One of the busiest streets in Old Havana, second only to Obispo, Mercaderes runs north-south parallel to and two blocks inland of Avenida del Puerto, linking Plaza de la Catedral with Plaza Vieja. The cobbled, car-free street owes its name (literally “Merchants’ Street”) to the many stores that once filled this street. The street has been fully restored by the City Historian’s Office since the early 1980s and today is replete virtually end to end with boutique stores, hotels, museums, and other sites of interest, including Havana’s first café, Taberna, which is still standing and is today a lively bar-restaurant dedicated to the singer and band leader Beny Moré. No exploration of Habana Vieja is complete without a pleasant stroll down Mercaderes.
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