Habana Vieja
Habana Vieja's most uniform square is a museum to Cuban baroque, with all the surrounding buildings, including the city's beguiling asymmetrical cathedral…
Must-see attractions in Habana Vieja
Habana Vieja
Laid out in 1559, Plaza Vieja is Havana's most architecturally eclectic square, where Cuban baroque nestles seamlessly next to Gaudí-inspired art nouveau…
Habana Vieja
Cobbled, car-free Calle Mercaderes (Merchant's Street) has been extensively restored by the Office of the City Historian and is an almost complete replica…
Habana Vieja
Described by novelist Alejo Carpentier as 'music set in stone,' Havana's incredible cathedral, dominated by two unequal towers and framed by a theatrical…
-
Habana Vieja
Even with no artifacts, Havana's city museum would be a tour de force, courtesy of the opulent palace in which it resides. Filling the whole western side…
Plaza de San Francisco de Asís
Habana Vieja
Facing Havana harbor, the breezy Plaza de San Francisco de Asís first grew up in the 16th century when Spanish galleons stopped quayside on their passage…
Habana Vieja
On the seaward side of Plaza de Armas is one of the oldest existing forts in the Americas, built between 1558 and 1577 on the site of an earlier fort…
Habana Vieja
Just when you think you've seen Havana's strangest, weirdest, most surreal and avant-garde art, along comes the 'eye of the cyclone' to re-stretch your…
Habana Vieja
Finished in 1930, the magnificent Edificio Bacardí, once the HQ of Cuba's erstwhile rum dynasty, is a triumph of art deco architecture, with a host of…
Habana Vieja
A little apart from the historical core, Plaza del Cristo hasn't benefited from a full restoration yet and this adds subtly to its charm. Here you can…
Habana Vieja
You don't have to be an Añejo Reserva quaffer to enjoy the Museo del Ron in the Fundación Havana Club, but it probably helps. The museum, with its…
Habana Vieja
This lovely, intimate plaza behind the Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio has benefited from a recent beautification project that has installed several…
Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced
Habana Vieja
Bizarrely overlooked by the tourist hordes, this baroque church in its own small square has Havana's most sumptuous ecclesiastical interior, as yet only…
-
Habana Vieja
Wedged into Plaza de Armas' northwestern corner, this beautiful baroque building was constructed in 1772 as the headquarters of the Spanish vice-governor…
Habana Vieja
Havana's oldest square was laid out in the early 1520s, soon after the city's foundation, and was originally known as Plaza de Iglesia after a church –…
Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco de Asís
Habana Vieja
Originally constructed in 1608 and rebuilt in baroque style from 1719 to 1738, this church-convent ceased to have a religious function in the 1840s after…
Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta
Habana Vieja
One in a quartet of forts defending Havana harbor, La Punta was designed by Italian military engineer Bautista Antonelli and built between 1589 and 1600…
Habana Vieja
The brainchild of Gilberto Valladares, aka 'Papito,' this novel hairdressing salon is also a school and a small museum to the barber's art. Even better,…
Habana Vieja
This large, box-shaped building on Plaza de San Francisco de Asís is a former commodities market erected in 1909. The building was completely renovated in…
Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio
Habana Vieja
Originally constructed in 1695, this church was pounded by a ferocious hurricane in 1846, after which it was entirely rebuilt in neo-Gothic style. Among…
Habana Vieja
Making up a trio of sculptures in Plaza San Francisco de Asís, La Conversación was added in 2012, donated by the French ambassador as a gesture of Franco…
Catedral Ortodoxa Nuestra Señora de Kazán
Habana Vieja
One of Havana's newer buildings, this beautiful gold-domed Russian Orthodox church was built in the early 2000s and consecrated at a ceremony attended by…
Parroquial del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje
Habana Vieja
This church dates from 1732, although there has been a Franciscan hermitage on the site since 1640. This was where sailors once came to pray before…
Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula
Habana Vieja
One of Havana's most attractive churches, this building is all that remains of the San Francisco de Paula women's hospital from the mid-1700s. Lit up at…
-
Habana Vieja
In Parque de los Enamorados (Lovers' Park), surrounded by speeding traffic, lies a section of the colonial Cárcel (aka Tacón Prison), built in 1838. Many…
-
Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de Belén
Habana Vieja
This huge building dating from the early 18th century first functioned as a free school and convalescent home run by the Belemitas order. It was taken…
-
Jardín Madre Teresa de Calcuta
Habana Vieja
Passers-by usually miss this tree-filled oasis at Plaza de San Francisco de Asís’ southeastern corner, where the remains of some of Cuba’s best-known…
-
Habana Vieja
The block behind Plaza de Armas was the original home of Havana's university, from 1728 to 1902. The university was once part of a convent. The office…
-
Habana Vieja
Anchoring a new art project in the San Isidro quarter of Habana Vieja, this bold contemporary gallery is the brainchild of Cuban actor and artist Jorge…
-
Habana Vieja
One of the more muscular sights around Calle Mercaderes is this typical Havana aristocratic residence, constructed around 1648 and rebuilt in 1780…
-
Palacio de Los Condes de Santovenia
Habana Vieja
Lining Plaza de Armas, Los Condes de Santovenia is the former stately palace of the counts of Santovenia and today houses the five-star Hotel Santa Isabel…
-
Habana Vieja
Added in 2015 as a stainless-steel extension of the 1700s Alameda de Paula, this floating promenade is a spacious open-air platform enjoyed by skaters,…
-
Habana Vieja
Herein lies a 1:500 scale model of Habana Vieja, complete with an authentic soundtrack meant to replicate a day in the life of the city. It's incredibly…
-
Habana Vieja
Aimed more at Cubans than tourists who may be used to more technical wizardry, Havana's planetarium includes a scale reproduction of the solar system…
-
Palacio de los Condes de Jaruco
Habana Vieja
This muscular mansion on Plaza Vieja's southwestern corner is one of the square's oldest, constructed in 1738 from local limestone in a transitional…
-
Habana Vieja
Housed in a restored colonial mansion, this library and comic-book museum highlights the relationship between Belgium and Cuba, hosting Belgium Culture…
-
Statue of General Máximo Gómez
Habana Vieja
On a large traffic island overlooking the mouth of the harbor is a rather grand depiction of Máximo Gómez, a war hero from the Dominican Republic who…
-
Habana Vieja
This museum is housed in the tiny neoclassical Doric chapel on the eastern side of Plaza de Armas, and was erected in 1828 at the point where Havana's…
-
Habana Vieja
The resplendent Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona in Plaza de la Catedral, built in 1720, today functions as the Museo de Arte Colonial, a small museum…
-
Habana Vieja
Narrow, chockablock Calle Obispo (Bishop's Street), Habana Vieja's main interconnecting artery, is packed with art galleries, shops, music venues and…
