A Weirdly Fascinating Cold-War Tour of Havana

For travelers hooked on Cold War intrigue, following the trail in the Cuban capital is bizarrely pleasant—from moody museums to a Soviet-themed boîte

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NOT A BAD VIEW for a bunker,” said a young American traveler named Andria as we peered through a grim, concrete gun-slot at the blue waters of the Straits of Florida. The underground chamber, Fidel Castro’s headquarters during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, was dug beneath the gardens of the Hotel Nacional. The grande dame of Havana hotels, the property occupies the most commanding headland in the city. To either side of our million-dollar view stretched the arc of the Malecón, Havana’s waterfront boulevard, poetically crumbling beneath a wash of sea spray.

The...