Jaimanitas, the Havana barrio Fuster covered in mosaic

Calle 226 and Fusterlandia

Fusterlandia, the Taller-Estudio José Fuster (Calle 226) is a house smothered in broken tile. Blue and yellow domes swirl over the roof, a cupola carries a ceramic rooster, ceramic palm trees stand in the yard, and VIVA CUBA is set in tile along the roofline. Mosaic benches and mosaic walls run out of the garden and down Calle 226 into the neighbours' façades. Most of the work is out on the street; the house is only where it starts.

Entry is free and nobody takes a ticket. Coach and taxi parties arrive constantly through the day, and the courtyard and the gallery absorb them; walk the street first and go inside when a coach pulls away. Tips are expected, and so is buying a ceramic ($).

Walk on to Parque del Ajedrez (Jaimanitas), the chess park Fuster tiled for his neighbours. Outsized ceramic chess pieces stand on a mosaic-paved square, tiled benches sit around them, and the line 'en el ajedrez sólo hay una jugada: la mejor' is worked into the tile. Fuster built three such parks here, this one, Parque Gaudí and Parque Unicornio by the maternity home. The park is unenclosed and free, and it sits among houses where people live, so keep the noise down. Sit on the benches as long as you like; there is nothing to buy and nobody selling.

A drink at the Fuster crossroads

Piña Colada a lo Cubano (corner of Calle 3ra and 226) is a one-man cart at the crossroads, with the mosaic wall behind it. Yaidel hollows out a whole pineapple, fills it with piña colada and puts a straw in it. No seats, two minutes at the cart, and the cheapest drink in Jaimanitas ($).

La Cueva del Zorro (Callejón Fuster, Calle 226) is the only night-time address inside Fusterlandia itself, and it keeps artists' hours, noon to 3 a.m. Fuster's tilework carries on indoors along the bar's walls, and the patio behind it is leafy, with a water feature. Order small tapas campesinas plates with the cocktails. Payment is cash, in CUP, EUR or USD. The bar runs karaoke and live music, lays on buffets and events, and has parking ($$).

The shore at Jaimanitas and the swim at Club Habana

Playa de Jaimanitas is 10 minutes' walk from the studio, and it is the fishing village the mosaic grew out of. The sand is a short strip of coarse gold broken by black ironshore rock, with casuarinas and low scrub behind it. At one end the Río Jaimanitas comes out, small fishing skiffs tied up at the mouth.

This is a free public shore with no gate, no staff, no loungers and no lifeguard, and cleanliness is patchy. Bring your own water and your own shade ($).

Club Habana (Quinta Avenida, 2km east) is a membership club that sells day passes to visitors, and the water in front of it is sheltered by reef. The clubhouse is the eclectic 1928 Havana Biltmore Yacht and Country Club mansion, cream stucco behind arcaded loggias. The beach is raked white sand under palm-thatch umbrellas, with a saltwater pool, tennis courts and a cigar lounge behind. Call ahead, because the pass desk can be slow. The day fee usually includes bar credit, and the old CUC prices still quoted online are obsolete ($$$). The club also hosts weddings and events, which can take up part of the grounds.

Marina Hemingway and the dive boats

Cross the river west into Santa Fe and you reach Marina Hemingway, Cuba's biggest marina at 404 berths. Four long straight sea-cut canals run inland from the Florida Straits, concrete quays along them, cruising yachts and sportfishers moored bow-in, low 1950s-modern blocks and palms between the channels. It is free to walk in, and that is what you do here, canal by canal out to the open horizon at the mouth. This is a state complex and it reads nothing like the barrio you have just left ($). The Hemingway International Yacht Club is based here and runs the May billfishing tournament, and it welcomes visiting crews.

Centro Internacional de Buceo La Aguja (Marlin, inside Marina Hemingway) is the nearest real diving to Havana, one of two international dive centres in the city. The shack sits between the marina's nautical base and the shopping arcade, tanks and BCDs racked outside, a hardtop boat idling in the canal. More than 30 logged sites are within reach, wall, wreck and drift, 25 minutes out from the marina mouth. Departures are at 9 a.m., beginners are taken, and boat capacity limits the size of a party, so book a day ahead ($$$).

Eating over the water

Restaurante Santy Pescador (on the Río Jaimanitas) is the fisherman's house that became a sushi restaurant, and Anthony Bourdain made it famous. The deck is open-sided wood built out over the river, with the moored fishing boats directly below the tables and the mangrove bank opposite. Tuna tataki and ceviche come out of whatever landed that morning. It opens noon to midnight daily, and it is small and permanently full. Reserve well ahead, and reserve further ahead for a party; walk-ins get turned away ($$$$).

Paladar El Laurel (5ta between 260 and 262, Barlovento) is where you come for sunset. The terrace is breeze-block, right on the water's edge, plastic and wicker chairs under a pergola, Marina Hemingway's canal mouth and its masts filling the view. Lobster arrives grilled and butterflied. Service can drag once a big table lands. Order early and settle in ($$$).

Marea (5ta Avenida, at the Barlovento end) is the smarter room out here, a glass-fronted dining room and terrace with an unbroken ocean horizon and no land in the view. White linen, ceviche and paella. It opens 11 a.m. to midnight daily, and dress is tidy-casual ($$$$).

Where to stay in Jaimanitas

Casa Arche Noah (Calle 226 #307, between 3ra and 3ra A) puts you inside Fusterlandia, on the same mosaic-lined street as the studio, midway between Club Habana and Marina Hemingway. It is a family house with a handful of self-contained apartments, a low garden wall and a shaded porch, and the street around it stays quiet. Booking goes through phone, WhatsApp or email rather than a portal. The site publishes no rates. Confirm yours direct ($$).

Hotel Roc El Viejo y el Mar (5ta y 248) is the nearest full hotel to Fusterlandia, 1.5km west inside Marina Hemingway, with 176 rooms and 26 bungalows. The four-storey block runs low in 1950s lines, balconies over the pool and the yacht canals, Old Man and the Sea motifs in the restaurant, the sea wall beyond. Full board and events are arranged on request. It was rebranded under Roc Hotels and spent years listed as the Cubanacán El Viejo y el Mar, which is the name you will still see in older write-ups ($$$$).

Hotel Club Acuario (Marina Hemingway) is billed as Havana's only all-inclusive. The pool deck is wedged between two of the canals, moored yachts in sight from the sunbeds, the room blocks plain and balconied, the dive centre's flags along the quay. Rooms are basic. Non-guests can buy pool access for the day ($$$).

Before you go

Fusterlandia, Parque del Ajedrez and the beach are open daily and cost nothing, while the dive boat needs booking a day ahead and Santy Pescador needs booking well before you arrive. Call Club Habana before you walk the 2km east, since the day-pass desk is the slow part.

See the Havana guide and the Havana hotel search.