At 9 am our guide expects us with the e-bikes in the park “Parque Mariana Grajales”, named after the mother of the revolution´s hero General Officer Antonio Maceo (1845-1896). As an alternative, an individual meeting point can be settled for closed groups. After a short introduction to the e-bikes, client’s bike adjustments to each individual height and some general information about the roads and rules of Cuban traffic, we are ready to begin our discovery-trip with the e-bikes. As you will quickly notice, the means of transportation in Cuba are different from what we are used to.
We start our tour in the district of Vedado, pass the former hotel Hilton, which was renamed Habana Libre shortly after the revolution, cycle through the narrow streets of Centro Habana until we stop at the Museum of the Revolution, which is located right in front of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. We will not visit any museum on this tour, as some would spend days inside, and eventually our tour would suffer. Anyway you cannot cycle through most museums, so that those visits may be done on your bike-free days. But at least you know how to find them afterwards. Of course, you will receive information about revolutionary processes and etcetera throughout our tour. You will be able to take some photos of the yacht “Granma” within spitting distance. From there we ride to the Parque Central, where we can admire the first statue, which was erected to pay homage to José Martí, in Cuba. Here we can already see El Capitolio, the faithful replica of the White House in Washington, nevertheless the dimensions of the building will take us by surprise, once we stand in front of it. In the center of Havana we pass several magnificent buildings from an era that we often know only from history lessons or documentaries. Buildings, partly urgently in need of renovation, but still full of charm, as well as beautiful renovated buildings that reflect nowadays the spirit of their heyday.
Due to the declaration by UNESCO as a cultural heritage of humanity, La Habana Vieja obtains funds for reconstruction. This also allows us to take a look at the past, so that we might not forget our so instructive history in future times. Just to mention some interesting buildings: the Hotel Gran Manzana Kempinski, the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, the Hotel Saratoga, the Edificio Barcadi, Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás…
If opened on that day we will visit the birth house of José Martí, which is directly in front of the historical train station of Havana. By now we are already in the district of Habana Vieja. José Martí is the national hero and revolutionary of the nineteenth century. Afterwards we take El Prado, the most beautiful promenade in Havana, built in 1772, which starts at the Parque de la Fraternidad and ends 2km after at the Malecón. It was the first paved road in Havana and was built inspired by the Ramblas of Barcelona and Madrid. We move along the Malecón, side by side with Chevys of the fifties, Buiks, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Ladas and Moskovichs, towards the Embassy of the United States of America. Afterwards we pass the Avenida de los Presidentes and reach the Avenida Paseo and the impressive Revolution Square. Here, surrounded by a gigantic José Martí statue, the obelisk as the highest point of Havana, the national library, the national theater, the seat of the communist party, some ministries with gigantic heads and sayings of Ernesto Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, we might feel the atmosphere that must have occurred when Fidel Castro spoke to millions of Cubans. We believe that this place has something special, an appeal that is particularly remarkable on days like the 1st of May and 26th of July, when crowds of people from all over the country participate in their marches and celebrations. From there we move slowly towards our also revolutionary starting point.