A wild and wonderful hubbub of grimy post-colonial palaces and bustling rum shacks, hidden side streets ticking over to the beats of mambo jazz and steel drums, shimmering coastal stretches of sun-kissed sands and rugged cliff walls, growling Cadillac cars, smoky cigar bars and ubiquitous Che Guevara motifs; Havana remains unquestionably one of the most happening cities in the entire Caribbean region.

In the 50s it figured as a veritable home-away-from-home for North American hedonists, who, somewhat ironically, headed in to case out the city’s booming casino halls, gaming centres and chic luxury hotels. One revolution later and any Havana tour guide is quick to note how this town still reigns supreme as one of the Caribbean’s partying kingpins, sporting more cocktail bars and beatnik mojito dives than you can shake a contraband Cuban cigar at. But between the parties and bustling beachside walks, history also abounds in raw and real detail here; on the uneven cobbles of the Havana Vieja old town, around the looming domes of the great Capitol Building, amidst the Spanish plazas, and through the sprawling museum rooms of the acclaimed Castillo de la Real Fuerza.