Havana events & things to do in December 2026
Expect 27°C/81°F days and about 12 rainy ones in December. Start with these:
- Habana Vieja & the four plazasThe colonial core walks as a circuit of squares — Plaza de Armas, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza Vieja, Plaza de San Francisco — connected by restored…
- Castillo del Morro & La Cabaña — the 9pm cañonazoThe harbour-mouth fortress pair across the bay.
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By TripSapien Research · Updated June 3, 2026
Havana in December 2026
Weather
TempTemperature
81°F / 68°F
27°C / 19.8°C
RainPrecipitation
12d
1.1in · 27.3mm
LightDaylight
10.8h
Sea
81.7°F
27.6°C
Dry, warm, festive — peak season begins mid-month; book casas ahead for the holidays and Jazz Festival window.
Holidays, observances & long weekends
Holiday and observance schedules can affect services and venue hours; confirm each place directly.
- Dec 25Christmas DayPublic holiday
- Dec 25-Dec 27Long weekend
About Havana
City overview
Havana is the largest and most architecturally intact colonial city in the Americas — founded in 1519 as the staging harbour for Spain's treasure fleets, its old town a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. The clichés are all real and all worth it: 1950s American cars working as taxis, rum and son spilling out of Obispo Street bars, waves breaking over the Malecón seawall at sunset — layered over a city where supply shortages shape daily life and cash is king.
Food & drink
Eat in paladares — the private restaurants that outcook state venues on every axis — and expect menus to flex with what the market had that morning; supply shortages are real. The canon: ropa vieja (shredded beef), moros y cristianos (black beans and rice), lechón, tostones, and flan. Havana is also the spiritual home of the daiquiri (El Floridita, Hemingway's stool still there) and the mojito (La Bodeguita del Medio), and Coppelia in Vedado is the state ice-cream cathedral where habaneros queue for hours. Carry cash — pesos and small-denomination hard currency; foreign cards, especially US-issued, are unreliable to useless.
Top sights
- 1
El Malecón
outdoorThe 8km seawall boulevard from Habana Vieja to Vedado — Havana's shared living room at sunset, with waves detonating over the wall on windy days. Walk any stretch; the Vedado end pairs with a Hotel Nacional garden drink.
Wikipedia - 2
Callejón de Hamel
outdoorThe mural-covered Centro Habana alley that is the shrine of Afro-Cuban culture in the city — rumba drumming and dance every Sunday from around noon.
Wikipedia - 3
Cementerio de Colón
outdoorOne of the great cemeteries of the world — 56 hectares of marble angels, mausoleums, and the miracle-credited tomb of La Milagrosa, laid out in Vedado in 1876.
Foreigner entry ~US$5 in CUP; mornings are cooler for the long walks between avenues.
Show 3 more sights
- 4El Capitolio
- 5Castillo de la Real Fuerza
- 6Museo de la Revolución
Neighborhoods
1Habana Vieja
The restored-and-crumbling colonial quarter — the four plazas, Obispo Street's bars, and most casas particulares. Touristed but never fake; step two streets off the circuit and it's laundry lines and dominoes.
2Centro Habana
The dense, unrestored belt between Old Havana and Vedado — crumbling porticoes, the Callejón de Hamel, Barrio Chino, and everyday Havana at full volume. Walk it in daylight for the real city.
3Vedado
The leafy 20th-century grid — mid-century hotels (the Nacional above the Malecón), the FAC, Coppelia ice-cream park, and most of the music venues. Calmer nights, easier taxis.
Day trips
Pinar del Río province, west — Viazul coach or shared colectivo taxi (~US$20/person)
Viñales Valley
The UNESCO-listed tobacco valley of sheer-sided mogote hills — cave systems, red-earth farms rolling the "best cigars in the world," and horseback valley rides. A long day trip; better with a casa overnight.
~30 min east by bus from Hotel Inglaterra (~US$5 round trip)
Playas del Este
Havana's own white-sand strip — Santa María del Mar is the broadest, most serviced beach. The bus runs every 30 minutes in season; go midweek to share it with habaneros, not tour groups.
~3h east by Viazul coach
Varadero
The 20km resort peninsula — the Caribbean-postcard beach day when you want loungers, snorkelling, and all-inclusive ease. Feasible as a very long day; most make it an overnight.
Getting around
Habana Vieja and Centro walk best; for everything else use the classic-car colectivos running fixed routes along the main avenues (agree the fare before you get in), Coco taxis for short hops, or official yellow taxis for the airport (~US$25-30 to the centre). The harbour ferries to Regla and Casablanca cost pennies. Carry small cash for all of it — meters are rare, cards useless — and let the Viazul terminal handle intercity coaches.
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Common questions about Havana in December
- Best rainy-day things to do in Havana in December
December averages 12 rainy days in Havana, so keep these indoor stops as realistic backups.
- El Capitolio — The 1929 neoclassical capitol — taller than its Washington lookalike — restored as the seat of the National Assembly, with guided visits of the gilded halls beneath the dome.
- Museo de la Revolución — The former presidential palace, Tiffany-decorated interiors included, telling the official story of the Revolution — with the Granma yacht enshrined in glass behind it.
- Catedral de San Cristóbal — The 18th-century baroque cathedral whose asymmetric towers close the most theatrical square in the old town — Carpentier called its facade "music turned to stone."
- Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC) — A cooking-oil factory in Vedado turned the best contemporary art-and-music space in the Caribbean — galleries, concerts, and DJs layered across catwalks, Thursday–Sunday nights.
- What to pack for Havana in December
Pack for December's weather, not a generic Havana checklist.
- Layerable daytime clothes for average highs around 27°C / 81°F.
- A light evening layer because nights average 20°C / 68°F.
- Compact rain gear and shoes that handle wet pavement across about 12 rainy days.
- How many days do you need in Havana
- 4 days covers the main Havana highlights at a realistic pace. Add 3 extra days if you want the listed day trips.
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