Estación Central de Ferrocarriles

CA1
General sightseeing
Architectural style: Eclectic
CA Ranking: 1
Admission: Free
Egido esq. a Arsenal, Habana Vieja
  • The building of the railway station, expression of the Spanish plateresque style, was built in 1912 on the site of the former Armory. It has four floors with 77 windows and the main entrance is rounded off by two slender towers, whose terracotta and tile ornamentation includes the coats of arms of both the city and the nation. It used red Spanish slates for the roofs and a huge clock was featured in the center of the façade. The ground floor, which was used as waiting room, exhibits columns faced with marble. The trains entered the terminal by way of a viaduct of over one kilometer long, which has been known since as “Los Elevados” [The Elevated].

    
  • Museo Armería 9 de Abril

    Museo Armería 9 de Abril  LH 2

    The Museo Armería 9 de Abril displays a large collection of firearms and bladed weapons spanning the 18th to the 20th centuries. It occupies the former Compañía Armera de Cuba, a private gun shop that …

    Museo Nacional de la Cerámica Contemporánea Cubana (Casa de Francisco Aguilera Basabe)

    Museo Nacional de la Cerámica Contemporánea Cubana (Casa de Francisco Aguilera Basabe)  LH 2

    Housed within Casa de Francisco Aguilera Basabe, a two-story building built in 1728, this museum exhibits Cuban art pottery from 1950 to the present day on the top floor, while the ground floor has a …

    Fuente de Neptuno

    Fuente de Neptuno  LH 2

    The Fuente de Neptuno (Fountain of Neptune) was imported from Italy. Besides its ornamental function, it also supplied water to three boats at the same time, for which large iron rings were placed for …

    Avenida de Carlos III (Ave. Salvador Allende)

    Avenida de Carlos III (Ave. Salvador Allende)  LH 2

    This street was built by order of Governor Miguel de Tacón in 1836 and connects the intersection of Reina and Belascoaín streets to the Castillo del Príncipe. It was originally named Paseo de Tacón. L …

    Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín

    Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín  LH 2

    This institution honors Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-1999), a dedicated socialist, supporter of the Cuban Revolution, and close friend to Fidel Castro. It’s located in an 18th-century m …

    Casa Cubana del Perfume

    Casa Cubana del Perfume  LH 2

    This quaint and lovely shop sells perfumes from the Cuban Suchel brand, and prepares personalized fragrances on site according to patrons’ tastes. It also doubles as a small museum, with a 19th-centur …

    Parque Arqueológico de la Maestranza

    Parque Arqueológico de la Maestranza  LH 2

    By the 1700s, Havana boasted an artillery factory for the manufacture and repair of weapons and ammunition. The factory was demolished and a “castle” was the built for the Police. This archeological s …

    Hotel Presidente

    Hotel Presidente  LH 2

    This is Havana’s first skyscraper and was inaugurated on December 28, 1928. It took its name from the street it is situated in and is the only hotel that features Cuba’s coat of arms on its façade. It …

    Clock Tower

    Clock Tower  LH 2

    Between 1921 and 1924, a clock tower was built on Fifth Avenue. It was designed by New Yorker John H. Duncan, one of the architects that contributed to the layout of the avenue and who also designed t …

    Museo del Naipe Marqués de Prado Ameno

    Museo del Naipe Marqués de Prado Ameno  LH 2

    Opened on May 2, 2001, the small yet immensely impressive Playing Card Museum occupies the ground floor of the Casa del Marqués de Prado Amero, dating from the 17th century and the oldest building in …

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