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

CA2
Museum / Cultural center
Architectural style: Spanish colonial
CA Ranking: 2
Best for: Cuban art pottery from 1950 to the present day
Open: 9am-5pm Tues-Sun
Admission: Free
Mercaderes esq. a Amargura, Habana Vieja
  • 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 ceramics shop, temporary exhibition areas, lecture hall and an archaeological site.

     

    The building is actually two properties that were joined and remodeled resulting in this large mansion featuring continuous balconies along both its façade and interior courtyard. The wrought iron rails were added in the 19th century. Although not unique, the pillars that support the balcony rails have uncommon turned woodwork.

    Opening hours: 9am-5pm Tues-Sat; 9am-1pm Sun

    
  • Teatro Martí

    Teatro Martí  LH 4

    Elegant and simple, this Romanesque-style theater opened in 1884 as Teatro Irijoa and changed its name to Teatro Martí in 1900. Because of its location in Habana Vieja and its great acoustics, it achi …

    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 …

    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 …

    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 …

    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 …

    Group of houses on Cárdenas Street

    Group of houses on Cárdenas Street  LH 4

    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 th …

    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 …

    Palacio de los Matrimonios (Casino Español)

    Palacio de los Matrimonios (Casino Español)  LH 4

    Built in 1914 as Casino Español, one of the several Spanish social clubs in Havana, this beautiful Neo-Renaissance building boasts a ballroom that takes up the entire upper floor and that in itself is …

    « 8 of 22 pages »