The El Capitolio building features a massive copper-clad dome that reaches three hundred feet into the Havana skyline. Completed in nineteen twenty-nine, the structure housed the Cuban Congress until the nineteen fifty-nine revolution.…
Prado to the Malecón
Walk with me along Havana's grandest tree-lined promenade from the steps of the Capitolio to the crashing waves of the Malecón, experiencing the transition from Spanish colonial majesty to the city's ultimate open-air social living room.
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1. National Capitol of Cuba
2. Grand Theater of Havana Alicia Alonso
The Grand Theater of Havana features a pair of massive stone angels perched high above its entrance, their wings outstretched over the bustling street. This ornate building serves as the home of the Cuban National Ballet. It opened in…
3. Hotel Inglaterra
The Hotel Inglaterra is identifiable by the intricate, neo-Moorish ironwork that wraps around its balconies and the colorful, hand-painted tiles imported from Seville covering its exterior walls. Built in eighteen seventy-five, it is the…
4. Central Park
The Parque Central is defined by the marble statue of José Martí, which stands on a high pedestal in the center of the gardens. This plaza replaced the old city walls in the nineteenth century, transforming a defensive perimeter into a…
5. Paseo del Prado
The Paseo del Prado divides Havana into two halves with its wide, pedestrian promenade paved in terrazzo and shaded by bronze lions. Originally designed in seventeen seventy-two, this boulevard served as the city’s primary entrance from…
6. Palacio de Los Matrimonios
The Palacio de los Matrimonios in Centro Habana features a heavy, ornate stone facade topped with a distinctive, slender clock tower that rises above the street corner. Originally built in the early twentieth century as a private mansion…
7. Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta
The Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta sits at the narrow entrance to Havana Harbor, marked by thick stone walls that jut directly into the sea. Built in the late sixteenth century, this fort functioned as the western anchor of the…