Baroque interior of the Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced.

©Diana Rita Cabrera/Lonely Planet

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 partially restored. Beautiful gilded altars, frescoed vaults and a number of valuable old paintings create a sacrosanct mood. There's a quiet cloister adjacent.