80 Best Sights in Havana, Cuba

This Neoclassical, faux-Doric temple was built in 1828 on the site of the city's first Mass and its first cabildo (city council) meeting. The cabildo took place under a massive ceiba (kapok) tree, which was felled by a 19th-century hurricane. The present tree—planted in the little patio in front of El Templete in 1959, the year of the Revolution—is honored each November 19, the day celebrating Havana's founding. It's said during a special ceremony, if you walk three times around the tree and toss a coin toward it, you'll be granted a wish—provided, of course, that you keep your wish secret. El Templete is also the site of a triptych by French painter Jean-Baptiste Vermay portraying the first Mass, the first cabildo, and the municipal personalities who participated in the building's opening ceremonies. It's also home to the ashes of the painter and his wife, who—along with 8,000 other habaneros—were victims of the 1833 cholera epidemic.

A fragment of Havana's early ramparts commemorates the spot where eight medical students were unjustly executed for independence activism by the Spanish governors in 1871. At night the monument is beautifully illuminated, the work of the electrical engineer Félix de la Noval. You'll see amber light representing rifle fire; it can't, however, extinguish the white light (against the wall), which symbolizes the ideals of independence.

Tobacco is a fundamental part of Cuban life, and a look inside a cigar factory makes for an interesting trip—despite the high entry fee and the pricey cigars. Now in its new location on Calle San Carlos, instead of the old iconic orange and white building behind the Capitolio, the Fábrica de Tabacos is a good place to learn about the cigar-making process.

Guided tours of the factory are only available on weekday mornings and must be booked in advance, which can be done at any of the major hotels in the city.

Although interesting and informative, the tours are fairly rushed and only last 15 to 20 minutes. Many of the rooms are also closed to visitors. Those who wish to purchase cigars at the end of the tour can do so around the corner at the H. Upmann Empresa de Tabaco Torcido store.

Once a small sugar and tobacco center, Guanabacoa is inhabited primarily by the descendents of slaves who worked the fields here. Though the town, which is full of colonial treasures, is now part of sprawling Havana, its old Afro-Cuban traditions and religions have been kept alive.

Havana's oldest church (circa 1638) was built by Afro-Cubans who were brought to the island as slaves but who later bought their freedom, a common phenomenon in Cuba. Fittingly, today it's the only church in the city authorized to grant political asylum. Its interior has several notable paintings; notice especially the representation of a seated, post-Crucifixion Christ on the right wall. The crypt under the left of the altar contains catacombs. The three-story belfry to the left of the church is one of La Habana Vieja's tallest towers.

This prim little white church is a required visit for literature buffs hot on the trail of scenes from the novel by Cirilo Villaverde (1812–94), Cecilia Valdés (o la Loma del Angel). The novel's bloody denouement takes place on the steps here during a marriage scene straight out of Racine. A plaque on a wall across from the church door lauds Villaverde's portrait of 19th-century Cuban life. Villaverde, in fact, made literary history with the stark social realism with which he portrayed the inhuman treatment of slaves in his novel. (One scene, for example, depicts plantation owners complaining bitterly about their foreman whipping slaves so early in the morning that the screaming and the crack of the lash disturbs their morning slumber.) The neo-Gothic church is, indeed, on La Loma del Angel (The Hillside of the Angel). With its pure, vertical lines, it's markedly different from La Habana Vieja's hulking Baroque structures. Originally erected in 1690 and rebuilt in 1866, Santo Angel del Custodio was the site of the baptisms of both José Martí and Félix Varela, the priest, patriot, and educator credited with having "first taught Cubans to think." Martí, Varela, and Villaverde were all key contributors to the cause of Cuban independence.

Although originally founded in 1640 as the Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje, the present church was built in 1755. The advocation to the buen viaje (good voyage) was a result of its popularity among seafarers in need of a patron and a place to pray for protection. The Baroque facade is notable for the simplicity of its twin hexagonal towers and the deep flaring arch in its entryway. Traditionally the final stop on the Vía Crucis (Way of the Cross) held during Lent, the church and its plaza have an intimate and informal charm. This is the plaza where Graham Greene's character Wormold (the vacuum-cleaner salesman/secret agent) is "swallowed up among the pimps and lottery sellers of the Havana noon" in Our Man in Havana.

Don't miss the view from the corner of Amargura: you can see straight down Villegas to the dome of the old Palacio Presidencial (Presidential Palace).

Although it was begun in 1755, this church and convent complex wasn't completed until the 19th century. Hence you can clearly see a progression of architectural styles, particularly in the facade, with its six starchy-white pillars and its combination of late-Baroque and early-Neoclassical elements. Inside are numerous works by 19th-century Cuban painters.

The Latin inscription over the main door of this church and convent dedicated to St. Francis reads: "non est in toto sanctior orbe locus" ("there is no holier place on earth"). As it's now a museum and concert hall, it may no longer be earth's holiest place, but it certainly is one of the loveliest. Built in the 16th century, in 1730 it was restored in a baroque style, resulting in a richly adorned facade with fluted conch-like tympanums over the doors and windows. Just inside the door you'll see tombs beneath a glass floor panel. Churches were used as cemeteries until Bishop Espada founded what is now the Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón in 1868, a detail all Cubans seem to know and cherish. Note also the 19th-century grandfather clock made by Tiffany. The rooms to the right of the nave house archaeological finds and art exhibits. Precisely 117 steps lead to the top of the 141-meter (463-feet) tower, the tallest in Havana.

Built on the site of the pre-Revolutionary Country Club of Havana, which was so exclusive that dictator Fulgencio Batista was denied a membership, the ISA is the country's top art school, with separate pavilions for dance, art, music, and drama. Considered Cuba's best example of post-Revolutionary architecture, its redbrick halls and pavilions are covered with Catalan vaults and cupola skylights. From the 800 students in 39 specialties have come some of Cuba's finest artists and musicians. Zaida del Río studied here, as did Emmy-winner Chucho Valdés. Many of the little trios performing all around Havana have ISA students in their ranks.

Cojímar would merit a visit even without its literary significance as home of La Terraza. From the opening curaçao—a frozen daiquirí made with a blue bitter-orange liqueur—and majuas (tiny deep-fried fish) through the ranchito de mariscos (fish, lobster, and shrimp stewed in tomato, onion, and peppers), everything is very good here. The graceful mahogany bar dangerously dignifies the act of drinking, and the Hemingway memorabilia aren't overdone.

A glass enclosure behind the Museo de la Revolución shelters the Granma, the yacht that transported Castro and 81 guerrillas back to Cuba from exile in Mexico in 1956. Bought from an American, the 38-foot craft designed to carry 25 (presumably unarmed) passengers nearly foundered during the week-long crossing. It eventually ran aground at Oriente Province in Eastern Cuba, but it was two days behind schedule. The saga gets worse: Castro's forces were ambushed and only 16 survived, including Fidel, Che, Raúl Castro, and Camilo Cienfuegos. The park around the yacht is filled with military curios: tanks, jeeps, the delivery truck used in the 1957 assault on the Palacio Presidencial, and an airplane turbine, allegedly from a U-2 spy plane downed during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In between Santa María and Boca Ciega, you'll find a lively sweep of white sand, proudly flying the rainbow flag. This is Playas del Este gay beach, full of buffed beach bodies, sun beds, and a party-like atmosphere. Most hotels in the surrounding area are also gay-friendly. Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: partiers.

This bronze equestrian monument honors the great military leader of Cuba's 19th-century wars of independence. It was erected in 1935 in modern Havana's most pivotal location—in an important traffic circle and at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the fortresses across the harbor. The Dominican-born General Gómez led the mambises (a term used by the Spanish for Cuban rebels) in the Ten Years War, refused to surrender when an unsatisfactory treaty was signed in 1878, left the island, and returned with José Martí almost 20 years later to continue the fight in the 1895 Second War of Independence. Martí died in the opening battle; fellow general Antonio Maceo fell in December of 1895, but Gómez survived.

Directly across the square from the Catedral de la Habana, the museum's rich collection of colonial objects ranges from violins to chamber pots. It's in the Casa de Luis Chacón—also known as Casa del Conde de Bayona after the son-in-law of the original owner—which dates from the 17th century and which saw its first restoration in 1720.

The house containing this museum was built in 1927 and owned by José Gómez Mena, one of Cuba's wealthiest aristocrats. The collection is a staggering display of treasure and taste: antique furniture; Aubusson rugs; a Louis XVI secrétaire; Ming vases; paintings by Tocqué, Nattier, and Largillière. Don't miss the impressive comedor (dining room) with its vast array of silverware or the main salón, dripping with chandeliers.

Located in a former military airfield, which has now been turned into a giant school complex called Ciudad Libertad, this museum is dedicated to the literacy crusade of 1961. During this time students and teachers took to the countryside to teach illiterate peasants to read and write.

This still functioning Art Nouveau pharmacy may sometimes be short on drugs, but it is certainly long on design. Founded by a Catalan apothecary in 1874, it was built in the elaborate Modernist style universally favored by 19th-century pharmacies. The carved wooden racks and shelves backed by murals painted on glass are especially ornate, and the ceramic apothecary jars, though probably empty, are colorfully painted. Also known as La Reunión (note the inscription on the wall behind the counter), this pharmacy was a famous meeting place, a sort of informal neighborhood clubhouse.

Installed in a handsome, if somewhat rundown, colonial mansion, this museum exhibits a comprehensive history of Guanabacoa, with emphasis on its ethnic and religious traditions. For a deeper understanding of Santería as well as of the Palo Monte and Abakua sects that have been so important in Afro-Cuban sociology and history, this is an important visit.

The highlight of the Plaza de la Revolución is the memorial at its center. It consists of a massive granite sculpture of the national hero—in a seated, contemplative pose—on a 30-meter (98-foot) base and a 139-meter (456-foot) tower constructed of marble from La Isla de la Juventud (where Castro was imprisoned for his attack on the Moncada Barracks). The museum contains first editions of Martí's works, drawings, maps, and other memorabilia. Also on display are the original plans for both the monument and the square. You can also climb to the top observation deck for some views of the city.

This museum offers insight into Regla's history. During the Revolution, this area was a rebel stronghold known as La Sierra Chiquita (The Little Sierra; as opposed to the Sierra Maestra where Fidel and his forces operated). Close to but outside and largely separate from Havana, Regla was a convenient place for clandestine activity. Photographs of the Regla heroes and heroines (such as Lidia Doce) who were tortured and murdered by the Batista regime line the walls. Also on display is a copy of the first edition of Eduardo Facciolo's La Voz del Pueblo Cubana, dated June 13, 1852, as well as a room dedicated to the orishas (deities of the Santaría religion). The museum can also organize guided tours of Regla for CUC$5 per person.

The collection is housed in the splendid Centro Asturiano finished in 1928 (in answer to the Centro Gallego across the Parque Central), a building designed by Spanish architect Manuel del Busto, as dazzling as the collection it contains. Its sweeping stairway was inspired by the Paris Opera House, and its immense stained glass window alludes to the discovery of America. The collection ranges from Roman, Greek, and Egyptian ceramics and statuary to European art from the Italian, German, Flemish, Dutch, Spanish, French, and British schools. In addition there are rooms devoted to the art of the United States, as well as displays of Asian, Mexican, Cariibbean, and South American works. Works by Joseph Turner, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Francisco José de Goya, Bartolomé Estaban Murillo, Zurbarán, Brueghel, Canaletto, Peter Paul Rubens, Velázquez, Sorolla, and Zuloaga, among others, are displayed here.