Universidad de la Habana


Founded by Dominican monks in 1728 and secularized in 1842, Havana's university began life in Habana Vieja before moving to its present site in 1902. The existing neoclassical complex dates from the second quarter of the 20th century, and today some 30,000 students take courses here in social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, mathematics and economics.

Perched on a Vedado hill at the top of the famous escalinata (stairway), near the Alma Mater statue, the Plaza Ignacio Agramonte (the university's central quadrangle) displays a tank captured by Fidel Castro's rebels in 1958. Directly in front is the Librería Alma Mater (library) and, to the left, the Museo de Historia Natural Felipe Poey, the oldest museum in Cuba, founded in 1842 by the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences. Many of its specimens of Cuban flora and fauna date from the 19th century. Upstairs in the faculty of biology is the Museo Antropológico Montané, established in 1903, with a rich collection of pre-Columbian artifacts, including the 10th-century wooden Ídolo de Tabaco.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Museo de Historia Natural Felipe Poey

0.08 MILES

Inside the Universidad de la Habana, this is the oldest museum in Cuba. It was founded in 1842 by the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural…

2. Museo Antropológico Montané

0.08 MILES

The Museo Antropológico Montané, on the Universidad de la Habana campus, was established in 1903 with a rich collection of pre-Columbian artifacts,…

3. Mella Portraits

0.1 MILES

Opposite the Monumento a Julio Antonio Mella outside the Universidad de la Habana are black-and-white Mella portraits permanently mounted on the wall in…

4. Monumento a Julio Antonio Mella

0.1 MILES

At the bottom of the Universidad de la Habana steps is a monument to the student leader who founded the first Cuban Communist Party in 1925. In 1929 Cuban…

5. Museo Napoleónico

0.11 MILES

Without a doubt one of the best museums in Havana and thus in Cuba, this magnificently laid-out collection of 7000 objects associated with the life of…

6. Hotel Habana Libre

0.16 MILES

This classic modernist hotel – the former Havana Hilton – was commandeered by Fidel Castro's revolutionaries in 1959 just nine months after it had opened,…

7. Convento & Iglesia del Carmen

0.25 MILES

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…