In case you were wondering, that huge Stalinist obelisk that dominates the skyline halfway down Av Quinta is the Russian (formerly Soviet) embassy, testament to the days when Fidel Castro liked to hobnob with Brezhnev et al.
UIG via Getty Images
Russian Embassy
Havana
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.45 MILES
Havana's main cemetery (a national monument), one of the largest in the Americas, is renowned for its striking religious iconography and elaborate marble…
5.2 MILES
The Malecón, Havana's evocative 7km-long sea drive, is one of the city's most soulful and quintessentially Cuban thoroughfares, and long a favored meeting…
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5.09 MILES
The incomparable Capitolio Nacional is Havana's most ambitious and grandiose building, constructed after the post-WWI boom ('Dance of the Millions')…
5.7 MILES
Habana Vieja's most uniform square is a museum to Cuban baroque, with all the surrounding buildings, including the city's beguiling asymmetrical cathedral…
Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro
5.66 MILES
This wave-lashed fort with its emblematic lighthouse was erected between 1589 and 1630 to protect the entrance to Havana harbor from pirates and foreign…
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3.39 MILES
Where does art go after Antoni Gaudí? For a hint, head west from central Havana to the seemingly low-key district of Jaimanitas, where artist José Fuster…
5.69 MILES
Laid out in 1559, Plaza Vieja is Havana's most architecturally eclectic square, where Cuban baroque nestles seamlessly next to Gaudí-inspired art nouveau…
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
5.34 MILES
Spread over two campuses, the Bellas Artes is arguably the finest art gallery in the Caribbean. The Arte Cubano building contains the most comprehensive…
Nearby Havana attractions
0.16 MILES
Founded in 1960, the national aquarium is a Havana institution designed primarily for Cuban visitors, who arrive by the legion. Overseas visitors, be…
2. Fundación Naturaleza y El Hombre
0.24 MILES
This tiny museum seems to confirm the adage 'small is beautiful.' It displays artifacts from a 17,422km canoe trip from the Amazon source to the sea that…
0.58 MILES
Despite its modernity, Playa cradles Cuba's second-largest church, an aesthetically pleasing neo-Romanesque structure topped by a giant dome. Built in…
0.94 MILES
Havana itself is somewhat dilapidated in parts and so, ironically, is this huge 1:1000 scale model of the city, which looks as though it could do with a…
1.4 MILES
The former Museum of the Ministry of the Interior was remodeled in 2017 to form this far more interesting (if propaganda-ridden) look at US actions…
1.71 MILES
The leading art academy in Cuba was established in the former Havana Country Club in 1961 and elevated to the status of institute in 1976. The cluster of…
1.72 MILES
The former Cuartel Colombia military airfield at Marianao is now a school complex called Ciudad Libertad. Pass through the gate to visit this inspiring…
8. La Casa de las Tejas Verdes
1.78 MILES
Emerging from the tunnel under the Río Almendares, your first glimpse of Miramar is the so-called 'house of the green tiles,' a subtle hint of the…