Must-see attractions in Habana Vieja

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Museo de la Farmacia Habanera

    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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Cámara Oscura

    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…

  • Fuente de los Leones

    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…

  • Casa de África

    Habana Vieja

    The Casa de África houses sacred objects relating to Santería, including Abakuá masks, collected by ethnographer Fernando Ortíz.

  • 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;…

  • El Caballero de París

    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,…

  • Statue of Simón Bolívar

    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.

  • Museo de Simón Bolívar

    Habana Vieja

    A diminutive museum dedicated to Latin America’s great liberator, who remains a perennial hero to most Cubans. Downstairs there are panels containing text…

  • Fototeca de Cuba

    Habana Vieja

    This photographic archive of Old Havana from the early 20th century onward was started by former City Historian Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring in 1937. There…

  • Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam

    Habana Vieja

    At the corner of Plaza de la Catedral, this cultural center named after the island's most celebrated painter is hit or miss depending on what is or isn't…

  • Coche Mambí

    Habana Vieja

    To the side of the Palacio de Gobierno on Churruca is the Coche Mambí, a 1900 train car built in the US and brought to Cuba in 1912. Put into service as…

  • Museo Alejandro Humboldt

    Habana Vieja

    German scientist Alexander von Humboldt is often referred to as the 'second discoverer' of Cuba, but his huge Cuban legacy goes largely unnoticed by…

  • Casa de Carmen Montilla

    Habana Vieja

    An important art gallery that is named after a celebrated Venezuelan painter who maintained a studio here until her death in 2004. Spread across three…

  • Iglesia y Convento de Santa Clara

    Habana Vieja

    South of Plaza Vieja is Havana's largest and oldest convent, built between 1638 and 1643, though since 1920 it has served no religious purpose. For a…

  • Barbeparque

    Habana Vieja

    A project of Arte Corte inaugurated in December 2013 in collaboration with the Office of the City Historian, Barbeparque is a whimsical space that invites…

  • Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín

    Habana Vieja

    Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín is an old studio and now a museum for the work of the great Ecuadorian artist, who painted Fidel Castro in numerous poses. The…

  • Museo de Numismático

    Habana Vieja

    This numismatist's heaven brings together various collections of medals, coins and banknotes from around the world, including a stash of 1000 mainly…

  • Museo de Pintura Mural

    Habana Vieja

    A simple museum that exhibits some beautifully restored original frescoes in the Casa del Mayorazgo de Recio, popularly considered to be Havana's oldest…

  • Cárcel

    Habana Vieja

    Preserved in Parque de los Enamorados (Lovers' Park), surrounded by streams of speeding traffic, is a surviving section of the colonial Cárcel (Tacón…

  • Memorial a los Estudiantes de Medicina

    Habana Vieja

    A fragment of wall encased in marble at the end of Paseo de Martí marks the spot where, in 1871, eight Cuban medical students were shot by the Spanish in…

  • Statue of Francisco de Albear

    Habana Vieja

    Thousands of people pass by his image every day, but few spare a glance for this marble statue of engineer Francisco de Albear, located in a small Habana…

  • Museo de Naipes

    Habana Vieja

    Encased in Plaza Vieja's oldest building is this quirky playing-card museum, with a 2000-strong collection that includes rock stars, rum drinks and round…

  • Casa de México Benito Juárez

    Habana Vieja

    The Casa de México Benito Juárez exhibits Mexican folk art and plenty of books but not a lot on Juárez (Mexico’s first indigenous president) himself.

  • Museo Nacional de Historia Natural

    Habana Vieja

    An average museum that contains examples of Cuba's flora and fauna; it overlooks Plaza de Armas in a building that once served as the US embassy.

  • Parque Maestranza

    Habana Vieja

    Overlooking the harbor is this small-scale Cuban-style playground (for children aged four to 12), with inflatable castles and other games.

  • Museo de Bomberos

    Habana Vieja

    This museum contains antediluvian fire equipment dedicated to 19 Havana firefighters who lost their lives in an 1890 railway blaze.

  • Armería 9 de Abril

    Habana Vieja

    An old gun shop (now museum) stormed by revolutionaries on the said date in 1958. Mercifully, the armaments are no longer for sale.

  • Casa de Asia

    Habana Vieja

    Casa de Asia exhibits a minor cache of paintings and sculpture from China and Japan.