Carlos Acosta's guide to Havana: dancing, the seawall of the Malecón and the Meliá Cohiba hotel

Where is your favourite destination and why?

Havana. It’s where I’m from and going back is all about returning to the source. The minute I arrive there’s the smell and the heat of the tropics, the humidity … it welcomes me. Walking around the city, music is everywhere — it’s almost like each apartment is its own discotheque. In one there’s salsa, the next there’s reggaeton, then a bolero — it’s a madhouse from that perspective. People are always dancing in the street, nobody walks on the sidewalks, everyone walks on the street.

Then there’s the seawall of the Malecón, which is about five miles long and has its own ecosystem. People are selling you stuff, others are fishing. Musicians will go and practise their instruments — trumpets, trombones — because no one bothers them. There are so many stories to tell there.

When were you last there?

I go back to Havana three or four times a year. I’ve just been to welcome the first-year intake of dancers for Acosta Danza, the dance company I set up. It turns 10 next year, so we are going back to celebrate with shows in the city. I’m going to be dancing as well. Havana is a compass for me, I have to go back to remember where I come from. With the life I live it’s easy to lose your head, to get caught up in the clamour, the meetings, the champagne. But every so often it’s good to return to say, “this is where I started” and keep my feet on the ground. As well as the dance company, I also come to see my family.

Where do you like to stay there?

I have a house in the west of the city, in a nice part close to the sea — well, everywhere is close to the sea — and near Marina Hemingway, where people go at the weekends. There are fishing marinas, nice hotels and a very famous arts school — the Instituto Superior de Arte. It’s an amazing structure, this wonderful school built in the Sixties.

What are your top restaurants?

The top, top place to eat is La Guarida, in the Centro Havana district, and it’s probably the most famous restaurant in Cuba. The Spanish king, presidents — everyone has to make a stop there when they visit. It has this lovely terrace and the food is wonderful. There’s another one called Chachachá, which is making a splash in the restaurant scene, plus there’s Fangio, at the Claxon Hotel in midtown. It celebrates when Havana used to have the Formula One Grand Prix in the Fifties, on the Malecón, with great drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio — there was a famous incident when he was kidnapped. You see a lot of memorabilia of those classic cars of the time — Jaguar, Maserati, Ferrari. It has a lovely terrace where they play jazz at night.

Is there a favourite meal that you associate with home?

Ropa vieja, a dish of shredded beef. The etymology of the name is old clothes. It’s very hard to find it in the UK, unless you go to a Cuban restaurant, but in Havana it’s everywhere. As well as the meat, the ingredients include tomato sauce and olives. You mix it with brown rice, plantains and avocado salad. Cubans have huge avocados, they’re more like watermelons, very meaty. Man, I’m hungry now.

If someone had 24 hours in Havana what would you advise they do?

Go to La Guarida for food. If you want to see something, check out the Ballet Nacional de Cuba or Acosta Danza, of course. There is also the Museo Napoleonico, a collection of Napoleon memorabilia — including letters and clothes — in midtown. Then there is La Vitrola, a private nightclub-restaurant-disco. It’s in the neighbourhood of Vedado; it greets you with huge classic cars and a Harley Davidson hanging from the ceiling. The club has a 14-piece band and it’s always so busy. That’s where you go to hang out with the locals.

What is the one unmissable thing you recommend doing?

I would go to El Faro del Castillo del Morro, the lighthouse, and from there you’d see Havana almost from the sea. It’s a great thing to do.

Is there a hidden gem you are willing to share?

There’s a seafood restaurant called Santy El Pescador, which is on a fishing marina close to where I live. It’s peculiar because there’s no menu and you don’t know how much anything costs. You eat what you’ve been given. It’s a fish restaurant — sushi, sashimi with the catch of the day. It’s been like that for years. But it’s very good fresh fish and very local.

What do you do to let your hair down?

I walk the streets around the city — I’m always very curious to see what new places have emerged. I just want to take the pulse of what’s going on. There is an incredible bar-restaurant called Yarini, named after a famous Cuban pimp from the early 20th century. It has great live music. I like to see what’s new, who the new musicians are, what the health is of Cuban music — salsa and timba…

Is there someone you call to have a good time?

I have a mate — I wrote about him in my autobiography — whom I met in London a long time ago, when I first joined the Royal Ballet, then he went back to Cuba. So I always try to hang out with him. He speaks English and knows London, so the conversation isn’t just Cuba-centric. His name is Othello.

Do you have favourite shops?

I don’t really shop in Cuba. There is an art fair where I buy stuff, close to the historic town. It’s called La Lonja del Comercio, in Old Havana, and there is a huge warehouse where people sell their art and souvenirs. So we go there to buy Christmas presents for family here in the UK. There are a lot of great artists there, so I bring art back, and of course boxes of cigars and rum — people appreciate it.

Do you have a favourite beauty spot?

There are a few. There is one hotel in the city where you can go to the top floor and it has an infinity pool and you have a striking view of the lighthouse and the Malecón. This time I went to a place closer to the Almendares river. It’s a cigar club, and it was one of those Fifties buildings, but when you get to the penthouse it’s a 360-degree terrace. It’s a great place to have a mojito and a cigar. I’m looking forward to taking my family there.

Is there a packing essential to bring from the UK?

I bring porridge because I like it, and I won’t be able to find it in Havana.

Is there a song that reminds you of the place?

Any Cuban song — I listen to Latin music a lot and I’m very fond of a band called Havana D’Primera. In the winter in the UK when it’s dark I need that Cuban connection, so I listen to the music.

Have you had an emergency incident there?

When my eldest daughter was two, she pulled boiling tea off the table and it went on her face. We rushed her to hospital and she was there for five days; that was the scariest time of my life. She’s completely fine now but it was a very intense five days. They looked after her well.

Do you have a top wellness tip?

I sometimes go to the Meliá Cohiba hotel. Mostly I do a lot of Tabata workout, which can be done anywhere.

Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana runs at the Queen Elizabeth Hall from December 10 to 15, southbankcentre.co.uk