It may be the world’s most beautiful beach

Varadero, perhaps the most beautiful beach in the world, attracts tourists from all over the world and is a wonderful place to visit if you're looking to relax on a pristine, white-sandy beach with unbelievably gorgeous turquoise water.

I've been to the beaches of Australia, New Zealand, southern California, Portugal, Spain and the south of France and I've never seen a more beautiful beach than the 20-kilometre stretch of pure, white sand at Varadero.

Varadero was the winter home for super-rich Americans prior to the Cuban Revolution on Jan. 1,1959, with the likes of Al Capone and Joseph Kennedy (father of U.S. President John F. Kennedy) owning beachfront mansions. After building dozens of new hotels in the 1990s, Varadero now rivals Havana as Cuba's No. 1 tourist attraction.

Since first visiting Cuba in 1986, I've stayed at eight different villas and cabanas in Varadero, but my favourite is the Hotel Internacional. Opened in December, 1950, it was Varadero's premier hotel until the more luxurious hotels were built on the eastern edges of the town over the past 15 years.

A classic art-deco hotel located right on the beach, the Hotel Internacional, like much of Cuba, is a throwback to the 1950s. Its large, beautiful swimming pool is vintage '50s--so much so that you can imagine Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner, sipping a piña colada and daiquiri poolside.

The hotel has a classic room called the Continental Cabaret, which is home to a spectacular dance show that rivals Havana's world-famous Tropicana nightclub for glamour. The room turns into a disco at midnight.

I always try to visit Havana, and this trip was no different as I took a two-hour bus ride to the capital city and spent three nights in the moderately-priced Hotel St. John's located in the lively Vedado area. It is an exciting, cosmopolitan city, teeming with life, energy and excitement, not to mention classic 1950s American cars.

I've decided that Havana is among my Top 5 cities in the world, up there with Amsterdam, New York, San Francisco and Sydney. I love walking around the city, whether along the Malecon -- the seaside road beside the Atlantic Ocean--around Vedado or La Habaña Vieja (old Havana).

On my latest trip, I walked to the bronze statue of John Lennon, which has the former Beatle sitting on a park bench near the corner of 17th and 6th Streets. President Fidel Castro unveiled the statue of Lennon--who has become a hero in Cuba for his stance against the Vietnam War and his fight for world peace--on Dec. 8, 2000.

Music is everywhere in Havana and you can hear incredible music emanating from any number of patios, terraces, bars, lounges and restaurants. You walk in free of charge and have a Cuban beer (Cristal and Bucanero are the best), Cuba Libre (rum and coke) or a daiquiri while listening to amazing music.