6 Best Sights in Havana, Cuba

This plaza in upper Vedado may seem grandiose and soulless, but it has several monuments with a lot of heart. Since the Revolutionary victory of 1959, it has been the official parade ground for events ranging from the annual May Day celebration to masses celebrated by Popes John Paul, Benedict, and Francis. A political, administrative, and cultural hub, the square is surrounded by army, police, Communist Party, and other ministries. In better days Castro's whereabouts, which were always a mystery, included visits to these government centers, though he was just as likely to be coaching the national baseball team, resting in one of his many secret Havana residences, or off fishing on the Península de Zapata. It's hard to miss the giant etching of Che Guevara on the Ministerio del Interior (Ministry of the Interior) at the plaza's northwestern edge. It bears the words "hasta la victoria siempre" ("always onward to victory"). On the square's western edge, across Avenida Carlos Manual de Céspedes, is the Teatro Nacional, Cuba's most important theater. Other highlights of the Plaza de la Revolución include the Museo Memorial José Martí at its center, the Museo Postal Cubano around the corner from the Ministerio de Comunicaciones (Communications Ministry), and along Plaza de la Revolución's northern edge is the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí, Cuba's largest library.

Along Plaza de la Revolución's northern edge is the National Library, which, with 2 million volumes, is Cuba's largest. You must call in advance to book tours of the building.

This park is dedicated to the Mexican revolutionary agrarian reformist Emiliano Zapata (1889–1919). The Iglesia de Santa Rita, next to the park, is notable for its tower and for the sculpture of Santa Rita (by Rita Longa, whose work adorns the entrance to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes–Colección Cubana) just inside to the left. With sensuous lips, smooth features, and graceful curves, the work was branded as too erotic to display by the early 20th-century chaplain, and the sculpture was hidden away until the mid-1990s.

So-called for its use as a drill field by colonial troops, this plaza was the city's administrative center and command post almost from the beginning. The statue in the center is of Manuel de Céspedes, hero of the Ten Years War, Cuba's first struggle for independence from Spain. Today, this is the city's most literary square; an army of erudite secondhand booksellers encircles it during the day.

Nearby is the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, across from which are El Templete and the Castillo de la Real Fuerza. Note that there are often concerts in the plaza on Sunday evenings—events not to be missed.

On the northwestern corner of Plaza de Armas is the Palacio del Segundo Cabo, which at the time of writing was undergoing renovation. When complete, it will become the Center for Interpretation of the Cultural Relations between Cuba and Europe. Opposite this, on the other side of the plaza, you'll find the Museo Nacionale de Historia Natural de Cuba (Cuba's Natural History Museum), which is home to a rich collection of Cuban flora and fauna, as well as various mineral samples and fossils.

The square that surrounds and is named for the Catedral de la Habana is one of La Habana Vieja's most beautiful spots. In addition to the cathedral, you'll find several elegant mansions that once housed the city's aristocrats.

The Casa de los Marqueses de Aguas Claras (1751–75), in the square's northwestern corner, was built by Antonio Ponce de León, the first Marquis of Aguas Claras and a descendent of the discoverer of Florida, Juan de Ponce de León. Today the building contains the Restaurant Paris, a stylish eatery whose tables fill a verdant interior courtyard as well as the upper floors. On the square's western edge is the 19th-century Casa de Baños (Bath House), which was built on the spot where an aljibe (cistern) was constructed in 1587. It served as the main municipal water supply and as a public bathing house. The narrow cul-de-sac next to the Casa de Baños is the Callejón del Chorro (Alley of the Water Fountain), named for an aqueduct that ended here in Havana's early days.

Wander along the square's eastern edge for a look at the early 18th-century Casa de Lombillo, which today houses a number of changing art exhibitions.

What is now called the Old Square was originally Plaza Nueva (New Square), built as a popular alternative to Plaza de Armas, the military and government nerve center. Later called Plaza del Mercado (Market Square) as Havana's commercial hub, Plaza Vieja was the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and fiestas—all witnessed by Havana's wealthiest citizens, who looked on from their balconies. The original Carrara marble fountain surrounded by four dolphins was demolished in the 1930s when President Gerardo Machado (1871–1939) built an underground parking lot here. Today the square's surrounding structures vary wildly in condition, though all of them are noteworthy. Don't miss the splendid view west down Calle Brasil (Teniente Rey) to the Capitolio.

The impressive mansion on the square's southwestern corner is the Casa de los Condes de Jaruco (1733–37), the former seat of the Fondo Cubano de Bienes Culturales (BFC; Cuba's version of the National Endowment for the Arts). Its lush main patio is surrounded by massive, yet delicate, pillars. Look for the ceramic tiles along the main stairway and the second-floor stained glass windows. Today the building houses members of the Génesis Galerías de Arte and an upstairs restaurant. On the second floor La Casona Galería de Arte displays the works of contemporary Cuban and international artists, while on street-level Diago Galería de Arte shows the works of native Cuban painters. To your left as you exit is the interesting 1762 Elias Durnford painting A View of the Market Place in the City of the Havana [sic].

On the square's southeastern corner, the Palacio Viena Hotel (also known as the Palacio Cueto) is a 1906 Art Nouveau gem that was occupied by several-dozen families after the Revolution. The intense floral relief sculpture and stained-glass windows are still intact, if a little sooty, on all five stories. This building has perennially been under renovation, and it's anybody's guess when the grand structure will once again take its place in the square.

On the square's western edge is the 1752 Casa de Juan Rico de Mata (Calle Mercaderes 307), now housing the Fototeca de Cuba, a contemporary photography gallery that has rotating temporary exhibitions of Cuban and international photographers. Also along the western edge, heading north, you'll see the planetarium, housed in an old cinema, and the Camera Obscura, located in the 20th-century Villa Gómez. The Casa de las Hermanas Cárdenas (Calle San Ignacio 352), on the square's eastern side, was once used by Havana's first philharmonic society. It's now home to the Centro de Desarrollo de Artes Visuales (Center for the Development of Visual Arts), which hosts temporary exhibits.

In the 18th-century Casa del Conde San Estéban de Cañongo (Calle San Ignacio 356), you'll find the Artesanías para Turismo workshop. Strangely, a permanent exhibition here presents Wallonia, French Belgium, and its industry and agriculture, as well as its most noteworthy comics like Tintin. Apparently the exhibition was granted after Belgian interests put up the money to restore the building. There would probably be much more exciting ways to use this prime property than a pedantic exhibit that ultimately gives little to the creative life of the community.

While wandering along San Ignacio, notice the faded "vapores cuba–españa" ("steamboats cuba–spain") sign on the wall inside the entryway of No. 358. The 18th-century Casa del Conde de Lombillo (Calle San Ignacio 364; not to be confused with the Conde de Lombillo house in the Plaza de la Catedral) has lovely original murals in amber hues with faded blue and green floral motifs decorating its facade. Today it houses the charming Café Bohemia, which has upstairs suites for rent. The restoration of the 17th-century Colegio del Santo Angel (Calle Brasil/Teniente Rey 56, esquina de Calle San Ignacio) almost a decade ago. It was originally the house of Susana Benitez de Parejo, a wealthy young widow who departed for Spain in the mid-19th century; it was later used as an orphanage for boys under 12 years of age and then as a music conservatory until it collapsed in 1993, leaving only the facade standing. Now housing an excellent restaurant and 11 luxury apartments, this is one of the finest triumphs of the restoration work in Plaza Vieja.