Old Havana

Castillo de la Real Fuerza

Museums

The Castillo de la Real Fuerza is a bastion fort on the western side of the harbour in Havana, Cuba, set back from the entrance, and bordering the Plaza de Armas. Originally built to defend Havana against attack by pirates, it was not strategically located, being too far inside the bay, and instead was adopted as the residence of the Governor of Havana. 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".

Auditorium Amadeo Roldán

Theatres & arts

The Amadeo Roldán Theatre is a theatre in Havana, Cuba built in 1929. The theatre was destroyed in 1977 by a pyromaniac; it was re-opened in 1999 as the head office of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba which performs seasonal every Sunday at 11:00PM.

Academia de las FAR General Máximo Gómez

Universities & colleges

Máximo Gómez Command Academy is a military institution of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. The academy, which is located to the east of Havana, is the principal senior service school for the training of soldiers in the FAR. It currently bears the name of Major General Máximo Gómez, who was a 19th-century Cuban independence fighter. It was founded in 1963 and is under the orbit of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), whose employees are trained by the school. The command academy has been decorated with many military and state awards such as the Order of Antonio Maceo…

Jardín Zoológico de La Habana

Urban parks & plazas

El zoológico de La Habana es el parque zoológico principal de Cuba y el más antiguo del país. Ocupa la antigua finca y vivero "La Rosa", propiedad del ayuntamiento. Popularmente se conoce como el Zoológico de 26, por tener su entrada principal en la Avenida 26 de la capital cubana.

Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asís

Places of worship

The Basílica Menor of San Francisco de Asís is a Catholic minor basilica and Franciscan convent in the district of Old Havana, Cuba. Its construction began in 1548 and lasted until 1591, although it was inaugurated in 1575, it was badly damaged by storms in 1680 and 1692, and by a hurricane that broke down its tower in 1694. Started in its current form in 1716, it was completely completed almost 200 years later, with a series of structural reforms from 1731 to 1738. In 1842, it became the General Post Office and headquarters of the Post Office of Cuba, and later acted as a government office…

Biblioteca Nacional José Martí

Libraries

The National Library José Martí is the national library of Cuba. It is located in Havana and named after the national hero José Martí. This library was established on October 18, 1901. BNJM is a partner in the Digital Library of the Caribbean, contributing digitized materials to share with the world as Open Access. Information about the extensive holdings are available through WorldCat. Its current headquarters was built between 1952 and 1957. It has more than 4 million printed copies.