Cuba St. on the corner of Peña Pobre St., Old Havana ,
Havana, Cuba
(+53) 78627656
yes
About
Palacio San Miguel
Clients are always appreciative of the service at the Hotel San Miguel, where the staff members are particularly helpful and welcoming. This grand nineteenth century mansion was restored and is now run by the Office of the City Historian of Havana, so all its profits are reinvested in the restoration of the city’s historical centre.
The establishment is named after Antonio San Miguel y Segalá, an important member of Havana society who acquired it in 1913. Its interiors combine grandeur with intimacy, sometimes to slightly eccentric effect, as in the sweeping marble stair which seems to have ideas above its station, shoehorned as it is into a rather small hallway. The rooms at the San Miguel are very comfortable, though, and from the roof terrace there’s a wonderful view of the entrance to the harbour and the lighthouse of the Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magos del Morro.
The San Miguel is excellently placed for exploration of Old Havana.
San Pedro No. 262e / sol y Santa Clara, Habana Vieja, La Habana
Rum Museum
Discover part of the Cuban culture throught the history of Havana Club, the Cuban Rum, and its elaboration stages. It is not necessary to drink alcohol to enjoy this wonderful museum, because by visiting it you’ll still be able to delve into Cuban culture. This museum offers an interesting guided tour exhibiting the complex rum-making process in old machines. This tour is available in Spanish, English, French, German and Italian. It explains the entire process, from the manufacturing white oak barrels to the rum’s fermentation and ageing process, as well as a scale-model copy of a sugar mill. Ticket price includes a tasting to finish the tour in an attractive bar, where you will be able to taste also a wide variety of typical cuban cocktails, with traditional Cuban music from the 30’s in a cozy early 20th century atmosphere. The museum also contains a shop store.
Oficios, e/ Amargura y Churruca, Habana Vieja
San Francisco de Asís Church and Convent
The San Francisco de Asís Church and Convent is the current scenario of the richest cultural traditions. This is one of the most extraordinary convent and church complex of the colonial time. The construction of the current set dates from 1738, and it replaced a more modest one completed in 1591. After a restoration in the nineties, the architectural group has harbored, also, a concert hall and the Holy, Sacred and Religious Art museums. The most significant element of the Church is the Tower 42 meters of height, second in altitude at the colonial time.
Tacon e/ Obispo y O'Relly, Habana Vieja
Arms Square
Plaza de Armas surrounds a statue of the patriot Céspedes and is ringed by shaded marble benches and second-hand bookstalls. This square, founding in 1519, was the city's first open space, around which the most important political, military, religious and civil institutions were located. The palaces that surrounded it during the 18th century are worthy exponents of Cuban Baroque architecture. On the square’s eastern side a small neoclassical temple, El Templete, marks the spot where the first Catholic mass was celebrated in 1519. Next door is one of the city’s most luxurious hotels, Hotel Santa Isabel. To the north, the squat but angular and moated Castillo de la Real Fuerza (Fort of the Royal Forces) is one of the oldest forts in the Americas.
Calle Inquisidor e/ Muralla y Teniente Rey, Habana Vieja
Old Square
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.