Escuela Nacional de Ballet

CA3
General sightseeing
CA Ranking: 3
Open: Closed Sat-Sun, visits arranged through CENEARTE
Paseo de Martí (Prado) 207 entre Trocadero y Colón
  • This is the biggest ballet school in the world and the most prestigious one in Cuba, with approximately 3,000 students. The school goes back to 1931 with the creation of the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de la Sociedad de Arte Musical, where Cuba’s most prestigious ballet dancer, Alicia Alonso, trained as a ballerina. The present 20th-century mansion has been home to the national ballet school since 2000 after extensive restoration and adaptations to fit the needs of the school. Outstanding are the two monumental staircases that lead to the beautifully decorated upper floors.

    
  • Sloppy Joe’s Bar

    Sloppy Joe’s Bar  LH 5-

    6pm is Sloppy Joe cocktail hour again at the original Sloppy Joe’s saloon, an iconic Cuban bar that reopened Friday April 12, 2013 after a nearly 50-year break in its original location. The restoratio …

    Fototeca de Cuba

    Fototeca de Cuba  LH 4

      Inaugurated in 1986 to preserve, study and promote Cuba’s photographic heritage, Fototeca de Cuba, mid-way along the east side of the plaza, boasts the nation’s largest, most valuable collectio …

    Plaza del Cristo

    Plaza del Cristo  LH 4

    The mid-17-century plaza takes its name from the Iglesia del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje. It was first known as Plaza Nueva taking the name of what is now known as Plaza Vieja. For a while it was know …

    La Bodeguita del Medio

    La Bodeguita del Medio  LH 4

    Back 1942, this well-known restaurant was a small grocery store. Its owner, Ángel Martínez, began to sell food as the number of customers increased. One day, journalist Leandro Garcia, a regular costu …

    Teatro Nacional de Cuba

    Teatro Nacional de Cuba  LH 4

    Opened in 1960, and reopened in 1979 after being fully restored, this is one of Havana’s most important cultural venues. It promotes dance, drama, theater for both adults and children, music and visua …

    La Terraza de Cojimar

    La Terraza de Cojimar  LH 4

    Ernest Hemingway lived in Cojimar for some years and this was his favorite restaurant there, as evidenced by the many pictures of the American author here, including one with Fidel Castro. In one of t …

    Jardín Diana de Gales

    Jardín Diana de Gales  LH 4

    The distinctly non-communist fairytale crown atop a wrought-iron archway is something of a giveaway for one of Havana’s most delightful gardens, the Jardín Diana de Gales, inaugurated in 2000 in memor …

    Edificio FOCSA

    Edificio FOCSA  LH 4

    Considered one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering, when built, the Focsa building was among the largest reinforced concrete structures in the world. Construction works took 28 months, and …

    Centro Cultural El Gran Palenque

    Centro Cultural El Gran Palenque  LH 4

    El Gran Palenque is home to the world-renowned dance troupe Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba. Opened in 1997, it has its origins in the Patio de la Rumba, founded in 1982 by folklorist Rogelio Mar …

    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 …

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