Habana Vieja
Added in 2015 as a stainless-steel extension of the 1700s Alameda de Paula, this floating promenade is a spacious open-air platform enjoyed by skaters,…
Must-see attractions in Havana
Habana Vieja
Herein lies a 1:500 scale model of Habana Vieja, complete with an authentic soundtrack meant to replicate a day in the life of the city. It's incredibly…
Regla, Guanabacoa & the Forts
Probably the most interesting of the several museums spread around Havana's two eastern forts is this diminutive but nonetheless riveting exposé of the…
Havana
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…
Regla, Guanabacoa & the Forts
Inexplicably, barely anyone visits this, the oldest church in Cuba, still standing in its original perch. The structure dates from around 1675 and is a…
Vedado
The former stately residence of Independence War general Máximo Gómez, the Quinta sits in lush surroundings that have been managed as botanical gardens…
Habana Vieja
Aimed more at Cubans than tourists who may be used to more technical wizardry, Havana's planetarium includes a scale reproduction of the solar system…
Asociación Cultural Yoruba de Cuba
Havana
To untangle the mysteries of the Santería religion, its saints and their powers, decamp to this museum–cultural center. Aside from sculpted effigies of…
Monumento a las Víctimas del Maine
Vedado
West beyond the Hotel Nacional is a monument (1926) to the 266 American marines who were killed when the battleship USS Maine blew up mysteriously in…
Havana
In largely secular Cuba, this is where many habaneros come to get married and – appropriately – the building is no less lavish than an average church…
Palacio de los Condes de Jaruco
Habana Vieja
This muscular mansion on Plaza Vieja's southwestern corner is one of the square's oldest, constructed in 1738 from local limestone in a transitional…
Habana Vieja
Housed in a restored colonial mansion, this library and comic-book museum highlights the relationship between Belgium and Cuba, hosting Belgium Culture…
Havana
This little-visited church’s bell tower dominates the Centro Habana skyline and is topped by a huge statue of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, but the real…
Vedado
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…
Statue of General Máximo Gómez
Habana Vieja
On a large traffic island overlooking the mouth of the harbor is a rather grand depiction of Máximo Gómez, a war hero from the Dominican Republic who…
Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
Havana
A little out of the way but well worth the walk is this inspiring marble creation with a distinctive white steeple – it's one of Cuba's few Gothic…
Habana Vieja
This museum is housed in the tiny neoclassical Doric chapel on the eastern side of Plaza de Armas, and was erected in 1828 at the point where Havana's…
Habana Vieja
The resplendent Palacio de los Condes de Casa Bayona in Plaza de la Catedral, built in 1720, today functions as the Museo de Arte Colonial, a small museum…
Habana Vieja
Narrow, chockablock Calle Obispo (Bishop's Street), Habana Vieja's main interconnecting artery, is packed with art galleries, shops, music venues and…
Taller Experimental de Gráfica
Habana Vieja
Easy to miss at the end of a short cul-de-sac, this is one of Havana's most cutting-edge art workshops, which also offers the possibility of engraving…
Regla, Guanabacoa & the Forts
Humble Regla has a small gallery and an art school overseen by noted Cuban artist César Leal (b 1948). It holds regular expositions by the students or –…
Museo-Casa Natal de José Martí
Habana Vieja
Opened in 1925, this tiny museum, set in the house where the apostle of Cuban independence was born on January 28, 1853, is considered to be the oldest in…
Habana Vieja
A few blocks east of Plaza del Cristo, this grand wood-paneled store founded in 1886 by Catalan José Sarrá has been restored as both a museum and a…
Havana
The marble statue of José Martí (1905) in the center of Parque Central was the first of thousands to be erected in Cuba. Raised on the 10th anniversary of…
Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes 'San Alejandro'
Havana
The monumental building fronted by 10 modernist columns at the entrance to the Ciudad Libertad is the oldest arts academy in Latin America, founded in…
Iglesia Parroquial del Espíritu Santo
Habana Vieja
Havana’s oldest surviving church has been heavily remodeled since its founding as a hermitage, built by freed formerly enslaved black people in 1638. Most…
Vedado
Essentially a homage to Cuban ballet, this well-laid-out exhibition space in an eclectic Vedado mansion displays objects from Cuba's rich dance history…
Havana
The neoclassical Escuela Nacional de Ballet, Alicia Alonso’s famous ballet school, overlooks the tree-lined Prado. The tickling of ivories and the tapping…
Statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
Habana Vieja
In the center of Plaza de Armas, ringed by royal palms, is a marble statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the man who set Cuba on the road to independence…
Habana Vieja
At the northeastern corner of Plaza Vieja in a tall, narrow edifice is this clever optical device providing live, 360-degree views of the city from atop a…
Havana
Workshop-gallery of an avant-garde artists' collective comprising around a dozen artists. Enter via the radiant mural in El Prado to admire and/or buy…
Habana Vieja
The cobbled Plaza de San Francisco de Asís' oldest and most impressive statue is the white-marble Fuente de los Leones, carved by Italian sculptor…
Habana Vieja
The Casa de África houses sacred objects relating to Santería, including Abakuá masks, collected by ethnographer Fernando Ortíz.
Vedado
At the top of Av de los Presidentes is a huge marble monument to José Miguel Gómez, Cuba's second president.
Outer Havana
Parque Lenin, in Arroyo Naranjo municipality, 20km south of central Havana, is the city's largest recreational area. Constructed between 1969 and 1972 on…
Museo 28 Septiembre de los CDR
Habana Vieja
A pale-pink building on Obispo dedicates two floors to a rather one-sided dissection of the nationwide Comites de la Defensa de la Revolución (CDR;…
Habana Vieja
A statue outside Plaza San Francisco de Asís' famous church depicts El Caballero de París, a hirsute street person who roamed Havana during the 1950s,…
Havana
In case you were wondering, that huge Stalinist obelisk that dominates the skyline halfway down Av Quinta is the Russian (formerly Soviet) embassy,…
Habana Vieja
The corner of Mercaderes and Obrapía has an international flavor, with a bronze statue of Simón Bolívar, the Latin America liberator, in a small park.
Havana
The equestrian Monumento a Calixto García pays homage to the valiant general and military strategist who participated in Cuba’s three most important pro…
