| Must-see's |
Plaza de Armas, Old Havana, Notable site
Built in 1519, the Plaza de Armas, with its neoclassical architecture, is the oldest square of La Habana. Today it has been completely renovated.
Previously it was known as Plaza de la Iglesia (Church Square) because it was next to the Parroquial Mayor (Main Parish Church). It was in 1584 when Diego Quiñones, keeper of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, made it into a manoeuvre ground due to its vicinity to the castle. This included military exercises, hence why people started calling the square Plaza de Armas (Parade Ground).
In the north side you can see the austere façade of the Palacio del Segundo Cabo dating from 1776, which was built as the residence of the right hand of the Captain General of Cuba. Today it houses the Instituto Cubano del Libro (Cuban Book Institute) and other cultural institutions. The patio is worth a visit.
At the sea-facing side of the square stands the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the first fort built in Cuba and the oldest remaining fort in the Americas. In that northeast corner of the square you also find El Templete, a neoclassical chapel. A column in front of it marks the spot where La Habana´s first mass and first town council meeting was held under a ceiba tree and where each 16 of November the city commemorates its foundation in 1519. The current tree was planted in 1828 when the chapel was finished. The paintings inside El Templete represent the celebration of the first mass, that of the first council meeting and the consecration of the chapel.
On the east side stands the Hotel Santa Isabel, a huge palace once owned by the Count of Santovenia, member of the nineteenth century Cuban nobility.
In the center of the square, shaded by trees, stands the white marble statue of Manuel de Céspedes, Father of the Nation, Cuban hero of the Ten Years' War. On one side of the square is a statue of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII.
Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, Old Havana, Museum
On the west side of the square stands the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in Latin America and former residence of Spanish Captain Generals from 1791-1898 and of the Presidents until 1917. It now houses the Museo de la Ciudad, one of Cuba’s most comprehensive historical museums. It was in this building the treaty between Spain and the USA was signed in 1899. It is also the place where Cuba´s first flag is held.
Address: Tacón, between Obispo and O`Reilly
Open: Monday to Tuesday, 11:30am to 5:30pm; Sunday, 9:00am to 12:00am
Entrance: 3:00CUC
Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Old Havana, Notable building
In 1555 the French pirate Jacques de Sores took and plundered La Habana, destroying the previous fort, La Fuerza Vieja. To protect the colony, the king of Spain sent Bartolome Sanchez to Cuba in 1558 to design and built a stronger castle, initially known as La Fuerza Nueva (New Force). The construction was not completed until 1577 and turned out to be too small for practical use and too far inside the bay to protect the city.
Today it houses the Museo de Navegación (Maritime Museum). The museum contains excellent exhibits of Cuba’s maritime past from pre-Columbian days through to the 18th century with the Royal Shipyard of La Habana, one of the largest in the world, which built nearly 200 ships for the Spanish Crown.
The museum displays the original weathervane, La Giraldilla, while her replica moves in the breeze on the top of the fortress tower. The weathervane represents Ines de Bobadilla, wife of Hernando de Soto, who explored Florida and was the first governor of Cuba. Ines climbed the castle´s tower day in day out to see whether the ship with her beloved one would arrive. However, De Soto died in Mississippi and never returned. Giraldilla has become one of La Habana´s favorite legends and the symbol of the rum of Habana Club.
The museum also features a four-metre model of the Santisima Trinidad with a interactive touch screen which describes life aboard an 18th-century ship-of-the-line. The original ship was built in the shipyard of La Habana and launched in 1769 and was the largest ship in the world in the 18th century, with 140 cannons on four gun decks.
Address: O’Reilly and Avenida del Puerto
Open: Monday to Saturday, 9:00am to 6:30pm
Entrante: 1.00CUC
Plaza de La Catedral, Old Havana, Notable site
The square that surrounds and is named after the iconic Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Habana is one of the most beautiful places in Old Havana.
In 1560 it was a swampy area called La Cienaga. The area was drained and the square was given shape with the construction of the chapel dedicated to San Ignacio. The construction of the cathedral was started by Jesuits in 1748 on the site of that chapel and, after the Jesuits were expelled in 1767, finished by La Habana city in 1777. The Cathedral is said to be the only example of a Baroque facade with asymmetrical features - the eastern belltower is wider than the other, supposedly to allow the water that tended to accumulate on the plaza to freely flow through the streets -. During some time the cathedral held the bones of Cristopher Columbus, before they were sent to Santo Domingo.
Besides the cathedral, there are several elegant palaces that once housed the city´s aristocrats. For instance, the Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona built in 1720 and where nowadays the Museo de Arte Colonial is located.
La Casa de los Marqueses de Aguas Claras was built between 1751 and 1775 by Antonio Ponce de Leon, the first Marquis of Aguas Claras and descendant of the discoverer of Florida. Today the building houses El Patio, a restaurant with tables in the courtyard and at the upper floors.
La Casa de Baños served as the main water supplier and as a public bath house. The narrow dead end near the Casa de baños is the Callejón del Chorro (chorro means stream), named after an aqueduct that ended there in the early years of La Habana.
La Casa de Lombillo is a beautiful palace built in 1741 which served as a post office for many years. In the outer wall you can see a mailbox in the shape of a Greek tragedy mask that is still in use. In front of the building is the statue of the Spanish dancer and choreographer Antonio Gades.
Galería Rigoberto Mena, Old Havana, Art gallery
Rigoberto Mena was born in La Habana, where he currently lives and works. Rigoberto is considered an important painter of his generation. In 2011 Rigoberto was selected to be part of the permanent collection of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba. He also has a private art gallery at the Plaza de Armas.
Address: Plaza de Armas
Catedral de San Cristóbal, Old Havana, Notable building
The construction of the cathedral was started by Jesuits in 1748 on the site of an already existing chapel dedicated to San Ignacio. After the Jesuits were expelled in 1767, buildings were resumed with the idea to transfer the site to the Main Parish. The construction finished in 1777, and it was given the rank of Cathedral in 1787.
The Cathedral is said to be the only example of a Baroque facade with asymmetrical features - the eastern belltower is wider than the other, supposedly to allow the water that tended to accumulate on the plaza to freely flow through the streets -. The inside, on the contrary, has an austere design, consequence of a radical, 19th-century neoclassical makeover.
For over 100 years - from 1796 to 1898 - the body of Christopher Columbus lay in a mausoleum here, before they where sent to Santo Domingo. It is now said that the bones were not Columbus´, but his brother or someone else´s instead.
Address: Plaza de la Catedral
Open: Thursday to Saturday, 9:30am to 12:30pm; Sunday, 8:30am to 12:30pm (mass at 9:30am)
Museo de Arte Colonial, Old Havana, Museum
The museum is located in Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona, built by order of Don Luis Chacon, three times Military Governor of Cuba, whose daughter married the first Count of Bayonne. Before the Revolution it housed the Arechavale liquor enterprise, but as all other companies it was nationalized and changed into a museum.
The small museum displays delicate furniture, sculptures, porcelain, ornamental flowers, dining sets, china and paintings from the colonial era, as well as some typically colonial architectural elements as vitrales and arches. Part of the museum is the carriage´s house with two-wheelded carriage.
Address: San Ignacio 61, between Empedrado and O’Reilly
Open: Monday to Sunday, 9:00am to 6:30pm
Entrance: 2.00 CUC – guided tour 3.00CUC (Monday to Saturday only)
Castillo San Salvador de la Punta, Old Havana, Notable building
At the end of the 16th century, La Punta castle was built to protect the entrance to the bay of La Habana. In 1582 the king Felipe II, convinced that it was necessary to reinforce fortresses and fleets, ordered the creation of a fortress system in several places of America having its center in Havana. In 1590 Juan Bautista Antonelli, the same engineer who built El Morro castle on the other side of the bay, started the works.
In 1630 a heavy copper chain was laid between El Morro castle and that of La Punta to avoid invaders entering the bay by ship. This chain can be appreciated in some of the engravings of that time.
During the English invasion in 1762 the safety curtains and bastions of La Punta castle were destroyed. Later on, with the Spanish back in power, the fortification system was rebuilt and re-enlarged. Four esplanades built to accommodate a corresponding number of artillery pieces, were added at La Punta.
Nowadays a Museum of Maritime and Submarine archeology is located in its interior vaults. It holds an exhibition of the objects discovered of the shipwreck from all the areas that had been researched in the Cuban seashores, providing a great amount of evidences as coins, ingots of valuable metals, wonderful stones, chains, ceramics, porcelain, weapons, navigation tools, sextants, etc. There also is a permanent exhibition of the history of the castle and naval design and construction.
Opposite the castle is the monument to Máximo Gómez, leader in the War of Independence.
Address: Avenida del Puerto and Paseo del Prado
Open: Wednesday to Sunday; 10:00am to 5:30pm
Entrance: 3.00CUC
Museo Nacional de la Música, Old Havana, Museum
Located in a typical mansion of the early twentieth century built by a wealthy Creole merchant this museum is dedicated to the historical development of music, such as son and danzón, and musical instruments from the 16th to the 21st century in Cuba.
Address: Carcel 1, between Havana and Aguiar
Open: closed for some time now and no news on re-opening
Entrance: 2.00CUC
Iglesia del Santo Angel Custodio, Old Havana, Notable building
This church was built on one of the few hills of the city, called Peña, in 1689 by the Jesuits. The hurricane of 1846 destroyed its tower and the whole of the front and back of the nave were destroyed. They were rebuilt and notably altered in the peculiar gothic style that can be seen today.
The history of this church records the christening of two of the greatest Cuban personalities: Félix Varela and José Martí. At the church entrance there is a bust of the Cuban writer Cirilo Villaverde who used this church as setting for the last chapter of his novel Cecilia Valdés.
Address: Cuarteles and Compostela
Museo de la Revolución, Old Havana, Museum
The Museum of the Revolution is, ironically, housed in what was the Presidential Palace of all Cuban presidents from Mario García Menocal to Fulgencio Batista. The grand building has Neo-Classical elements and was decorated by Tiffany & Co. of New York, but nowadays it has lost a lot of its looks.
The museum is dedicated mainly to the period of the revolutionary war of the 1950s and to the country's post-1959 history and it features many Cuban heroes and a lot of communist propaganda. At the back of the museum there is the Granma, the yacht which took Fidel Castro from Mexico to Cuba to launch the revolution. There are also various vehicles, planes and tanks used in the revolution displayed as well as a Soviet-built tank used against the USA during the Bay of Pigs invasion and a US spy plane shot down in the 1970s.
Unfortunately, many of the display cases are in Spanish only. If you can read Spanish, then you most certainly get more out of it than the English-speaking tourist.
Address: Calle Refugio 1, between Monserrate and Zulueta
Entrance: 6.00CUC, +1.00CUC to visit the presidential office, +3.00CUC to bring your camera
Parque Central, Old Havana, Park
The Central Park is a pleasant small park in Old Havana. The space acquired its current size after the demolition of the city walls in the 19th century. In the center of the square is a marble statue of Jose Marti placed in 1905.
On the west side there is the Hotel Telegrafo, the oldest hotel in Cuba, which opened its doors in 1860, a few years after the first telegraph station in the country, which inspired the name of the hotel. It moved to its current location in 1888. Next to it is the colonial Hotel Inglaterra, which opened in 1875, and El Gran Teatro de la Habana.
Gran Teatro de la Habana, Old Havana, Notable building
The Grand Theatre was officially opened in 1838, although its first presentation occurred on November, 1837. All this in a previous theatre building. The foundations of that former theatre were used for the current one built in 1914. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in La Habana. Its exterior has four marble sculptures depicting Charity, Education, Music and Theatre. As an opera house it hosts performances of the National Ballet of Cuba and the National Opera. The theater is also known as concert hall, García Lorca, the biggest in Cuba.
Address: Parque Central, corner San Martín
Museo Nacional Palacio de Belles Artes, Old Havana, Museum
East of the Parque Central is located the Palacio de Belles Artes, also known as the Centro Asturiano as it was built by the Asturian immigrant associations. The building was designed by the Spanish architect Manuel del Busto and built by the US company Purdy & Henderson. After undergoing years of renovation and extension Fidel Castro inaugurated the museum in 2001.
The museum consists of two separate buildings: The former Centro Asturiano houses the ancient art and European art. The ancient art is represented by numerous Greek and Roman artifacts. European painting is present with samples of Flemish and Italian Renaissance (including half a painting of Canaletto, of which the other half is hanging in Blickling Hall, Norfolk. Not being able to sell the piece of art the painter cut it in two just before he died. Since then the two halfs were sold seperately.) Spanish Baroque, the British school of the eighteenth century and nineteenth century French. There is also a good selection of works by Latin American and North American in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The newly built part of the museum, the Palacio de Belles Artes, houses the Cuban art collection, from colonial times to the 1990s, including post-Revolution art.
Between the two parts of the museum is situated the Edificio Bacardí (Avenida de Las Misiones, between San Juan de Dios and Empedrado), with the emblematic bat.
Address: Centro Asturiano; San Rafael, between Zulueta and Monserrate - Museo de Belles Artes; Trocadero, between Zulueta and Avenida de Las Misiones
 El Capitolio Nacional, Old Havana, Notable building
El Capitolio is somewhat a copy of the Capitol in Washington DC, but is in fact inspired by the ancient roman capitolium. Built in 1929 as the Senate and the House of Representatives by the dictator Machado, it is visible from practically everywhere in the centre. Inside stands the third largest indoor statue in the world, La Estatua de la República, a 17m statue of Jupiter, representing the state. On the floor in the entrance hall is set a replica of a diamond which marks the km 0 of all the roads of Cuba.
Nowadays, the Cuban Academy of Sciences headquarters and the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (the National Museum of Natural History) has its venue within the building and it contains the largest natural history collection in the country. There is also a restaurant, El Mirador de la Bahia, where – as the name already suggests – you can enjoy some fantastic views over the city and the bay. Internet is available inside.
Address: Opposite Brasil , between Dragones and San Martin
Open: Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm
Entrance: 3.00CUC, +2.00CUC to bring your camara
 Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás, Old Havana, Cigar factory
One of La Habana's oldest and most famous cigar factories, the landmark Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás was founded in 1845 by a Spaniard named Jaime Partagás. Today it employs more than 400 workers producing Cuba's most famous cigars like Montecristo and Cohiba. Probably not the brand the workers are smoking, puffing away as they work. (Those who don’t smoke there 3-cigar allowance a day, might try to sell them to you.)
The tour shows you the cigar making process in its actual work environment; the unbundling and sorting of the leaves before proceeding to the upper floors to watch the tobacco get rolled, pressed, adorned with a security seal and boxed. All this while one of the workers read to the others to alleviate the monotony of the work; the newspaper to start with, with as highlight the sports section, and literature.
Tickets are sold by the Havana Tourism Bureau at some of the major hotels (including Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Telegrapho, and Hotel Inglaterra). Tickets cannot be bought at the factory.
Address: Shop; Industria 520 between Barcelona and Dragones - Factory; San Carlos 816, between Sitios and Peñalver
Open: tours Monday to Sunday, every 15min 9:00am to 10:15am and 12:00am to1:30pm
Entrance: 10.00CUC
Parque Fraternidad, Old Havana, Park
The Parque Fraternidad is located between Maximo Gomez and Dragons, south of the Capitol, offering it a perfect setting. Previously the park was named Parque de Colón, but was renamed in 1892 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the discovery of America. The park is meant to symbolize brotherhood among all the American countries and therefore busts of the most prominent figures of the continent are placed there: At the centre a ceiba tree is growing in soil provided by the American republics and there is a sculpture of the Amerindian woman who welcomed the first Spaniards, La Noble Habana (1837).
Casa Natal José Martí, Old Havana, Museum
In this small house José Martí Pérez, the Cuban National Hero and leader of the independence, was born. Since 1945 it is a museum and documents his life from birth to death, including his marriage, his time in prison, in Spain and New York. The museum offers visits, historical counsel, courses and a specialized library.
Address: Leonor Pérez 314, between Picota and Egido.
Open: Monday to Sunday, 9:00am to 6:30pm
Entrance: 1.00CUC
Calle Obispo, Old Havana, Notable site
You can walk down Calla Obispo from Parque Central to Plazas de Armas. Calle Obispo is one of the first streets that have been renovated since Old Havana was recognized in 1982 UNESCO site and many of the soters along the street have been given back their former splendour. The street is closed for traffic. Parrallel to Calle Obispo runs Calle Obrapía, along which many colonial buildings are located.
Museo de la Orfebreria, Old Havana, Museum
The Silversmith Museum is located in an old colonial house where the famous silversmith Gregorio Tabares lived and had his workshop since 1707. The museum owns a valuable collection of artistic and common pieces, attesting that, despite the lack of important precious metal deposits, Cubans are artists in the silversmith craft.
The gems of the museum are pieces made in La Habana, once owed by the Cuban aristocrats. There is also an interesting mural painting in the building. The museum organizes conferences, cultural exhibitions and other activities on a frequent basis.
Address: Obispo 113, between Mercaderes and Oficios
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00am to 4:30pm; Monday, 9:00am to 12:30pm
Entrance: no entrance fee (contributions are welcome)
Museo Numismático, Old Havana, Museum
On Calle Obispo you will find the museo Numismático, a coin museum. It holds 1500 pieces grouped according to different historical moments of Cuba. It also exhibits medals, decorations, and coins given in the sugar cane mill as substitute for bills, certificates, lottery bills and falsifications found in the country. The first Cuban currency system is displayed as well, with its first gold and silver issues from 1915 and 1916, the silver certificates as the first bills of the Republic of Cuba, the creation of the National Bank and its first issue, and finally the post-Revolution issues.
The Numismatic Museum was created as a cultural institution after a resolution of the National Bank of Cuba, in December 11th, 1975. This institution offers services as an specialized library, professional assessment and guided visits. You can also buy coins here.
Address: 305 Obispo 305 between Aguiar and Habana
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:15am to 4:45pm; Sunday, 9:00am to 12:45pm
Entrance: 1.00CUC
Farmacia Taquechel, Old Havana, Museum
This French Pharmacy was founded in 1882, on the former Plaza de Armas, and in 1964 is was made a pharmaceutical museum. Pieces are exhibited in the drug store, the dispensary, and two warehouses. Among the most important pieces are the collections of porcelain bottles, glazed and gilded with herbal motifs and arranged on floor to ceiling mahogany shelves.
The museum also shows a collection of thousands of labels, as well as utensils, bottles, devices, formulas and medications, most of them preserved intact. Medicinal herbs were processed in the laboratory, which is at the back yard. Its brick furnace always worked with firewood, and its copper and bronze pieces, preserved in perfect conditions, were used to distil water, alcoholic substances and essential oils.
Address: Obispo, between Mercaderes and San Ignacio
Entrance: no entrance fee (contributions are welcome)
Depósito de Automóviles, Old Havana, Museum
An exhibition of vintage cars, including the Cadillac used by Ernesto Che Guevara, is presented in this museum. The collection, comprising of North American classics as well as cars made in Italy, Spain, Germany and Great Britain, offers pieces valuable due to its technological importance (Cadillac V16 1930), its importance in the history of automobile (Ford T 1918), or because it belonged or was used by a known personality.
Address: Oficios 13, between Jústiz and Obrapía
Entrance: 2.00CUC
Museo Casa de los Arabes, Old Havana, Museum
The Mudéjar style house occupies the Arab museum and the only mosque in La Habana. The gems of the collection are the so-called desert rose - a strange limestone formation that seems a flower -, Islamic weapons, jewels and rugs.
There is also a bar and restaurant in the building, Al Medina.
Address: Oficio 16, corner Obispo and Obrapía
Open: Tuesday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30 pm
Casa de la Obrapía, Old Havana, Museum
In 1983 one of the most beautiful colonial mansions in Old Havana, the House of Charity, was completely restored. Its name comes from a charity work that consisted in offering a dowry every year to five orphans for them to have a family.
Built in 1648, it is an example of domestic architecture in La Habana. It was remodelled in 1793 by the Marquéz de Cárdenas de Monte Hermoso, whose coat of arms is placed over the entrance. The portico was made in Cádiz and finished in la Habana and it is the only one in the city.
Now as a house-museum, it exhibits mainly furniture from the 18th and 19th century. It also displays textile handicraft as well as decorative arts objects and utility objects once owned by the aristocracy in La Habana.
Address: Obrapía 158 between San Ignacio and Mecaderes
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30am to 4:30pm; Sunday, 9:30am to 12:30pm
Entrance: free entrance, contributions are welcome.
Casa de Africa, Old Havana, Museum
The Casa de Africa is a small museum with handmade cloths, sculptures, ceramics, furniture and paintings from 38 African countries. It includes the African collection of Fidel Castro. It also exhibits pieces related with the period of slavery in Cuba, and there is a library on Afro-Cuban religions.
Address: Obrapía 157, between Merchants and San Ignacio
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00am to 5:00pm; Sundays, 9:00am to 12:00am
Entrance: 2.00CUC, +2.00CUC to bring your camara
 Casa de Oswaldo Guayasamín, Old Havana, Museum
The Casa de Oswaldo Guayasamin is the former workshop of the Ecuadorean artist and now museum exposing his works. Guayasamín painted a famous portrait of Fidel Castro.
Address: Obrapia 111
Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 9.00am to 2.30pm
Museo del Perfume, Old Havana, Museum
In Habana 1791 (also known as Museo del Perfume), an old episcopal palace, perfumes are made from tropical aromatic plants using traditional distillation processes. The plants are picked by hand and the petals are dried in the in the laboratory at the back.
The museum offers a detailed information about the perfumery industry in Cuba, including the productions of the former great industries such as Gravi, Sebatés and Crusellas as well as Suchel, the symbol of the perfumery and toilet soaps productions in Cuba after 1960.
You can also sample and buy perfumes in the shop.
Address: Mercaderes 156, corner Obrapía
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 2:30pm to 9:45pm; Sunday, 9:00am to1:00pm
Museo de Chocolate, Old Havana, Museum
Inspired in the Royal Museum in Brussels, Belgium, and born thanks to the support of Madame Jo Draps, its director, this museum offers a tour through the history of cacao, its discovery by the Spaniards in America, its harvesting, production and commercialization.
Every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 am you can watch how the chocolates are being manufactured.
Address: Mercaderes and Amargura,
Open: Monday to Sunday, 10:00am to 8:00pm
Entrance: According to your consumption
Plaza San Fransisco de Asis, Old Havana, Notable site
This square is dominated by the Basílica Menor de San Fransisco de Asis and the Convento de San Fransisco de Asis. One of the first monastic orders that arrived in Cuba was that of the Franciscans. Around 1570 they were donated all the possessions of one of the city´s notables, so they could build a monastery by the harbor of La Habana.
When the English took La Habana, they used the church as headquarters. Once the island went back to Spanish control, the convent was condemned on the belief that it was impure. In 1841, by order of María Cristina de Borbón, wife of Fernando VII, the convent and the church were closed down and the altars destroyed. The Basílica is now a concert hall and the monastry is a religious museum.
The square was founded in 1628 in order to supply water to the ships. For many years it also served to stock the merchandise arriving from the harbor. It was also through this square that the Spanish immigrants arrived to Cuba.
It is said that around the year 1600 the first fountain of the city could be seen at the square. In 1836 it was replaced by a fountain made of white Carrara marble by Giuseppe Gaggini, under the good auspices of the Conte de Villanueva. This fountain is called Fuente de los Leones (Lions Fountain). At that time it was protected by an iron fence, as seen in some pictures of 1835. Later on, because it was feared that it could be damaged, it was relocated to the Paseo de Isabel II, nowadays Paseo de José Martí. Finally, the fountain was returned to its original location where it still remains.
In front of the church is the statue of El Caballero de París, a deluded vagrant, known throughout La Habana. In 1985 he died in a psychiatric hospital. Among the houses built around the plaza, is the house of the Arostegui family, residence of the Captain Generals until the completion of the City Hall at the end of the 18th century. Financed by the British Embassy is the Diana Garden, in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. In it is placed an sculpture representing her short life.
Museo de Armas, Old Havana, Museum
This gunsmith’s shop, founded in 1934 was attacked on April 9, 1958 by members of the July 26 Movement led by Fidel Castro as part of the actions to overthrow Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship. The operation failed and four young men who participated in the attack were killed during it.
On April 9, 1971 the museum was opened. A recreation of the original function of this facility is kept in the front area: trade, with some pieces of that time. In the 1990s the collection of guns donated by President Fidel Castro was added. An exhibition of the historical events occurred in this place can be found in the rear room, as well as a group of guns related to the revolutionary struggle.
Address: Mercaderes 157, between Obrapía and Lamparilla
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00am to 5:00pm; Sunday, 9:00am to 1:00pm
Entrance: no entrance fee
Museo de Ron, Old Havana, Museum
An ancient colonial residence, built in the 17th century (1772- 1780), now houses the rum museum. Here you can see how rum was manufactured during the early 20th century. The 25-minute tour starts with the raw material of sugar cane and ends with a tasting of a 7-year old Havana Club rum in the museum´s bar (where you can also learn how to prepare a Mojito). The museum includes also a restaurant, a shop and an art gallery.
Address: San Pedro 262, corner Sol
Open: Monday to Thursday, 9:00am to 5:00pm; Friday to Sunday, 9:00am to 4:00pm
Entrance: 7.00CUC (children free of charge)
Plaza Vieja, Old Havana, Notable site
Plaza Vieja, the plaza behind the Convento de San Fransisco, was the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and festivals. The development of the Cuban architectural style in the 18th century can be appreciated on the houses surrounding the square. These houses, some of them dating back to the 17th century, were two stories high, had lofty ceilings and elegant, wooden balconies. They also had ample porches to temper the hot rainy weather and wide corridors closed with blinds, on top of which there were typical crystal arches that became one of the most distinctive elements of the colonial architecture. Many of these crystal arches are still there.
On the corner of San ignacio and Muralla is situated La Casona (Muralla 117), once the house of the Spanish Captain General, Conde de Ricla, who retook La Habana from the English in 1763, now an art gallery for young Cuban artists.
On the square is also a museum of playing cards, Museo de Naipes (Muralla 101, corner Merchants, open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00am to 6:00pm), with a collection of over 2000 decks of cards. In the west-side of the square is located a small brewery, La Taberna de la Muralla. With Austrian modern technology the establishment produces its own beer.
In the north-east corner is the Café Taberna, called after its owner, Juan Bautista Taberna. Founded in 1772 it is the oldest café in La Habana. Good live music, the food , however, is not all that.
At the same square, on the top floor of the Goméz Vila with its 35m high tower, is the Cámara Oscura. This cámara oscura, donated by Cadíz, offers great views over the city. It is the first one on the Americas and one of the few ones left worldwide. International photography exhibitions can be visited at the Fototeca de cuba, on the east side of the square, near the old post office.
Convento de Santa Clara, Old Havana, Notable building
The convent of Santa Clara is the oldest and largest of La Habana and dates from 1635, although it has no religious use since 1920. It was founded by nuns from Cartagena, Colombia, who sold it in 1919. You can visit the colonial courtyard, the 3 cloisters and the nuns cells and you can even spend the night there.
Address: Calle Cuba 610
Maqueta de Old Havana, Old Havana, Notable site
A detailed 1:500 scale model of Old Havana.
Address: Mercaderes 114
Museo Farmacia Sarrá, Old Havana, Museum
The Catalá, Sarrá and Co. society opened the pharmacy La Reunión in May 1853, at 41 Teniente Rey Street. It was one of the most prestigious ones of La Habana and second in importance worldwide and the first in Cuba.
After the Revolution, La Reunión was nationalized. It remained in use as a pharmacy until 1999, when the government decided to undertake its restoration and to turn it into a museum showing the history of pharmacy in Cuba.
What used to be the old pharmacy still comes with the neogothic style furniture, with its Moorish influence, including the display cabinets. Another hall exhibits a collection of medicine bottles and other devices related to the art of healing and treating, extracted from archaeological excavations which took place in Old Havana.
Spices and curative herbs can be purchased in the museum.
Address: Teniente Rey, between Habana and Compostela
Entrance: 2.00CUC
Museo de las Ciencias Carlos Finlay, Old Havana, Museum
The Cuban Carlos Finlay (1833-1915) was the first to identify the mosquito as the cause of yellow fever. The museum dedicated to this scientist shows numerous busts, paintings, books and other objects related to the life of Carlos Finlay, as well as the first steps of science in Cuba, the participation of physicians in the wars of independence and a scientific laboratory at that time.
Address: Cuba 460, between Amargura and Brasil
Open: Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm; Saturday, 9:00am to 3:00pm
La Casa del Tabaco, Old Havana, Museum
La Casa del Tabaco is located in an 18th century building. In 1994 it opened its doors as the Habano House museum, showing artefacts related to the tobacco and smoking culture and its influence on art.
Address: Mercaderes 120, between Obispo and Obrapía
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30am to 4:00pm, Sunday, 9:30am to 12:30pm
Entrance: no entrance fee
La Casa de Asia, Old Havana, Museum
The Asia House is an institution that aims to promote the historical, cultural and commercial relations between La Habana and Asia, through trade and the arrival of Asian communities.
The museum also exhibits a collection of Chinese and Japanese paintings and sculptures the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Part of the collection was donated by Fidel Castro, given as gifts to him being the political leader of Cuba.
If you are interested in learning Japanese, you can take classes here. There is also a library with literature from and about Asia and the Far East.
Address: Mercaderes 111, between Obispo and Obrapía
Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:15am to 4:45pm, Sunday, 9:15am to 12:45pm
Entrance: no entrance fee
|
|
|
|
English 
Español 
