Havana's places

 

Santa María del Mar 

 

Santa María is the most popular beach among both Habaneros and visitors. It has lodgings, restaurants, watersports hire, grocery stores and a pharmacy. As with the other beahes, it boasts soft, white …

 

Almacenes de San José 

 

This former harborside warehouse was built in 1885 and is considered the oldest depository in Old Havana. The sober and imposing façade that looks out onto the city conceals the building’s steel struc …

BaroqueAdmission: FreeOpen: 9am-8pm dailyAvenida del Puerto y San Ignacio, Habana Vieja

 

 

 

 

 

Arte Corte (Papito’s) 

 

Established about eight years ago, Arte Corte is a hairdressing salon that is also an “interactive museum” where the customer, while comfortably seated in a hundred year-old chair awaiting their turn, …

Admission: NoneOpen: Noon-6pm Mon-SatAguiar 10 entre Peña Pobre y Monserrate

 

Plaza de la Catedral

 

The last of the main squares to be created, this is one of Old Havana’s most beautiful spots. Originally, it was named Plaza de la Ciénaga (Swamp Square) because of its muddy terrain, but by the 18th …

Admission: n-aEmpedrado y San Ignacio, Habana Vieja

 

Paseo del Prado

 

In colonial times, this promenade received several names, including Nuevo Prado, Alameda de Extramuros, Paseo de Isabel II and Paseo del Prado, and with cuba’s independecne, it became Paseo de Martí. …

Prado from Neptuno to Avenida del Puerto, Habana Vieja

 

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes – Edificio de Arte Cubano

 

Edificio de Arte Cubano – The Cuban collection The 30,000 plus pieces that form the Cuban collection is divided into six basic sections: Colonial Art (from the 16th to the 19th century), with a room d …

ModernAdmission: CUC 5 / CUC 8Open: 10am-6pm Tues-SunTrocadero e/ Zulueta y Monserrate, Habana Vieja

 

Plaza de San Francisco

 

Right across Havana harbor, Plaza de San Francisco is one of the first three built in the 16th century. It takes its name from the Franciscan convent built there. The plaza became the site of a market …

Oficios & Ave. del Puerto, Habana Vieja

 

Plaza Vieja

 

The 16th-century Plaza Vieja has always been a residential rather than a military, religious or administrative space, and is surrounded by elegant colonial residences, combined with a few very strikin …

Admission: n-aBordered by Teniente Rey, Muralla, San Ignacio & Mercaderes, Habana Vieja

 

Cámara Oscura

 

Located on the top floor of the eclectic-style early 20th-century Edificio Gómez Vila—the plaza’s tallest building (35 meters/115 feet)—on the northeast corner, the Cámara Oscura provides a 360-degree …

Admission: CUC 2Open: 10am-5:20pm, Mon-SatTeniente Rey, esq. a Mercaderes, Habana Vieja

 

Jardín Botánico Nacional

 

These 600-hectare botanical gardens feature approximately 150,000 examples of 4,000 different species of trees and bushes from all over the world. A tractor train ride around the park departs four tim …