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• Follow in famous footsteps. Have a beer at Castillo de Farnes, where Ché and Castro toasted the success of the Revolution, and raise a glass to Hemingway at his old haunt La Bodeguita del Medio (website: www.bazar-virtual.com/palmares).
• Try rolling cigars at one of Cuba's tobacco factories such as the Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás in Havana (website: www.habanos.com), or others in Pinar del Río and Trinidad.
• Take a stroll along the Malecón, the sea wall that links Old Havana to Vedado, and is popular with fisherman, families and couples.
• Live the high life in Havana's Vedado district. The Hotel Nacional has hosted gangsters and film stars and is well-placed for Carnaval processions along the Malecón (website: www.hotelnacionaldecuba.com).
• Soak up some sun on Cuba's beaches: from Playas del Este near Havana, where the locals play, to exclusive island resorts like Cayo Coco where the only Cubans around are waiters and chambermaids. Varadero is a lively resort that combines beach life with nightlife, for locals and foreigners.
• Explore the deep. There are 30 dive sites at Varadero alone. One of the world's biggest coral reefs is offshore at Cayo Coco, and there are more reefs around Isla de la Juventud, Stevenson's inspiration for Treasure Island.
• Hike the Sierra Maestra, dominated by Cuba's highest mountain Pico Turquino, or trek the marshes and forests of the Zapata Peninsula, teeming with bird, mammal and reptile wildlife.
• Take an emotional journey to the museum at Playa Girón, scene of the US-backed ‘Bay of Pigs' invasion in 1961. Touching personal effects of those killed, a harrowing film from the time, and CIA battle plans captured when it all went wrong tell a sad story.
• Saddle up and go for a gallop through the scenic sugarcane fields around Trinidad, or the hills and valleys of Pinar del Río.
• Make friends with the locals. Make time for at least a night or two in a casa particular, eat in paladares rather than state-run restaurants, and strike up conversation whenever possible. Cubans are polite, educated, fun, and just dying to make contact with people from other countries.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
• Try rolling cigars at one of Cuba's tobacco factories such as the Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás in Havana (website: www.habanos.com), or others in Pinar del Río and Trinidad.
• Take a stroll along the Malecón, the sea wall that links Old Havana to Vedado, and is popular with fisherman, families and couples.
• Live the high life in Havana's Vedado district. The Hotel Nacional has hosted gangsters and film stars and is well-placed for Carnaval processions along the Malecón (website: www.hotelnacionaldecuba.com).
• Soak up some sun on Cuba's beaches: from Playas del Este near Havana, where the locals play, to exclusive island resorts like Cayo Coco where the only Cubans around are waiters and chambermaids. Varadero is a lively resort that combines beach life with nightlife, for locals and foreigners.
• Explore the deep. There are 30 dive sites at Varadero alone. One of the world's biggest coral reefs is offshore at Cayo Coco, and there are more reefs around Isla de la Juventud, Stevenson's inspiration for Treasure Island.
• Hike the Sierra Maestra, dominated by Cuba's highest mountain Pico Turquino, or trek the marshes and forests of the Zapata Peninsula, teeming with bird, mammal and reptile wildlife.
• Take an emotional journey to the museum at Playa Girón, scene of the US-backed ‘Bay of Pigs' invasion in 1961. Touching personal effects of those killed, a harrowing film from the time, and CIA battle plans captured when it all went wrong tell a sad story.
• Saddle up and go for a gallop through the scenic sugarcane fields around Trinidad, or the hills and valleys of Pinar del Río.
• Make friends with the locals. Make time for at least a night or two in a casa particular, eat in paladares rather than state-run restaurants, and strike up conversation whenever possible. Cubans are polite, educated, fun, and just dying to make contact with people from other countries.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.