Museo Palacio de Gobierno – Cámara de Representantes

CA3
Museum / Cultural center
Architectural style: Neo-classical
CA Ranking: 3
Best for: See the first passports ever issued in Cuba.
Worst for: There are better museums to see the literacy campaign in Cuba
Open: 9:30am-5:30pm Tues-Sun
Admission: Free
Oficios #211 e/ Churruca y Muralla, Habana Vieja
  • Immediately south of the Convento de San Francisco de Asís, the squat yet imposing neo-classical building raised atop stairs served as the original Cámara de Representantes—the Republican House of Representatives, which was housed here until it was moved to the Capitolio in 1929. Then, the palace became home to the Ministry of Education (1929-1960) and, following the Revolutin, headquarters of the Poder Popular Municipal –essentially the town hall.

    Today the main building is a museum, with two exhibit halls: one contains documents associated with important figures and historical events from the Republican period, (1902-59), including the first passports ever issued in Cuba and the office of the President of the Senate; and the other one focuses on the Literacy Campaign. (Note that the principal Literacy Campaign Museum is in Ciudad Libertad, in Marianao.)

    Opening hours: 9:30am-5:30pm Tues-Sat; 9:30am-1pm Sun

    
  • Casa de la Comedia

    Casa de la Comedia  LH 3

    Tucked down a cobble-side street around the corner from the Depósito del Automóvil is the “House of Comedy.” Plays were first performed here in 1778. Today, it promotes new Cuban plays. Admission deta …

    Habana 1791: The Perfume shop

    Habana 1791: The Perfume shop  LH 3

    Habana 1791: The perfume shop Located in an 18th-century mansion at the corner of Mercaderes and Obrapía, this beautiful shop and laboratory sells 12 varieties of scents or colognes. The bottles are m …

    Parque Rumiñahui

    Parque Rumiñahui  LH 3

    The main feature of this tiny but lovely tree-shaded park, which occupies the site of a collapsed colonial building, is a sculpture given to Fidel Castro by Ecuadorean artist Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919- …

    Casa Víctor Hugo

    Casa Víctor Hugo  LH 3

    This institution is supported by donations from Ediciones Boloña, a publishing house of the City Historian’s Office. Its purpose is to make known the work of the famous French author Victor Hugo, as w …

    Zanja Real

    Zanja Real  LH 3

    Mid-way along the west side of the Basílica Menor y Convento de San Francisco de Asís, Calle Brasil (Teniente Rey) leads south one block to Plaza Vieja. Exposed in the center of the cobbled street are …

    Calle Línea

    Calle Línea  LH 3

    Calle Línea is one of the most important streets in Havana and was the first one in Vedado. This avenue gets its name from the streetcar tracks (in Spanish, líneas) that ran along this street. It was …

    Maqueta de la Habana Vieja

    Maqueta de la Habana Vieja  LH 3

    This captivating and incredibly detailed scale model (1:500) of the old city is a must-see while exploring Habana Vieja, of which it provides a great overall perspective. Measuring 8 meteres long by 6 …

    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 …

    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 …

    « 18 of 22 pages »