Havana, Cuba

Vacation means taking it easy. But it can also mean taking the first steps toward seeing and doing new things. These places guarantee unique experiences.

The hills of Sierra del Rosario, an impressive nature preserve, is the perfect place for a long walk that takes you back to earlier times. Here, you can enjoy looking at countless trees, deserted coffee plantations, the ruins of former slaves’ quarters, and places where coffee beans used to be spread out to dry. Sierra del Rosario also has Cuba’s largest and most colorful orchid garden.

For Cubans, the favorite place to relax is Parque Central, also known as Parque José Martí after the poet, writer and leader of the Cuban independence movement. This urban green space is also lined with 19th-century architecture and countless exotic trees and plants and a statue of Martí (1853-1895) carved from white marble.

The soul of Havana is 4.5 miles in length. This is the boulevard Malecón, an attraction running along Florida and often the setting for mass manifestations initiated by the Castro regime. It’s no accident that La Tribuna Anti-Imperialista (the regime’s soapbox) is located across from the American Embassy. Whenever a political pamphlet is distributed, Malecón is transformed into a long promenade with plenty of opportunity for romance, esthetics and recreation.

Cayo Levisa is a small coral island in the Gulf of Mexico that looks like the front page for a folder advertising exotic vacations. This place has it all: wonderful weather, sea, beaches, coconut palms and fish. You couldn’t find a more relaxing spot.