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Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de Belén
Completed in 1718, the Convento Belén was used initially by nuns from the Order of Bethlehem as a convalescent home. Later, the convent was passed onto to the Spanish government who, in turn, passed it over to the Jesuits. The church inside has a nave with vaulted transepts and the gate is adorned with stone statues displaying various images of the saints. The structure is also known for a unique baroque arch, the Arco de Belén.
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Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced
Built over a period of a century, this small but compact church was completed by monks in 1867. Traditionally a bastion of the Habana aristocracy, the Merced is a long-favored site for weddings due to its stunningly beautiful interior, which includes colorful trompe l'oeil frescoes, elaborate dome paintings and a magnificent altar. The best time to visit the church is on September 24, the feast day of the Virgin of the Merced.
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Iglesia y Convento de Santa Clara
This huge construction - which covers four city blocks - was the first nunnery in Habana. Built from 1638 to 1643, it was founded by nuns from Cartagena de Indias. Look out for the marvelous beamed ceiling in the nave, and the handsome columns and pleasing arches in the main cloister. Among the many residences here is the Casa del Marino (Sailor's House), in the second cloister.
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Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco de Asís
Originally constructed in 1608 and rebuilt in the baroque style from 1719 to 1738, the Iglesia San Francisco de Asís was taken over by the Spanish state in 1841 in a political move against the all-powerful religious orders of the day. Today the church serves as a concert hall, featuring classical, chamber and choral music. Protected from the public gaze are spacious courtyards and more than 100 tiny apartments for members of the monastery.
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Instituto Superior de Arte
Cuba's leading art academy was established here in the former Habana Country Club in 1961, and elevated to the status of institute in 1976. This cluster of buildings, some unfinished, some half-restored, but all gloriously graceful due to the arches, domes and profuse use of red brick, was the brainchild of Che and a team of architects.
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Jardín Botánico Nacional
The 600-hectare (483-acre) Jardín Botánico Nacional is a surprisingly extensive collection of trees, plants and flowers from around the world. Highlights include the Pabellones de Exposición (opened in 1987), a series of greenhouses with cacti and plants native to Cuba, as well as the harmonious Japanese Garden, which was the brainchild of Japanese designer Yoshikuni Arake in 1992.
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Lonja Del Comercio
This large box-shaped building is a former commodities market erected in 1909. In 1996 the building was completely renovated by Habaguanex and today it provides office space for foreign companies with joint ventures in Cuba. You can enter the Lonja to admire its central atrium and futuristic interior. It also houses the excellent cafe-restaurant El Mecurio, named after the bronze figure of the god Mercury that sits atop a dome on the roof.
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Lopez Serrano Building
Resembling a miniature Empire State Building with the bottom 80 floors chopped off, the Lopez Serrano apartment building is Vedado's most distinctive Art Deco construction. Raised in 1932, it was the first skyscraper in a two-decade-long Habana love affair with the buildings.
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Maqueta de la Habana Vieja
This is a scale model of Habana Vieja, complete with an authentic soundtrack that is meant to replicate a day in the life of the city. It's incredibly detailed and provides an excellent way of geographically acquainting yourself with what the central historical district has to offer. Come here first!
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Memorial a José Martí
At 138.5m (454ft) high, this noble monument is Habana's tallest structure and is fronted by an impressive 17m marble statue of a seated Martí in pensive Thinker pose, the work of artist Juan José Sicre. Constructed between 1953 and 1958 using gray marble from the Isla de la Juventud, the memorial houses a beautifully laid-out museum with access to a 129m lookout, reached via a small lift, which affords fantastic views over Habana.
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Ministerio del Interior
The ugly concrete block on the northern side of the Plaza de la Revolución is famous for its huge mural of Che Guevara, a copy of Alberto Korda's famous 1960 photograph, with the words Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Always toward Victory) emblazoned underneath. The mural was fitted in 1995 on the side wall of the Ministry of the Interior, where Che once kept an office.
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Monumento a Julio Antonio Mella
At the bottom of the university's famous escalinata (stairway) lies a monument to the student leader who founded the first Cuban Communist Party in 1925. In 1929, Cuban dictator Machado had Mella assassinated in Mexico City. More interesting than the monument itself are the black-and-white Mella portraits permanently mounted in the wall in the little park across San Lázaro.
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Museo Carlos Finlay
A physician of French and Scottish descent, not to mention Cuba's most famous scientist, Carlos Finlay (1833-1915) was the first to identify the mosquito as the organism that caused yellow fever. He later became Cuba's chief medical officer and was respected within the Latin American scientific community. The museum displays numerous busts and paintings related to the scientist's remarkable life, along with a stash of over 95,000 medical books.
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Museo de Arte Colonial
This small museum displays colonial furniture and decorative arts in the former Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona (Palace of the Counts of Casa Bayona); it's the oldest house on the square, dating from 1720. To wander the rooms of the Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona today is to get an accurate picture of the interiors of 18th- and 19th-century Habana mansions.
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Museo de Artes Decorativas
The Museo de Artes Decorativas is slightly isolated but worth a visit. The stately mansion, completed in 1927, was formerly owned by the countess of Revilla de Camargo, and exhibits rococo, Regency, neoclassical, English, Asian and Art Deco styles. Not surprisingly, the rooms are filled with antique furniture, most of it European from the 18th and 19th centuries, including plenty of elegant porcelain.
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Museo de la Alfabetización
The former Cuartel Colombia military airfield is now a school complex called Ciudad Libertad. Inside is the Museo de la Alfabetización, which describes the 1961 literacy campaign, where 100,000 brigadistas (student volunteers) aged 12 to 18 spread out across Cuba to teach reading and writing to farmers, workers and the aged.
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Museo de la Ciudad
Set around a splendid central courtyard adorned with a white marble statue of Christopher Columbus, this is one of Habana's most comprehensive and interesting museums. The rooms are richly decorated with period furniture, military uniforms, 19th-century horse carriages and personal artifacts of citizens past, while old photos vividly re-create events from Habana's rich history such as the 1898 sinking of US battleship Maine in the harbor.
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Museo de la Danza
Four blocks from the Museo de Artes Decorativas, this place claims to be the only museum in the Western Hemisphere devoted entirely to dance. You'll find exhibits portraying Cuban ballerinas, as well as dancers from Russia, Spain and Mexico. There are also some personal effects of Cuban ballet diva Alicia Alonso. The museum is housed in a beautiful colonial-style two-story building.
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Museo de la Farmacia Habanera
Founded in 1886 by Catalan José Sarrá and once considered the second-most important pharmacy in the world, this old-fashioned store got the Habaguanex makeover in 2004 when a small museum was incorporated into the existing structure. Aside from the elegant mock-up of an old drugstore with long wooden counters and well-polished glass display jars, the store still acts as an important working pharmacy for the people of the neighborhood.
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Museo de la Orfebrería
This museum of silverware is located in the former house of silversmith Gregorio Tabares, who had a workshop here from 1707. Various items made by Habana silversmiths between the 18th and 20th centuries are displayed inside, and they're not half bad considering the island's notable lack of the precious metal. Curios include jewels, clocks, ashtrays and desktops.
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Museo de la Revolución
Habana's largest and most definitive museum is housed in the former Presidential Palace, constructed between 1913 and 1920 and used by a string of cash-embezzling Cuban presidents, culminating in Fulgencio Batista. The world-famous Tiffany's of New York decorated the interior, and the shimmering Salón de los Espejos (Room of Mirrors) was designed to resemble the room of the same name at the Palace of Versailles.
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Museo de Mártires
Effectively an arm of Guanabacoa's municipal museum, this place is on the road to Regla and displays material relevant to the Cuban revolution. Pop in only if you're passing.
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Museo de Naipes
Exhibited in one of Plaza Vieja's oldest structures, dating from the 17th century, is one of Habana's more obscure museums. Dedicated to collections of playing cards, it has everything from rock stars to rum drinks to round cards - there are 2000 of them here.
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Museo de Numismático
This well-presented museum brings together medals, coins and banknotes from around the world, including a stash of 1000 gold coins (from between 1869 and 1928) given to Fidel Castro by Swiss biologist Dr Albert Thut. Other highlights include early Greek, Roman and Spanish coins, plus a full set of Cuban banknotes from the 19th century to the present, including the infamous peso bills signed by former president of the National Bank, Che Guevara.
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Museo de Pintura Mural
Hidden in the Casa del Mayorazgo de Recio - popularly considered to be Habana's oldest surviving house - this museum tracks the history in Cuba of wall paintings and frescoes, a style that was vogue throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly in the cities of Habana, Trinidad and Camagüey.
