If you don't want to follow in Hemingway's footsteps, there is another cozy open-front bar near the Ambos Mundos hotel in the tighly packed shopping street of Obispo. If you follow the luring tunes that cascade from the corner of Obispo and San Ignacio you will find a predominantly local crowd and an extremely relaxing port at Café Paris. I stopped here for an inexpensive mojito, while I watched street vendors sell cigars to other tourists or beautiful mulata women passing by. This little bar, with a worn simplicity that belies the party atmosphere stirred up by a live band, is always packed with a mix of tourists and locals.
As you see, I like to hang out in a cheerful café. It always a nice place to spy on other people's habits or to write some notes about my experiences into my dairy. Did I already mention that Lluvia de Oro (Obispo esq. Habana) is a very lively and busy bar too!
Hungry? The best option for lunch is to grab a snack in one of these bars or from one of the street stalls dotted around Habana Veija. You need pesos to pay for a snack in these stalls.