Plaza de Armas, Old Havana
Walk through the iconic Plaza de Armas (Main Square), one of the first places built in Old Havana, Cuba
Plaza de Armas, Old Havana
© Andrea Pravettoni
The Plaza de Armas (Main Square) is the oldest of the four main plazas in Old Havana. Originally, the square was the centre for commercial, social, and religious events. Back then the plaza even went by a different name: Plaza de la Iglesia (Church Square).
Plaza de Armas
© The Web Ninja
The plaza was built by the sea in 1519, twenty-seven years after Christopher Colombus discovered the Americas. After the Castillo de La Real Fuerza (Castle of the Royal Force) was built nearby, the plaza was renamed Plaza de Armas.
The square, once surrounded by buildings of wood and guano, transformed into a square overflowing with city history and landmarks. By 1834, the Plaza de Armas was full of fountains, bences, patches of greenery and vegetation. And, today we can relish in these same decorations and among the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the Museo de la Ciudad (City Museum), inside the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales (General’s Palace), el Palacio del Segundo Cabo (Segundo Cabo Palace), the Templete (Town Council), el Museo del Automóvil (Automobile Museum) and the Museo de la Navegación (Navigation Museum). Visitors can also shop for lightly used books Monday through Friday.
Interactive map:
Havana:
Old Havana
- Cathedral Square
- Havana Cathedral
- Conde de Lombillo Palace
- Palace of the Marqués de Arcos
- Marqueses de Aguas Claras Palace
- Mural Art Museum
- Museum of Colonial Art
- Callejón del Chorro Alleyway
- La Bodeguita del Medio
- Plaza de Armas Square
- Segundo Cabo Palace
- City Museum
- La Real Fuerza Castle
- Navigation Museum
- El Templete
- Cuban Natural History Museum
- Mercaderes Street
- Tobacco Museum
- Model Museum of Old Havana
- Asia House Museum
- Simón Bolívar House Museum
- Casa de la Obra Pía Museum
- Museo Casa de África (Africa House Museum)
- Oswaldo Guayasamín House Museum
- Museo Armería 9 de Abril (Armory Museum April 9)
- Museo de los Bomberos (Firefighters Museum)
- Museo del Chocolate (Chocolate Museum)
- Obispo Street
- Museo de la Orfebrería (Silversmithing Museum)
- Museo de Pintura Mural (Mural Art Museum)
- 28 de Septiembre de los CDR Museum
- Museo Numismático (Numismatic Museum)
- Museo Casa de México Benito Juárez (Benito Juárez House of México Museum)
- Museo de la Farmacia Habanera (Havana Pharmacy Museum)
- San Francisco de Asís Square
- San Francisco de Asís Church
- Museum of Religious Art and History in Old Havana
- Automobile Museum
- Old Town Square
- Centro de Arte La Casona (La Casona Art Center)
- Fototeca de Cuba (Cuban Photo Library)
- Planetarium of Havana
- Naipes Museum
- Pablo de la Torriente Brau Cultural Center
- Casa Alejandro de Humboldt Museum
- Museo del Ron (Rum Museum)
- Nuestra Señora de Kazán Orthodox Cathedral
- Bacardi Building
- Plaza del Cristo
- Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje Church
- Santo Ángel Custodio Church
- Iglesia Parroquial del Espíritu Santo (Church of the Holy Spirit)
- Santa Clara Convent
- Convento de Belén (Belén Convent)
- Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula (San Francisco de Paula Church)
- Casa Natal de José Martí Museum
Centro Habana
- Capitolio Nacional de Cuba
- Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso
- Paseo Martí
- Museo de la Revolución
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
- Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás
- San Salvador de la Punta Castle
- Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
- Hotel Inglaterra
- Havana's Chinatown
- Parque de la Fraternidad
- Fuente de la India
- Monumento a Máximo Gómez
- Casa Museo José Lezama Lima
Vedado
- El Malecón
- Cabaret Parisien
- Hotel Habana Libre
- Cementerio Colón
- Hotel Nacional de Cuba
- University of Havana
- Teatro Nacional de Cuba
- Avenida de los Presidentes
- Revolution Square
- Napoleonic Museum
- Museo Napoleónico
- Casa de las Américas
- Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas
- Parque John Lennon
- Museo de Historia Natural Felipe Poey
- Museo Antropológico Montané
- Monumento a Julio Antonio Mella
- Edificio Focsa
Other nearby destinations:
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