Little Havana
You feel like you've been transported to a small part of Cuba.
Little Havana (Spanish: Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many Central and South American immigrants, Little Havana is named after Havana, Cuba's capital and largest city.
The best way to get from Miami Beach to Little Havana without a car is to line 120 bus and line 208 bus which takes nearly 1h.
This Cuban neighborhood is just a 15-minute drive from the ocean and chock full of personality, live music at all hours, and some of the tastiest Latin American cuisines in town.
While nothing is too spectacular in the district, it's the combination of food, culture, and language that makes visiting Little Havana worthwhile... you feel like you've been transported to a small part of Cuba. Its inhabitants' open and positive way makes it a perfect place to literally wander and see day to day life fly by.
Its main drag, Calle Ocho (SW Eighth Street), is the heart of Little Havana, a place to indulge in authentic food, hand-rolled cigars, and strong, fragrant coffee.
The vibrant center of the Hispanic community in Miami is Little Havana. The community is filled with cafes, restaurants, venues, and markets influenced by Latins that offer a room and a voice to all the diverse backgrounds that have taken root in the neighborhood. Here you can find locals catching a cortado or a fresh fruit batido in the afternoon, chatting about politics over a domino game, or eating strong genuine dishes from all over Latin America to a soundtrack of ever-present Cuban beats.
On the last Friday of each month, Little Havana hosts “Viernes Culturales”, or Cultural Fridays, a nonprofit organization that provides monthly gallery nights showcasing the cultural arts scene of the neighborhood. You’ll find food and drink vendors set up on the sidewalk, and a stage set up for dance and music performances in addition to plenty of local arts and crafts.
As previously mentioned, life in Little Havana centers on Calle Ocho, where you can find artisans rolling Cuban cigars, tens of Cuban restaurants, and even shops with the Caribbean rhythm, all wrapped up in a nostalgic atmosphere and the strong smell of coffee. One of the most charming places in Little Havana can be found where Calle Ocho meets 15th Avenue: Máximo Gómez Park, where older Cubans meet to play dominoes or chess while they set the world to rights, discussing the past, present, and future of their native land.
Quite possibly the most popular way to explore Little Havana is immersing into Cuban cuisine through samples of picadillo-stuffed empanadas, Cuban sandwiches, guava pastelitos, mojitos, and plenty more at local restaurants in the area. You really can't visit Little Havana without trying an authentic Cuban coffee, a powerful, sweet espresso served in tiny shots, or if you prefer something less potent there's always Guarapo, a kind of juice made from sugar cane. Little Havana has many of Miami's finest places to shop, with tasty Cuban delicacies at very inexpensive prices.