The Malecón & around

The Malecón pedestrian promenade and seawall was constructed in stages between 1901 and 1954, running the length of Havana’s seafront, from the Castillo de la Punta to the Río Almendares, in Vedado. No trip to Havana is complete without spending some time strolling and lingering along its 7 km (4.5 mile) arc, which anchors Havana’s waterfront. A 24-hour source of adventure, the Malecón has been called the “sofa” of the city and gives vital breathing space for habaneros. The section fronting Centro Habana, with its neo-classical and neo-Moorish buildings—many in a tumbledown state from constant battering by waves and salt water spray—is the most picturesque of all.

Inland on Trocadero is the Casa Museo José Lezama Lima where the prodigious poet, art critic and novelist, and one of the most influential figures in Latin American literature, lived from 1929 until his death in 1976.

Moving west will bring you to the barrio known as Cayo Hueso, roughly bordered by Belascoaín, Zanja, Infanta and Malecón, and the second community to establish itself outside the city walls. The recently restored Parque Maceo, by the waterfront at the northern end of Belascoaín, has fountains and benches, plus lush Chinese grass (although it still lacks shade trees). In it stands a majestic. It is pinned by a grandiose bronze, marble and granite monument to Lieutenant-General Antonio Maceo, known as the ‘Bronze Titan’ and hero of the Wars of Liberation.