Casa de Dionisio Velasco

CA3
General sightseeing
Architectural style: Eclectic
CA Ranking: 3
Admission: Free
Cárcel #51 esq. a Zulueta, Habana Vieja
  • Built in 1912, the building was conceived as a grand palace. Lavishly ornamented on its facade, it features overhanging balconies and windows which break the horizontal line of the balustrade. This monumental building, built in the early days of the Republic, is an antecedent of the sumptuous mansions that would flood Havana’s wealthy neighborhoods in the following decades. It belonged to the Velasco family until 1960, when it became the Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy. Since 1986, it is the Spanish Embassy.

    
  • Parque John Lennon

    Parque John Lennon  LH 4

    Occupying a whole block, the park delimited by 17, 15, 6 and 8 Streets had been unofficially known as John Lennon for years and had been a popular meeting place for young people and sometimes imprompt …

    Museo Palacio de Gobierno – Cámara de Representantes

    Museo Palacio de Gobierno – Cámara de Representantes  LH 3

    Immediately south of the Convento de San Francisco de Asís, the squat yet imposing neo-classical building raised atop stairs served as the original Cámara de Representantes—the Republican House of Rep …

    Edificio López Serrano

    Edificio López Serrano  LH 3

    It is considered the first Cuban skyscraper as it reproduces, on a modest scale, the model of tall New York buildings, conceived with layered fittings in order to let air and light in. The linear and …

    Casa del Capitán Gaspar Rivero de Vasconcelos

    Casa del Capitán Gaspar Rivero de Vasconcelos  LH 3

    On the corner of Obrapía and San Ignacio Streets, one block west of Mercaderes, stands one of the oldest and best preserved homes in Havana, and despite its relatively simplicity, one of its most stri …

    Museo de Arqueología (Casa de Juana Carvajal)

    Museo de Arqueología (Casa de Juana Carvajal)  LH 3

    Housed in the Casa de Juana Carvajal, this museum is the result of archaeological studies in the Historic Center and the preservation efforts made by the City Historian’s Office. Inside is a fascinati …

    Convento e Iglesia del Carmen

    Convento e Iglesia del Carmen  LH 3

    In 1923, members of the order of the Carmelites purchased a lot on the corner of Avenida del Presidente Menocal and Neptuno, where first they created a provisional chapel and later erected the majesti …

    Coche Mambí

    Coche Mambí  LH 3

    Outside the Museo Palacio de Gobierno sits a railway carriage, still on rails at the corner of Callejón Churruca. It originally belonged to the Cuban Railroad Company and beginning in 1902 was used by …

    Fuente de la India or La Noble Habana

    Fuente de la India or La Noble Habana  LH 3

    This fountain, which is known by either name, is a representation of the mythical Indian woman called Habana, the wife of cacique Habaguanex who ruled in the area before the arrival of Columbus. The f …

    Hotel Santa Isabel (Palacio del Conde de Santovenia)

    Hotel Santa Isabel (Palacio del Conde de Santovenia)  LH 4-

    The grandiose palace overlooking the broad cobbled plazuela to the southeast side of Plaza de Armas is the deluxe Hotel Santa Isabel, with its entrance at the corner of Baratillo and Obispo. The hotel …

    Calle Mercaderes

    Calle Mercaderes  LH 3

    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 …

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