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HavanaHavana:''This article is about the Cuban city. For other places named Havana, please see Havana (disambiguation)'' {| align=right |Image:CubaHavanaCity.png |- |Image:Memorial_marti_havana.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Memorial Jose Marti, Plaza de la Revolucion |- |Image:Capitolio_havana.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Havana, Capitol Building |- |Image:Map of Havana.jpg|thumb|right|250px|1888 German map of Havana |- |Image:Cuba.HabanaVieja.Street.01.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Old Havana, 2002 |- |Image:Havana kids malecon.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Havana, Malecon, 2003 |} '''Havana''' (Spanish language|Spanish: '''San Cristóbal de La Habana''') is the capital of Cuba and, with a population of 2.1 million, the largest city in the Caribbean. It is located at {{coor dm|23|8|N|82|23|W|}}. == History== Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded Havana in 1515 on the southern coast of the island, near the current town Surgidero de Batabanó. Havana moved to its current location by the then called Carenas bay in 1519. Havana was originally as a trading port, and became the capital of the Spain|Spanish colony of Cuba in 1607, and the main port of the Spanish colonies in the New World. Havana suffered from being burnt by buccaneers in 1538, and looted in 1555 and 1553. Great Britain seized the city in 1762, when they opened the port to free trade, then exchanged it for Florida the following year. After regaining the city, the Spanish made it the most heavily fortified city in the Americas. In the 1920s during Prohibition in the United States, Havana became a popular vacation destination for Americans; the nightclubs and gambling survived Repeal, but most were closed in 1959 after the Cuban Revolution. Old Havana preserves a wealth of Spanish Colonial architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Havana was a candidate to host the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 Summer Olympic Games, but was not shortlisted. Havana's international airport is Jose Marti International Airport. The city is also twinned with Glasgow, Scotland. == Places in Havana == *'''Malecón''' is the avenue that runs along the seawall at the northern shore of Havana. *'''La Punta''' is the statarting point of Prado Ave., or '''Paseo del Prado'''. It is the intersection of Prado with Malecón Ave. *'''Jacomino''' is a stretch along the San Miguel road (west-east), between Vírgen del Camino and Ciudad Mar, and between Guardiola and La Fernanda (north-south). Its three major streets are '''Santa Emilia''', '''Calzada''' and '''Beltrán'''. *'''University of Havana''' With more than 200 years it has been the center of cuban revolutionary thought. Image:Habana_P.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Panoramic view of Havana in 2004 Image:Cuba.Habana.Malecon.01.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Dusk on Havana's waterfront ==Further reading== * Barclay, Juliet (1993). ''Havana: Portrait of a City''. London: Cassell. ISBN 1844031276 (2003 paperback edition). — A comprehensive account on the history of Havana from the early 16th century to the end of the 19th century. ==External links== * [http://online.caup.washington.edu/courses/udpsp00/udp508b/havanamap.html Map of Havana. To zoom in, click on an area of the map. These are very large High resolution JPEG images (~1 Megabyte)] * [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/caribbean/havana/ Lonely Planet: Havana] * [http://www.travel-impressions.de/cuba/cuba_mix/waves.htm Photos of people and Sights in Havana] *[http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=23.110771,-82.355919&spn=0.163078,0.253372&t=k&hl=en Google maps] Category:Cities in Cuba Category:Capitals in North America Category:Havana| be:Гавана ca:L'Havana da:Havana de:Havanna es:La Habana eo:Havano fr:La Havane ko:아바나 id:Havana he:הוואנה lv:Havanna nl:Havana pl:Hawana ru:Гавана fi:Havanna First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Havana is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Havana". if you like cool drinks you may be interested in:
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