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The places to visit in Havana, Cuba

Havana is the capital of Cuba and includes the Spanish colonial architecture at the heart of 16th-century Old Havana.


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Havana is the capital of Cuba. Spanish colonial architecture at the heart of 16th-century Old Havana includes Castillo de la Real Fuerza, a fortified and naval museum. The National Capitol is an emblematic landmark of the 1920s. Also in Old Havana are the Baroque Catedral de San Cristóbal and Plaza Vieja, whose buildings reflect the city’s vibrant architectural combination.


1. Old Havana

Old Havana, Cuba
Old Havana, Cuba

Old Havana is the city-center and one of the 15 municipalities forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second-highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundaries of Old Havana. Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


2. El Capitolio

El Capitolio, Cuba
El Capitolio, Cuba

El Capitolio, or the National Capitol Building is a public edifice and one of the most visited sites in Havana, capital of Cuba. The building was commissioned by Cuban president Gerardo Machado and built from 1926 to 1929 under the direction of Eugenio Rayneri Piedra. It is located on the Paseo del Prado, Dragones, Industria, and San José streets in the exact center of Havana.


3. Malecon

Malecon Esplanade, Havana, Cuba
Malecon Esplanade, Havana, Cuba

The Malecón is a broad esplanade, roadway, and seawall that stretches for 8 km along the coast in Havana, Cuba, from the mouth of Havana Harbor in Old Havana, along the north side of the Centro Habana neighborhood and the Vedado neighborhood, ending at the mouth of the Almendares River. New businesses are appearing on the esplanade due to economic reforms in Cuba that now allow Cubans to own private businesses.


4. Museum of the Revolution

Museum of the Revolution, Havana, Cuba
Museum of the Revolution, Havana, Cuba

The Museum of the Revolution is located in the Old Havana section of Havana, Cuba. The museum is housed in what was the Presidential Palace of all Cuban presidents from Mario García Menocal to Fulgencio Batista. It became the Museum of the Revolution during the years following the Cuban Revolution. The building was the site of the Havana Presidential Palace Attack by the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil. 


5. Castillo de la Real Fuerza

Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Havana, Cuba
Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Havana, Cuba

The Castillo de la Real Fuerza is a bastion fort on the western side of the harbor in Havana, Cuba, set back from the entrance, and bordering the Plaza de Armas. Originally built to defend against attack by pirates, it suffered from a poor location; it is too far inside the bay. The fort is considered to be the oldest stone fort in the Americas, and was listed in 1982 as part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of “Old Havana and its Fortifications”.