Fodor's Expert Review Parque de la Libertad

This attractive, leafy square is the heart of the city. A bronze statue of 19th-century liberal revolutionary leader José Martí presides over the plaza, accompanied by a startling sculpture of a screaming, bare-breasted woman representing Cuba breaking free from her chains. Around the square are beautifully restored Neoclassical buildings, including the Museo Farmaceútico Triolet, the restored Sala de Conciertos José White, and the magnificently refurbished Velasco Hotel, next door to the handsome Velasco Theater. Nearby bookshops and cafés are bustling, and there's almost always some music or street theater going on in the square.