WHAT YOU MUST SEE...

BAY OF PIGS: The museum dedicated to the heroics of the ‘freedom fighters’ who saw off CIA-backed forces in the 1961 invasion attempt is a fine introduction to the Cuba psyche.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S House: 20 minutes from Havana, the author lived in Finca Vigia between 1940 and 1960. It’s just as he left it: his typewriter sits on the desk and rum competes for space with his books.

LA GUARIDA restaurant, Havana: Housed in a crumbling building with nicotine-stained walls. Drinks come in antique glasses and dinner is served on little balconies.

SANTA Clara: A huge monument and cemetery mark the resting place of Che Guevara, the poster boy of the revolution. The edgy, creative city is home to the island’s only official drag show.

TRINIDAD: The clocks stopped in Trinidad in 1850 when the sugar barons left. This perfectly preserved colonial town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. Dodgy food comes as standard.