Ernest Hemingway Attractions in Cuba
Ernest Hemingway is everywhere in Havana and around Cuba, in that there seems still to be an ongoing deep interest in seeing the places that he once spent time in.
For Cubans, whether or not these Hemingway locations are of interest also to them or whether it is to satisfy tourist appetites it is hard to say.
What is clear though, is that a number of bars and restaurants in the capital claim that he used to eat or drink in them, and perhaps, at some point, he frequented a number of them.
There are though certainly some key places where you can follow the Hemingway trail whilst in Havana and some other parts of Cuba, and the best of these I detail below.
Ernest Hemingway Museum
There are many important museums in the city of Havana and one of the most popular of these is the Ernest Hemingway Museum (also known as the Museo Ernest Hemingway).
Located in a villa previously owned by the writer himself, villa Finca Vigia was purchased in the year 1949 by Ernest Hemingway, where he spent a large part of his life thereafter.
The Finca Vigia was the birthplace of many of Hemingway’s best works, including For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea, and is a fitting location for the museum.
The Museo Ernest Hemingway is located in the area known as San Francisco de Paula, which is situated around 15 kilometers away from the center of the city.
It can easily be accessed using the Carretera Central motorway.
The museum features a number of possessions of the author, as well as a library containing the author’s original collection of books.
The Museo Ernest Hemingway has been preserved exactly as the author had left it, giving visitors an insight into the life and times of this Nobel Laureate.
The museum is open to the general public, with an entrance fee of $5 (at the time of writing), which is collected at the venue.
The museum timings are normally from 10 am to 4 pm from Monday to Saturday and from 9 am to 1 pm on Sunday.
Museum Location
- Located in the town of San Francisco de Paula.
- Best way to get there is to go on a tour.
Hemingway’s Old Bars
You will already perhaps have read about the best bars in Havana and seen mention of the ones in which Hemingway was said to hang out.
Hemingway enjoyed a drink in between writing and photographic evidence shows that he did frequent many of the bars in Havana center and these bars are not shy to display these photographs to attract tourists (why not I say).
Of these bars, some of the best to visit if you are a Hemingway fan are:
La Floridita
La Floridita was popular with many celebrities in its day and is still a very popular bar and restaurant these days, although as much for the Hemingway memorabilia and photo opportunities this place affords.
Two hundred years old in 2017 (although it has changed names in the mean-time) this bar was one of the most famous worldwide in the 1950s, in part due to its world-famous daiquiris and its seafood and because of the famous patrons including artists, politicians, writers and movie stars who would drink here.
Hemingway was a regular at this bar and he often would spend time talking with the locals, whilst sitting at the bar drinking his beloved daiquiris.
His old stool is now a tourist attraction within the bar and several photos of him adjourn the bar.
- Official website: La Floridita.
- Address: Calle Obispo Numnber: 557.
La Bodeguita del Medio
This used to be another of Hemingway’s favorite bars and he spent many an hour in this bar, where he would enjoy his mojitos.
The great news is that they still do some of the best mojitos in Havana and this bar continues to be very popular for its drinks and food as much as for being a Hemingway attraction.
Whether you are interested in Hemingway or not, this bar is one of the best in my opinion in the city.
Thus for you, Hemingway fans, you cannot go wrong visiting La Bodeguita del Medio. They also have some excellent live music most evenings so you might want to make an evening of a visit to this bar. I can see why Hemingway spent so much time here!
- Location: Calle Empedrado in Havana centre.
Dos Hermanos
This was another one of the bars Hemingway spent time in, although less than in the two aforementioned bars.
Dos Hermanos now has lost a lot of its charm and the bar owners seem in my opinion to be hanging on to the Hemingway name, but have let the bar lose its charm.
I found the drinks to be very expensive and I personally much prefer La Bodeguita and La Floridita, both as a Hemingway tourist and for a drink.
- Location: Avenida Del Puerto,Havana.
Hemingway Marina
I am including the marina here because of its name but, in truth, it is not really in my view an example of a Hemingway spot, given that the marina is named after him, but there is little that really reflects his presence.
Many of you will of course point out that he loved fishing and sailing and his books were often largely influenced by the sea, such as in ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ and you would have a very valid and fair point.
So, if you wish to try and get into Hemingway mode and get a feel for what he experienced and might have felt when living and writing in Cuba, the marina might be a worthwhile experience.
Ambos Mundo Hotel
One final stop worth considering on the Hemingway tourist path is that is now known as Ambos Mundo Hotel.
Hemingway often used to stay in room number 511 and it was in this room that the majority of the book ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ was written.
This is quite a nice hotel to stay in, in its own right, so if you can manage to book room number 511 you will be following in the footsteps of the great man himself.
