Havana, Cuba’s colorful capital, is known for the Spanish colonial architecture of its 16th-century Old Havana core, including Castillo de la Real fort, now a maritime museum, and the pre-revolutionary Capitolio. 1950s American-made cars line the city’s streets and rumba groups play in the painted alley Callejón de Hamel. Salsa emanates from clubs and cabaret is still performed at the famed Tropicana.
The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 728.26 km2 The city of Havana was founded by the
Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the
Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure-laden Spanish
galleons on the crossing between the
New World and the
Old World. King
Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the
U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the
Spanish–American War. Source: Wikipedia
