Things to see in Havana

Ever wonder how all those world famous cigars are made? Find out during a cigar factory tour, where every step of the process (from hand selecting the very best outer leaves to slipping on the bands) is explained by energetic docents. Here, cigars are still rolled by hand and you may be lucky enough to catch the age old tradition of someone reading to the workers while they roll the world's best.

Tours are currently available at Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás, one of Cuba's oldest factories. Real Fábrica de Tabacos La Corona is currently being restored, but will resume offering tours soon. Both have on-site shops.

The 1950s dictator Batista, like all dictators, had to try and impress the populace with a grand presidential palace. Ironic, then, that this glorious palace, which he hardly had time to enjoy, was appropriated to house the Museum of the Revolution, displaying the struggle of the Cuban people to gain sovereignty over their own island. Exhibits include photographs, cinefilm, clothing, original documents and weapons. Encased in a glass pavilion is the Granma Memorial - the boat Granma in which Fidel Castro and 81 combatants returned to Cuba from exile in Mexico in 1956. Outside is the eternal flame, surrounded by various vehicles used in the struggle.

Built by the Spanish in the 16th century, this military fort at the entrance to the harbour offered Havana protection from enemy ships and pirates. The fort contains a collection of old weapons including a huge catapult and the first office of Commander Ernesto Che Guevara after the triumph of the revolution. Today it's a museum with plenty of photographs and Che's personal belongings. Every evening at 2100 a cannon is fired across the bay.

Plaza de la Catedral is one of Havana's best-preserved squares, with the cathedral and surrounding buildings almost all restored to their original splendour- perhaps nowhere in the Americas does history come so alive in stone than here. The Catedral de San Cristobal de La Habana is an 18th-century baroque building occupying the north side of the square. Collecting famous works both old and new, the Centro Wilfredo Lam, adjacent, is a must for art buffs. Across the plaza is the oldest building, which dates from 1720, the Museo de Arte Colonial, an architectural masterpiece built around a plant-filled central courtyard, which is complemented by the collection of colonial furniture gathered from Havana's palaces and mansions. Other sophisticated buildings line this square and now house cafes, restaurants, cultural centres and gift shops.