Habana del Este is the municipality on the eastern side of Havana harbour, separated from the historic centre by the harbour tunnel. The neighbourhood of Cojímar here was Ernest Hemingway's base for deep-sea fishing — the town where he kept his boat Pilar and which inspired The Old Man and the Sea. A small bust of Hemingway stands in the town's central park, erected by the local fishermen who knew him.
The eastern coastal road from the harbour tunnel through Cojímar and on to Playas del Este passes through pleasant fishing villages with views back over the bay towards the Morro Castle. The road is quieter than the Malecón and gives a more rural sense of the Cuban coastline.