We set off in style on our  panoramic tour in one of the world-famous classic cars. Our first stop is the Museo de la Revolucion, which we'll visit in detail the following day. We continue along the Malecon (the 7 km waterfront promenade leading from the Old Town to Habana Vedado, the Havana of the 1950s). Our first stop is the legendary and modern Hotel Havana Nacional de Cuba, a stunning celebrity hotel where even before the Revolution, mafia bosses like Al Capone and Hollywood stars came and went.

We continue exploring the Vedado/Plaza district with the Universidad de la Habana and the main attraction, the Plaza de la Revolucion — a gigantic square with room for 1.5 million people, featuring the Jose Marti Memorial, the monument to the famous national hero, and the portraits of Che Guevara on the Ministry of the Interior building including his famous quote "Hasta la victoria siempre," as well as his comrade Camilo Cienfuegos on the facade of the Ministry of Information. After taking in these impressions, we head to the Necropolis Cristobal Colon, the "City of the Dead" — the old cemetery with around 1 million graves, the largest cemetery in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, they charge admission here (5 CUC per person = 5 euros), and honestly, we don't see the point of paying to enter a cemetery!
We make a quick detour to the Teatro Nacional de Cuba, the National Theater. A friendly guard even opens the doors for us to "take a peek" during rehearsals. He's naturally very grateful for a small tip.

Our driver takes us through a tunnel beneath the harbor entrance to the Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro, or simply El Morro — a small fortress with a lighthouse, the oldest beacon in Cuba!  From here, you have a stunning view of Havana's Old Town, which we're about to explore.

Our first stop is the world-famous Hemingway bar Bodeguita del Medio, located in the Old Town or Havana Vieja. Through narrow streets — some impassable by car because they're too narrow or pedestrian-only — we stop at the Plaza de San Francisco de Asis with its old Basilica and freshly renovated buildings, then continue along the Malecon to the tourist market Antiguos Almacenes San Jose, where you can exchange money and find probably every souvenir available on the island. Our tour is nearing its end, and we're dropped off back at the hotel.

The afternoon continues on foot from here. We walk past the Capitolio toward the Old Town. Along the way, we grab pizza at a street food stand for barely 1 euro. We run into an "acquaintance" who "knows" us from the hotel, and he takes us to the supposed "Kooperativa" to buy cigars (former cigar factory workers allegedly sell cigars here to supplement their pensions — believe it or not — the cigars taste good and were very affordable in the end).

Afterward, we head to buy tickets for tonight's show at the Sociedad Cultural Rosalia de Castro — the performance "Una Noche Cubana en los 50". The show features some stars from the famous "Buena Vista Social Club".  With our "acquaintance," we enjoy a mojito and a freshly pressed sugarcane juice with lime — supposedly it awakens the spirits. We head back to the Old Town and explore the area a bit more. We come across  what is probably the most beautiful square in Havana, the Plaza Vieja, dating from 1584 with its newly restored buildings. This was once home to the upper class, so there are some gorgeous mansions here, some with colonnades and stained glass windows. There's even a "beer garden," the Taberna de la Muralla.

On the way back to Habana Centro, we pass the Capitolio de la Habana (currently being restored) and the magnificent Gran Teatro de la Habana Garcia Lorca. Then we continue back to our hotel, located right in front of the Edificio Bacardi, the restored Art Deco building and former headquarters of Bacardi.
The evening belongs to salsa at the Sociedad Cultural Rosalia de Castro for the performance "Una Noche Cubana en los 50. A wonderful Cuban evening comes to an end.