Havana was the sixth village founded by the Spaniards in the colonial era. Originally, it was named San Cristóbal of Havana. As the town was strategically located in the Caribbean, pirates and privateers would attack it for plunder, especially during the sixteenth century, but its huge, impregnable fortress enabled it to overcome adversity and rise once and again, making it clear that it would not easily surrender to any world powers.

Old Havana, the old town designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, comprises the original port, the civic centre, and the main square. It resembles Cadiz and Tenerife in a nostalgic way. Alejo Carpentier called it "the city of columns," but it could be referred to as the city of window grilles and portals too, and also as the city of dilapidation and recovery. It has intimacy, cool shades, courtyards...All the ancient monuments stand in Old Havana: fortresses, convents, churches, palaces, alleys, colonnades...and people everywhere. Old Havana's buildings make a historical treasure, one of the most important ones across Latin America.

Old Havana is a must-visit district hosting nearly a thousand buildings, the oldest ones dating back to the sixteenth century.