The Museo Maqueta de La Habana Vieja (Maqueta Museum of Old Havana) (Scale Model Museum) hosts a 1:500 scale model of Old Havana, one of the most important of these models in all of Cuba, and is considered as a place of great interest, knowledge and entertainment by its inhabitants. It is continuously updated and is rather impressive due to the incredible attention to detail in its works in regards to some of the most important buildings of Old Havana. This is one of Old Havana’s must-visit museums, as it allows you to imagine what the historical center of Havana is like as a whole, and therefore being able to get a better look at it when walking its streets.

The Edificio Bacardí (Bacardí Building) is the first Art Déco building in Havana. It is considered an architectural jewel of its time, as well as one of the best examples of decorative art. Construction finished in 1930, and it was the tallest building on the island at that time. It is said that the building contains marble and granite from almost every nation in Europe. This building has 12 floors, 5 of which are offices for rent, and a total space of 7,031 square meters. Its facade is covered in Baviera red granite and on the top you will see a bat, the symbol of the Bacardí company. At the end of 19th Century, the Bacardi rum was very famous in Cuba and abroad. Its creator, Don Emilio Bacardi, was a Spaniard settled in the island. It is said that he had a bat as a talisman which was used as logo in the first distillery that made him to win fortune. It has a tiered pyramid design, using tiles as a decorative element from Catalonian Modernism, giving the building a wonderful shade effect. The richness of its interior decoration is given mainly by the natural beauty of its marbles, brought from Europe and the typical accessories of Art Deco like lamps, ironworks, drawings, etc. Currently, the building houses Cuban offices, offices for and international companies. The lobby has a bar open to the public and you’ll be able to climb the tower and get a wonderful view over Havana.

The neighbors of the town insisted to the town council on the need to create a new public square for their amusement. In 1587, the town council decided to use as a public square the area behind the Convento de San Francisco, which was being built at the time. During the latter decades of the 16th century, this square was called the Plaza Nueva (new square), but from the 18th century onwards, once the Plaza del Cristo had been built, it began to become known as the Plaza Vieja (old square). The most remarkable feature of this square are the buildings around it, with their unquestionable historical and artistic importance of having been the blueprint for a style of architecture which, along with certain developments, subsequently spread throughout the city and characterised the Cuban architecture of the 18th century.

The Real Force Castle is located in Old Havana, in an attractive area of important architectural, urban, cultural and social values. This is the oldest fortress of the former fortification system of Havana and the Americas, which construction dates back to 1577. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. A replica of the La Giraldilla, the symbol of the city, can be seen on the highest tower of the castle (the original is in the Museum of the City). Since 2008, the Museo de Navegación (Maritime Museum) is located in the former moat of the Real Force Castle. This museum houses interesting exhibits detailing the history of the fortress and Old Havana, as well as its connections with the former Spanish Empire. It’s worth mentioning that huge scale model of the Santísima Trinidad galleon can be found here.