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Area de Vendedores por Cuenta Propia
Cuban to the core, the Area de Vendedores por Cuenta Propia is a permanent flea market just beyond the Parque de Fraternidad. Hidden in a hive of buyers and sellers are Santería beads, old books, leather belts...the list goes on. Nothing here is expensive.
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Casa de la Música Miramar
An outlet of Egrem, Cuba's national music recording and publishing company, at Miramar's Casa de la Música, this place has an excellent selection of CDs.
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Casa del Abanico
The Abanico is a small specialist store that sells fine-quality hand-painted fans. It is primarily aimed at the tourist market. Makes a change from Cuban cigars!
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Egrem Tienda de Música
Of the various Egrem stores spread across the capital, this is one of the best. It specializes in CDs, musical instruments and accessories. From mambo to reggaeton to son - you should be able to find it here.
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Estudio Galería Los Oficios
Situated next door to the Galería de Carmen Montilla, this gallery is worth seeing for the large, hectic but intriguing canvases by Nelson Domínguez, whose workshop is upstairs.
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Feria de la Artesanía
Habana's best open-air handicraft market is on Calle Tacón, between the cathedral and the harbor, and sells all kinds of interesting souvenirs. Paintings, guayaberas, woodwork, everything Che, leather items and jewelry are all on display and, if you thought Communism had put an end to the fine art of business negotiation, try your haggling skills with the amiable stall holders here.
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Fundación Havana Club
For cool Havana Club gear such as martini or mojito glasses, check out the Fundación Havana Club shop. They also stock a decent range of cigars and much memorabilia. It is the only place to buy Havana Club Solera San Cristóbal, a special reserve rum commemorating the foundation of Havana and the perfect gift for any hard-drinking historian.
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Galería de Carmen Montilla
This important art gallery is named for Carmen Montilla, a celebrated Venezuelan painter who maintained a studio here until her death in 2004. Spread across three floors, the house exhibits the work of Montilla, plus paintings by other popular Cuban and Venezuelan artists. The rear courtyard features a huge ceramic mural by Alfredo Sosabravo - it's worth a peep.
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Galería La Acacia
This important gallery has paintings by leading Cuban artists such as Zaida del Rio, plus a range of antiques. Export permits are arranged, so you should have no problems taking your purchases home with you.
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Galería Manos
This gallery is effectively a small craft outlet, with dolls, masks and other handmade souvenirs supplied by local people. Many of the objects are inspired by the city's vibrant Afro-Cuban culture.
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Galería Victor Manuel
Taking pride of place in Plaza de la Catedral, this expensive gallery is about as high-end as Habana shopping gets. Displayed in a beautiful baroque building you'll find wonderful humidors, captivating paintings, Tiffany-style glass lamps, fantastic wooden figurines and lots of fine silver jewelry.
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Galerías de Paseo
Galerías de Paseo is a surprisingly upscale shopping center, with Adidas and Chanel labels and even a car dealership. It sells designer clothes and other consumer items to tourists and affluent Cubans. There's a Bim Bom ice-cream parlor here too.
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Habana 1791
A specialist shop that sells perfume made from tropical flowers, Habana 1791 has the air of a working museum. Floral fragrances are mixed by hand and you can see the petals drying in a laboratory out the back.
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La Casa del Habano
Along with the Casa del Habano in the Hostal Conde de Villanueva in Habana Vieja, this is, arguably, the city's best cigar shop. Features include an upscale cigar salesroom, a smoking room where you can purchase individual cigars, and a celebrated bar-restaurant.
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La Casa del Habano
Cigar aficionados flock to this smoky cigar shop inside the beautiful Hostal Conde de Villanueva, popularly considered to be the expert's choice. Dodge the rogue sellers on Calle Obispo and come and join them.
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La Casona Centro de Arte
This state-owned foundation is located in the baroque Casa de los Condes de Jaruco and sells some fantastic original handicrafts and works of art (with receipts that should allow their export). It also hosts great solo and group shows by up-and-coming Cuban artists.
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La Habana Sí
With an enviable location on Habana's busiest traffic intersection, La Habana Sí is a classic music shop run by government arts agency Artex. Stacked up inside is a good selection of CDs, books, postcards, crafts, videos and DVDs (of mainly Cuban movies). It's an excellent stop for Cuban-music addicts.
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La Maison
Housed in an eclectic Miramar mansion with an Italian Renaissance-style garden, La Maison is Habana's center of haute couture, with a large boutique selling designer clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics and souvenirs. Models strut the catwalk here in outlandish costumes at a nightly dinner and show.
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La Manzana de Gómez
An elegant European-style covered mall built in 1910, the Manzana is a long way from the resplendent shopping extravaganza of yore. Nonetheless, this huge chunk of mildewed neoclassical real estate is both central and convenient - and hence normally very busy. Hidden away inside the murky and rather cavernous interior you'll find shoe stores, boutiques, an art gallery, a shabby restaurant and El Orbe bike rentals.
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La Moderna Poesia
One of Habana Vieja's most comprehensive bookstores, La Modern Poesia also sells music CDs and posters. The store, which fills the bulky art deco building at the top end of Calle Obispo, also has a considerable English-language section.
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Librería Alma Mater
The Librería Alma Mater contains one of Cuba's largest offerings of books in both Spanish and English. If you're exhausted from all the dancing and rum-drinking, this is a good place to come for some beachside reading matter!
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Longina Música
One of Habana Vieja's top-quality music shops, this place has a good selection of CDs, plus musical instruments such as bongos, guitars, maracas, guiros and congas. It often places music speakers in the street outside to grab the attention of passing tourists.
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Marco Polo
The diminutive Marco Polo is a popular spice and herb store that is always busy with both foreigners and locals. Run by Habaguanex, its large range of products can be used for both gastronomic and medicinal purposes.
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Mercado del Oriente
Calle Mercaderes (Merchant Street) is chockablock with eclectic shops and stores such as this one. Revamped by the City Historian's Office a few years back, the Mercado del Oriente has a Far Eastern theme - the Casa de Asia is next door - and sells furniture, textiles, porcelain, glass and silver objects from places such as China.
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Palacio de la Artesanía
For one-stop shopping for souvenirs, cigars, crafts, musical instruments, CDs, clothing and jewelry at fixed prices, join the gaggle of tour-bus escapees here. A whole bunch of small stores are gathered around a beautifully shaded central patio replete with verdant plants; it's something akin to an 18th-century version of an American shopping mall, but with oodles of charm, and located in a charming historic building instead of a concrete block.
