city’s best.
Spa Club Comodoro ( 204-5049; Hotel El Comodoro, cnr Av 3 & Calle 84, Miramar) Treatments for stress, relaxation, beauty and fitness; also a pharmacy.
MONEY
Banco Financiero Internacional Miramar ( 203-9762; Sierra Maestra Bldg, cnr Av 1 & Calle 0); Playa ( 267-5500; cnr Av 5 & Calle 92)
Cadeca Miramar ( 204-9327; Av 5A btwn Calles 40 & 42; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 9am-noon Sun); Playa ( 204-9087; cnr Av 3 & Calle 70)
POST
DHL ( 204-1578; cnr Av 1 & Calle 26, Miramar; 8am-8pm)
Post office (Calle 42 No 112 btwn Avs 1 & 3, Miramar; 8am-11:30am & 2-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-11:30am Sat)
TOURIST INFORMATION
Infotur ( 204-7036; cnr Av 5 & Calle 112, Playa; 8:30am-5pm Mon-Sat, 8:30am-noon Sun) Oddly located but informative office.
TRAVEL AGENCIES
All of the following agencies sell the organized tours listed in the Downtown Havana section (Click here).
Cubanacán ( 204-8500) Desk in Hotel Meliá Habana.
Gaviota ( 204-4411; cnr Av 49 & 36, Kohly)
Havanatur ( 204-7541; Sierra Maestra Bldg, cnr Av 1 & Calle 0, Miramar; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat)
Sights
MIRAMAR
The fascinating museum at the Fundación Naturaleza y El Hombre ( 204-0438; Av 5B No 6611 btwn Calles 66 & 70, Playa; admission CUC$3; 10am-4pm Mon-Fri) displays artifacts from the 17,422km canoe trip from the Amazon source to sea led by Cuban intellectual and anthropologist Antonio Nuñez Jiménez in 1987. Other exhibits in a truly astounding museum include one of Cuba’s largest photography collections, books written by the prolific Nuñez Jiménez, the famous Fidel portrait by Guayasamín stalactites, and ‘the glass house’ – glass cases containing all kinds of intriguing ephemera from the founder’s life. The museum is a foundation and one of Havana’s most rewarding.
If you thought the Maqueta de La Habana Vieja was impressive, check out the Pabellón para la Maqueta de la Capital ( 202-7303; Calle 28 No 113 btwn Avs 1 & 3; admission CUC$3; 9:30am-5pm Tue-Sat), an ultramodern pavilion containing a huge 1:1000 scale model of the whole city originally created for urban-planning purposes, but now a tourist attraction. Nearby, the two parks on Av 5, between Calles 24 and 26, with their immense banyan trees and dark lanes, are an atmospheric pocket.
The Acuario Nacional ( 202-5872; cnr Av 3 & Calle 62; adult/child CUC$5/3; 10am-10pm Tue-Sun) is a Havana institution founded in 1960 that gets legions of annual visitors, particularly since its 2002 revamp. In the environment context, this place leaves all other Cuban acuarios (aquatic centers) and delfinarios (dolphin shows) in the shade (which isn’t saying much). For a start, it’s designed to be both educational and conservationist. Saltwater fish are the specialty, but there are also sea lions, dolphins and lots of running-around room for kids. Dolphin performances are almost hourly from 11am, with the final show at 9pm; admission price includes the show.
The Stalinist obelisk that dominates the skyline halfway down Av Quinta is the Russian Embassy (Av 5 No 6402 btwn Calles 62 & 66, Playa). More aesthetically pleasing is the domed Iglesia Jesús de Miramar (cnr Av 5 & Calle 82, Playa), a gigantic neo-Romanesque church.
MARIANAO
The former Cuartel Colombia military airfield at Marianao is now a school complex called Ciudad Libertad. Pass through the gate to visit the inspiring