Group of houses on Cárdenas Street

CA4
General sightseeing
Architectural style: Art Nouveau
CA Ranking: 4
Admission: Free
Cárdenas #101, 103, 107, 159 & 161
  • It is unusual in the city to find in such a short stretch so many interesting examples of Art Nouveau constructions. Only recently has the City Historian’s Office begun restoration works on some of the buildings. Although there are several structures here of interest, the houses marked with 101, 103, 107, 159 and 161, which are very similar in their design, carried out by the Catalan architect Mario Rotllant, should be given special attention. These houses feature delightful details, such as side windows shaped as leaves and ornamented with colored glass, exquisite wrought-iron balconies, expressive plaster moldings, and carved woodEN doors with delicate floral motifs.

    
  • Hotel Florida

    Hotel Florida  LH 3

    The 1836 Hotel Florida is a beautifully restored colonial mansion with a splendid neoclassical frontage, with Corinthian columns, and an atmospheric central courtyard. The hotel’s 25 rooms, which have …

    Palacio de la Marquesa de Villalba

    Palacio de la Marquesa de Villalba  LH 3

    One of the most majestic buildings in Havana, it was partly built on the sight of the old wall that surrounded the city, and it is said that the stones of the wall were used in its construction. It wa …

    Museo Nacional de Historia Natural

    Museo Nacional de Historia Natural  LH 3

    Despite appearing to be of the colonial era, the building on the plaza’s southwest side dates from the early 20th-century, when it served as the U.S. Embassy in the years immediately following indepen …

    Parque Simón Bolívar

    Parque Simón Bolívar  LH 3

    North on Mercaderes, you’ll reach Parque Simón Bolívar on the corner of Calle Obrapía. In addition to a statue of the Latin American independence movement leader, the park has a ceramic mural by Venez …

    Parque Mariana Grajales

    Parque Mariana Grajales  LH 3

    Ocupying a whole block in El Vedado, Mariana Grajales Park is right across the Saúl delgado High School. The monument in the center of the park is that of Mariana Grajales, mother of Lt. General Anton …

    Escuela Nacional de Ballet

    Escuela Nacional de Ballet  LH 3

    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 …

    Memorial a las Víctimas del Maine

    Memorial a las Víctimas del Maine  LH 3

    This is a memorial in front of the Hotel Nacional dedicated to the 266 people who died when the second-class pre-dreadnought armor cruiser USS Maine sank due to an explosion in Havana harbor on Februa …

    Casa Museo de África

    Casa Museo de África  LH 3

    The 17th-century townhouse mansion at Obrapia #157 originally served as a shop selling snuff. Today, as the House of Africa, it displays objects of different African cultures, especially ivory carving …

    Parque Albear

    Parque Albear  LH 3

    The main attraction of this small park is an elegant life-size Carrara marble statue of engineer Francisco de Albear y Lara, sculpted in 1895 by Cuban artist José Vilalta de Saavedra. Albear dedicated …

    Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio

    Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio  LH 3

    Located on Loma del Angel, or Angel Hill, the church was originally built in the second half of the 17th century and expanded with two lateral naves in the mid-18th century. After having been largely …

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