I lived in the Vedado neighbourhood in Havana during my time there. It’s an old residential neighbourhood that was mostly built in the early 20th century. The homes were nationalised during the revolution, and many are in need of repair. However, you can walk along the boulevards and see stunning examples of architecture almost everywhere.

The streets of Vedado are organised on a strict grid system with calles (streets) named after letters and avenidas (avenues) named for numbers with main boulevards like La Rampa, Avenida de los Presidentes, Paseo, and Linea, as the major dividers between sections. So it’s always easy to know where you are in Vedado.

One of the most visited sites in Vedado is the Plaza de la Revolución with its massive images of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara across the square from the also-massive Jose Martí Memorial. Fidel’s and Che’s faces are easily 6 stories tall on the side of government buildings in the plaza. But they look downright small next to the massive column of the Martí Memorial.

Title quote: Jose Marti