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Colina Lenin
About 1.5km (1mi) from the ferry you'll see a high metal stairway that gives access to one of only two monuments in Habana to Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, better known to his friends and enemies as Lenin. Conceived in 1924 (before onetime Soviet stooge Fidel Castro was even born) by the Socialist mayor of Regla, Antonio Borsch, the monument was created to honor Lenin's death, and was one of the first of its kind outside the USSR.
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Comité Central Del Partido Comunista De Cuba
A long, uninspiring concrete structure that glowers from behind the Martí memorial, the modern HQ of the Cuban government doesn't match the architectural splendor of the Capitolio or the Presidential Palace. This is where the affairs of the Cuban government are sorted out and where the elusive Fidel maintains an office. Not surprisingly, it's strictly out of bounds for foreigners (and most Cubans, for that matter).
Read more about Comité Central Del Partido Comunista De Cuba
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Edificio Bacardí
Finished in 1929, the magnificent Edificio Bacardí is a triumph of Art Deco architecture, with a host of lavish furnishings that somehow blend kitsch with cool. Hemmed in by other buildings, it's hard to get a full kaleidoscopic view of the structure from street level, though the opulent bell tower can be glimpsed from all over Habana. There's a bar in the lobby and for a few convertibles you can travel up to the tower for a bird's-eye view.
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Edificio Focsa
Hard to miss on the Habana skyline, the modernist Focsa building was built between 1954 and 1956 in a record 28 months using pioneer computer technology. In 1999 it was listed as one of the seven modern engineering wonders of Cuba. With 39 floors housing 373 apartments, it was on its completion in June 1956 the second-largest concrete structure of its type in the world, constructed in its entirety without the use of cranes.
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Edificio Santo Domingo
Habana's original university stood at this intersection from 1728 until 1902, after which it was moved to its present location in Vedado. It was housed in the now defunct Santo Domingo convent, a huge building commissioned in 1574 by Father Santo Domingo de Guzmán and altered radically to fit in with the new baroque style in 1777.
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El Prado
Construction of this stately European-style boulevard (officially known as Paseo de Martí) began in 1770, and was completed in the mid-1830s during the term of Captain General Miguel Tacón. He also constructed the original Parque Central. The idea behind El Prado was to create in Habana a boulevard as splendid as any found in Paris, Florence or Madrid. The famous bronze lions that guard the central promenade at either end were added in 1928.
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Estación Central De Ferrocarriles
Train-lovers will adore Cuba, the only country in the Caribbean with a fully functioning rail system. In 1837 it was the first place in Latin America (and the sixth in the world) to install a railway network. Built upon the ruins of an old shipyard with two renaissance-style towers, Habana's central station first opened its doors for business in 1912. The spacious waiting rooms and wide platforms have seen few alterations in the 100 years since.
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Expocuba
A visit to Parque Lenin can easily be combined with a trip to ExpoCuba. Opened in 1989, this large permanent exhibition showcases Cuba's economic and scientific achievements in 25 pavilions based on themes such as sugar, farming, animal science, construction, food, geology, sports and defense. Despite the hype ExpoCuba is poorly maintained and full of government propaganda. Don't make a special trip.
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Farmacia Museo Taquechel
This old-fashioned store is one of several restored 19th-century pharmacies in Habana Vieja. It dates from 1898 and is named after Dr Francisco Taquechel y Mirabal. Inside you'll find shelves lined with rows of fine French porcelain jars. It also sells natural therapeutic products and homeopathic medicines.
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Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña
An 18th-century colossus, the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña was built between 1763 and 1774 on a long, exposed ridge on the east side of Habana harbor to fill a weakness in the city's defenses. Measuring 700m from end to end and covering a whopping 10 hectares, it is the largest Spanish colonial fortress in the Americas. The nightly cañonazo at is a popular evening excursion.
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Fototeca de Cuba
In the Casa de Juan Rico de Mata on Plaza Vieja, this photo gallery run by the Fototeca de Cuba displays intriguing exhibits by local and international artists.
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Fuente de la India
Don't miss this white Carrara marble fountain, carved by Giuseppe Gaginni in 1837 for the count of Villanueva. Situated on a traffic island in front of the Hotel Saratoga, it portrays a regal indigenous woman adorned with a crown of eagles' feathers and seated on a throne surrounded by four gargoylesque dolphins.
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Fundación Alejo Carpentier
This small foundation is named for one of Cuba's most lauded writers, Alejo Carpentier (1904-80), the son of a French man and a Russian woman, who was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, but moved to Cuba as a child. This house - where Carpentier once kept an office - has a small museum displaying some of the writer's personal effects. Carpentier was a magic-realist writer who dabbled in nonfiction. His seminal work was Music in Cuba .
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Fundación Naturaleza y El Hombre
This museum displays artifacts from a 17,422km (10, 825mi) canoe trip from the Amazon source to the sea led by Cuban intellectual and nature-lover Antonio Nuñez Jiménez. The canoe in which they made the trip is displayed, along with headdresses, weapons and adornments used by the indigenous communities the team encountered along the way, plus scores of ceramic figurines in all stages and positions of sexual arousal - the Latin American Kamasutra.
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Gran Synagoga Bet Shalom
There are approximately 1500 Jews living in Cuba today, and about 85% of them reside in Habana. It's a far cry from the 1950s, when Habana's Jewish population peaked at around 12,000. The Gran Synagoga is one of three remaining synagogues in Habana and, although not a tourist sight in itself, its comprehensive library and friendly staff should be able to enlighten interested parties further on Cuba's fascinating Jewish history.
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Hotel Habana Libre
This classic modernist hotel - the former Havana Hilton - was commandeered by Castro and his triumphant revolutionaries in 1959, just nine months after it had opened, and promptly renamed the Habana Libre. During the first few months of the revolution, Fidel effectively ruled the country from a luxurious suite on one of the upper floors.
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Iglesia de Guanabacoa
Guanabacoa's main church, on Parque Martí in the center of town, was designed by Lorenzo Camacho, and built between 1721 and 1748. The gilded main altar and nine lateral altars are worth a look, and there's a painting of the Assumption of the Virgin at the back. Notice the Moorish-influenced wooden ceiling. The main doors are usually closed, but you can try asking at the parochial office on the back side of the church.
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Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla
As important as it is diminutive, this church has a long and colorful history. Inside on the main altar you'll find La Santísima Virgen de Regla, a black Madonna venerated in the Catholic faith and associated in the Santería religion with Yemayá, the orisha of the ocean and the patron of sailors (always represented in blue).
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Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario
This church on Santa María del Rosario's old town square was built in 1720 near the Quiebra Hacha sugar mill, of which nothing remains today. Inside are a gilded mahogany altar and a painting by Veronese. It's one of suburban Habana's most attractive secrets.
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Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís El Nuevo
In the throes of a lengthy restoration, this unique church near Plaza Vieja was once known as the Iglesia de San Agustín. Built in 1633, it was reconsecrated in 1842 and taken over by the Franciscan order, which had recently lost its tenancy in nearby Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís. The church retains a notable Mexican flavor, including ochre pillars, intricate stained glass, haunting frescoes and a gorgeously painted inner dome.
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Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula
Standing on a traffic island, this 1664 church is all that remains of the San Francisco de Paula women's hospital, which was demolished in the 1940s. The church remained as an architectural oddity until a 2000 restoration transformed it into a classical music venue. Lit up at night for concerts (most notably by the medieval ensemble Ars Longa), the church's the stained glass, heavy cupola and baroque facade are utterly romantic and inviting.
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Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesus
Constructed between 1914 and 1923, the city's finest neo-Gothic building is an inspiring marble creation with a distinctive white steeple. The church is rightly famous for its stained-glass windows, and the light that penetrates through the eaves first thing in the morning (when the church is deserted) gives the place an almost ethereal quality. Enjoy a few precious minutes of quiet contemplation here away from the craziness of the street.
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Iglesia del Santo Angel Custodio
Originally constructed in 1695, the Santo Angel was pounded by a ferocious hurricane in 1846, after which it was entirely rebuilt in neo-Gothic style. Among the notable historical and literary figures that have passed through its handsome doors are 19th-century Cuban novelist Cirilo Villaverde, who set the main scene of his novel Cecilia Valdés here, and Felix Varela and José Martí, who were baptized in the church in 1788 and 1853, respectively.
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Iglesia Jesús de Miramar
It's difficult to miss the domed roof of this gigantic neo-Romanesque church, an architectural rarity in Habana. Despite its eye-catching facade the church, which dates from the 20th century, has little historic significance.
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Iglesia Parroquial del Espíritu Santo
Habana's oldest surviving church was built as a chapel with slave labor in 1638, but was extensively altered in 1674 when it was declared a parish church. While the exquisite baroque wooden lattice gate outside is eye-catching, the true masterpieces lie within, including a modern sculpture by Alfredo Lozano and a large painting by Cuban artist Arístides Fernández. The finely carved ceiling also deserves a look.
