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.

    
  • Castillo de la Real Fuerza

    Castillo de la Real Fuerza  LH 4

    History & architecture Considered an engineering marvel, this fortress on the plaza’s northeast corner is one of the oldest European defensive structures in the Americas, and the first built to gu …

    La Moderna Poesía

    La Moderna Poesía  LH 4

    Owned by the López Serrano family–who evidently had a preference for Art Deco–this bookstore is a sample of how the sober interplay between lines and volumes can achieve a discreet elegance highligh …

    Parque Lenin

    Parque Lenin  LH 4

    Approximately 25 kilometers south of Havana is Parque Lenin, inaugurated on April 22, 1972 by Fidel Castro on the initiative of Celia Sánchez. The huge bust of Lenin, carved in 1982 by Soviet sculptor …

    Fundación Havana Club

    Fundación Havana Club  LH 4

    One block southeast of Plaza de San Francisco, on Avenida del Puerto, stands the ochre-colored former mansion of the Conde de la Montera. Beyond its ornate doorway is a promotional center—the Museo de …

    Factoría Habana

    Factoría Habana  LH 4

    Factoría Habana is an experimental center for present-day artistic creation. The institution, which is ascribed to the City Historian’s Office, seeks to become a bridge between Latin American and Euro …

    Sala Polivalente Kid Chocolate

    Sala Polivalente Kid Chocolate  LH 4

    This is one of the 67 facilities especially built for the Havana 1991 Pan-American Games. It was named after Eligio Sardiñas, also known as Kid Chocolate, Cuba’s finest amateur boxer ever. The sports …

    Casa de los Artistas

    Casa de los Artistas  LH 4

    Several of Cuba’s most famous artists have their studios here, including Pedro Pablo Oliva, Zaida del Río and Roberto Fabelo. Contemporary art exhibitions are held on the ground floor.

    Ciudad Deportiva

    Ciudad Deportiva  LH 4

    The Sports City was conceived as a complex that included race tracks; swimming pools; fields for different sports, including football; a small baseball stadium, and a coliseum at the forefront, which …

    El Caballero de París

    El Caballero de París  LH 4

    Dozens of passers-by on Oficios are drawn every day to the life-size bronze statue of this humbly dressed man that stands outside the entrance to the basilica. Approach it and you will see that his lo …

    Galería Victor Manuel

    Galería Victor Manuel  LH 4

    This gallery offers a nice selection of mainstream decorative modern paintings, some of which could be considered true works of art. Given its location and popularity, high pric es are to be expected. …

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