Cuba - Lonely Planet [86]
Other places to check out Spanish courses include Uneac (Map; 832-4551; cnr Calles 17 & H, Vedado), Paradiso (Map; 832-9538; Calle 19 No 560, Vedado) and Cubamar Viajes (Map; 830-1220; www.cubamarviajes.cu; Calle 3 btwn Calle 12 & Malecón, Vedado; 8:30am-5pm Mon-Sat).
Private lessons can be arranged by asking around locally – try your casa particular.
Dance
The easiest way to take a dance class is at the Museo del Ron (Map; 861-8051; San Pedro No 262, Habana Vieja), which offers on-the-spot lessons Monday to Friday at 9am for CUC$10 for the first two hours; it invariably gets good reports. Another option is the Teatro América (Map; 862-5416; Av de Italia No 253 btwn Concordia & Neptuno, Centro Habana), next to the Casa de la Música, which can fix you up with both a class and a partner for CUC$8 per hour.
The Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba (Map; 830-3060; www.folkcuba.cult.cu; Calle 4 No 103 btwn Calzada & Calle 5, Vedado) teaches highly recommended classes in son, salsa, rumba, mambo and more. It also teaches percussion. Classes start on the third Monday in January and the first Monday in July, and cost in the vicinity of CUC$400 to CUC$500 for a 15-day course. An admission test places students in classes of four different levels.
Culture
Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura (Map; 860-6282; Malecón No 17 btwn Paseo de Martí & Capdevila, Centro Habana; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun) has all kinds of facilities, including a library, cinema, internet cafe and concert venue. Pick up its excellent monthly brochure and ask about the literature courses. Another place worth approaching is Paradiso (Map; 832-9538; Calle 19 No 560, Vedado), a cultural agency that can arrange courses on history, architecture, music, theater, dance and more. The University of Havana (see left) runs 60-hour courses on Cuban culture for CUC$360.
Yoga
Yoga classes are offered in the garden of the Museo de Artes Decorativas (Map; 830-9848; Calle 17 No 502 btwn Calles D & E, Vedado). Check at the museum for the next session. You may be able to drop in on classes held at the Teatro Nacional de Cuba (Map; 879-6011; cnr Paseo & Calle 39, Vedado). Look for the class schedule by the box office.
Music
Typically, Cubans perform flamenco as well as the Spanish, and you can take dance classes or even enquire about the possibility of guitar lessons at the Centro Andaluz (Map; 863-6745; Paseo de Martí No 104 btwn Genios & Refugio, Centro Habana).
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ASK A LOCAL
If you want a more individualized and in-depth city tour, then book with San Cristóbal Agencia de Viajes. It does tours for small groups of people on topics and routes that no other agencies cover. Highly recommended are both its Architectural and Social Projects Tour. The latter takes you around all of the social projects in Habana Vieja that have benefited directly from tourist money.
Geraldo, Havana
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Art
The Taller Experimental de Gráfica (Map; 862-0979; fax 824-0391; Callejón del Chorro No 6, Habana Vieja) offers classes in the art of engraving. Individualized instruction lasts one month, during which the student creates an engraving with 15 copies; longer classes can be arranged. The cost is around CUC$250.
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HAVANA FOR CHILDREN
Cuba is a child-friendly country. Waiters will ruffle your kid’s hair almost instinctively, and walking around with your child(ren) anywhere will act as a great leveler and open doors that would otherwise have remained closed. Staying in casas particulares is especially recommended as it provides the opportunity for cross-cultural family exchanges. Vagaries of the Cuban reality will demand patience and creativity from parents (particularly when it comes to food), but there is no lack of fun things to do here. Playa has two of the best attractions: a big aquarium (see Acuario Nacional, Click here), plus a huge new Chinese-built amusement park called Isla del Coco (Map; Av 5 & Calle 112, Playa) with big wheels, bumper cars, the works. There’s another, far inferior, Parque de Diversiones in