Fodor's Expert Review Museo a la Batalla de Ideas

Inspired by the diplomatic battle to repatriate Elián González, the five-year-old rescued off the coast of Florida in 1999, this museum, in a restored, neoclassical-style firehouse, is an ideological examination of the opposing Battle of Ideas between Cuba and the United States. Inaugurated in 2001 by Fidel Castro himself, the concept is a perfect example of how any threat to Cuba's sovereignty quickly becomes a rallying cry for unity in Cuba and grist for the propaganda mill. Other exhibits focus on the history of Cuba's battle to achieve and maintain its national sovereignty, displaying such wide-ranging "artifacts" as two English cannonballs fired in 1756, and the cross given to Elián by Reverend John Brown Campbell. If you can read Spanish, the museum provides an excellent insight into the official Cuban mind-set. There's a great view of the town and the harbor from the roof terrace.