Plaza de Armas
This Habana Vieja gem with its antique book market held in the shade of majestic trees is one of the city's most inviting plazas and an excellent place to start a tour - especially since it's where the city is said to have been founded in 1519. A small chapel, El Templete, with an interesting fresco by the French artist Jean Baptiste Vermay, was built in 1828 to mark the spot. In front of the chapel is a ceiba tree, similar to the one under which the first mass in Cuba is said to have been held. Every November 16, hundreds of Habaneros dressed in white take a turn around the ceiba - an old tradition said to bring good luck. Walk across the plaza to see the Museo de la Ciudad (City Museum), which occupies the magnificent old Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, once home to the highest colonial authority in Cuba and a former Presidential Palace. This popular museum gives an overview of Havana's history and has a good gift shop - don't miss Cuba's only wooden ‘cobblestone' street in front. The oldest building in this square is actually just to the side - the impressive Castillo de le Real Fuerza, a 16th-century colonial fortress surrounded by a moat, today home to the Museo de la Cerámica Artística. When shopping is on the agenda, the nearby market is the best place in Havana for local arts and crafts.
El Templete
Corner of Calle Baratillo, between Calle O'Reilly & Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Museo de la Ciudad
Calle Tacon 1, between Calle Obispo & O'Reilly, Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 866 8183.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Museo de la Cerámica Artística
Corner of Mercaderes & Amargura, Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 861 6130.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square)
Plaza de la Catedral is one of Havana's best-preserved squares, with the cathedral and surrounding buildings almost all restored to their original splendour- perhaps nowhere in the Americas does history come so alive in stone than here. The Catedral de San Cristobal de La Habana is an 18th-century baroque building occupying the north side of the square. Collecting famous works both old and new, the Centro Wilfredo Lam, adjacent, is a must for art buffs. Across the plaza is the oldest building, which dates from 1720, the Museo de Arte Colonial, an architectural masterpiece built around a plant-filled central courtyard, which is complemented by the collection of colonial furniture gathered from Havana's palaces and mansions. Other sophisticated buildings line this square and now house cafes, restaurants, cultural centres and gift shops.
Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana
Empedrado 156, Plaza de la Catedral
Tel: (7) 861 7771.
Opening hours: Officially open every day but often locked.
Free admission.
Museo de Arte Colonial
Calle San Ignacio 61, Plaza de la Catedral
Tel: (7) 862 6440.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Centro Wilfredo Lam
San Ignacio 22, corner Empedrado
Tel: (7) 861 2096 or 3419.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
Hemingway's Havana
No visit to Havana would be complete without paying homage to one of its most famous residents, Ernest Hemingway. On a stroll between Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral, consider a stop at Hotel Ambos Mundos, a stylish 1920s building (with bland rooms), where Ernest Hemingway stayed during much of the 1930s. In room 511, he began to write For Whom The Bell Tolls. Hemingway's room has been preserved pretty much as it was when he was a guest - and is now open as a museum.
But to pay true homage to the master of literary economy, do as he did and start the evening with a mojito, a delicious blend of rum and mint, in La Bodeguita del Medio, and continue with another of his favourite tipples, a daiquiri, in El Floridita.
Hotel Ambos Mundos
Calle Obispo 153, corner of Calle Mercaderes, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 860 9530.
Opening hours: 1000-1600 (the room).
Admission charge.
La Bodeguita del Medio
Empedrado 207 between Cuba & San Ignacio
Tel: (7) 867 1374/5.
Opening hours: 1100-2400.
El Floridita
Obispo 557, corner Calle Monserrate
Tel: (7) 867 1300.
Opening hours: 1100-0100.
Museo de la Revolución y Memorial Granma (Museum of the Revolution and Granma Memorial)
The 1950s dictator Batista (like all dictators) had to try and impress the populace with a grand presidential palace. Ironic, then, that this glorious palace, which he hardly had time to enjoy, was appropriated to house the Museum of the Revolution, displaying the struggle of the Cuban people to gain sovereignty over their own island. Exhibits include photographs, cinefilm, clothing, original documents and weapons. Encased in a glass pavilion is the Granma Memorial - the boat Granma in which Fidel Castro and 81 combatants returned to Cuba from exile in Mexico in 1956. Outside is the eternal flame, surrounded by various vehicles used in the struggle.
Museo de la Revolución
Calle Refugio 1, between Calle Monserrate & Calle Zulueta, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 862 4092/3/4.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
This Habana Vieja gem with its antique book market held in the shade of majestic trees is one of the city's most inviting plazas and an excellent place to start a tour - especially since it's where the city is said to have been founded in 1519. A small chapel, El Templete, with an interesting fresco by the French artist Jean Baptiste Vermay, was built in 1828 to mark the spot. In front of the chapel is a ceiba tree, similar to the one under which the first mass in Cuba is said to have been held. Every November 16, hundreds of Habaneros dressed in white take a turn around the ceiba - an old tradition said to bring good luck. Walk across the plaza to see the Museo de la Ciudad (City Museum), which occupies the magnificent old Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, once home to the highest colonial authority in Cuba and a former Presidential Palace. This popular museum gives an overview of Havana's history and has a good gift shop - don't miss Cuba's only wooden ‘cobblestone' street in front. The oldest building in this square is actually just to the side - the impressive Castillo de le Real Fuerza, a 16th-century colonial fortress surrounded by a moat, today home to the Museo de la Cerámica Artística. When shopping is on the agenda, the nearby market is the best place in Havana for local arts and crafts.
El Templete
Corner of Calle Baratillo, between Calle O'Reilly & Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Museo de la Ciudad
Calle Tacon 1, between Calle Obispo & O'Reilly, Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 866 8183.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Museo de la Cerámica Artística
Corner of Mercaderes & Amargura, Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 861 6130.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square)
Plaza de la Catedral is one of Havana's best-preserved squares, with the cathedral and surrounding buildings almost all restored to their original splendour- perhaps nowhere in the Americas does history come so alive in stone than here. The Catedral de San Cristobal de La Habana is an 18th-century baroque building occupying the north side of the square. Collecting famous works both old and new, the Centro Wilfredo Lam, adjacent, is a must for art buffs. Across the plaza is the oldest building, which dates from 1720, the Museo de Arte Colonial, an architectural masterpiece built around a plant-filled central courtyard, which is complemented by the collection of colonial furniture gathered from Havana's palaces and mansions. Other sophisticated buildings line this square and now house cafes, restaurants, cultural centres and gift shops.
Catedral de San Cristobal de la Habana
Empedrado 156, Plaza de la Catedral
Tel: (7) 861 7771.
Opening hours: Officially open every day but often locked.
Free admission.
Museo de Arte Colonial
Calle San Ignacio 61, Plaza de la Catedral
Tel: (7) 862 6440.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800.
Admission charge.
Centro Wilfredo Lam
San Ignacio 22, corner Empedrado
Tel: (7) 861 2096 or 3419.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
Hemingway's Havana
No visit to Havana would be complete without paying homage to one of its most famous residents, Ernest Hemingway. On a stroll between Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral, consider a stop at Hotel Ambos Mundos, a stylish 1920s building (with bland rooms), where Ernest Hemingway stayed during much of the 1930s. In room 511, he began to write For Whom The Bell Tolls. Hemingway's room has been preserved pretty much as it was when he was a guest - and is now open as a museum.
But to pay true homage to the master of literary economy, do as he did and start the evening with a mojito, a delicious blend of rum and mint, in La Bodeguita del Medio, and continue with another of his favourite tipples, a daiquiri, in El Floridita.
Hotel Ambos Mundos
Calle Obispo 153, corner of Calle Mercaderes, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 860 9530.
Opening hours: 1000-1600 (the room).
Admission charge.
La Bodeguita del Medio
Empedrado 207 between Cuba & San Ignacio
Tel: (7) 867 1374/5.
Opening hours: 1100-2400.
El Floridita
Obispo 557, corner Calle Monserrate
Tel: (7) 867 1300.
Opening hours: 1100-0100.
Museo de la Revolución y Memorial Granma (Museum of the Revolution and Granma Memorial)
The 1950s dictator Batista (like all dictators) had to try and impress the populace with a grand presidential palace. Ironic, then, that this glorious palace, which he hardly had time to enjoy, was appropriated to house the Museum of the Revolution, displaying the struggle of the Cuban people to gain sovereignty over their own island. Exhibits include photographs, cinefilm, clothing, original documents and weapons. Encased in a glass pavilion is the Granma Memorial - the boat Granma in which Fidel Castro and 81 combatants returned to Cuba from exile in Mexico in 1956. Outside is the eternal flame, surrounded by various vehicles used in the struggle.
Museo de la Revolución
Calle Refugio 1, between Calle Monserrate & Calle Zulueta, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 862 4092/3/4.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Admission charge.
View Our Airport Guides for Havana:
José Martí International Airport
(Havana) Jose Martí International Airport