Colonial Havana

Visiting the main attractions of the colonial part of Cuba's capital, declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. You will see squares, fortresses, palaces, and buildings erected by Spanish colonizers in the 16th–19th centuries.

The historic center of Havana, known to all as OLD or COLONIAL HAVANA, which in 1982 was proclaimed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Includes visits to:

• The Capitol, built in 1929 by Italians from Italian Carrara marble
• The Grand Theater of Opera and Ballet named after Alicia Alonso, built in 1837 and considered one of the three most beautiful and famous theaters in the world.
• Central Park, around which are located 4 famous hotels and in the center of the park a monument to José Martí.
• Obispo Street, where you will find Floridita, the famous bar proclaimed in 1953 as one of the seven most famous bars in the world. This bar was Hemingway’s favorite place. The first chapters of the novella THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, for which the writer received the Nobel Prize in 1954, were written there.
• Monument to Sancho Panza
• Hotel Ambos Mundos, where Hemingway lived from 1932 to 1939 and where the first chapters of the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” were written.
• Hotel FLORIDA, one of the brightest examples of colonial style, where Isadora Duncan stayed, and the MARQUIS PRADO de AMENO hotel, an old palace built in 1760.

The excursion also includes visits to 4 squares:

Plaza de Armas, where are located: the Palace of the General Captains, the oldest fortress on the American continent REAL FUERZA, Hotel Santa Isabel—the former palace of Count Santovenia (where former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and many Hollywood stars stayed twice), the monument to the Father of the Nation Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, who began the liberation war against Spain on October 10, 1868, and the chapel with the ceiba tree near which Havana was founded in 1519.

Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square), where stands the Havana Cathedral, which housed Columbus’s remains for 103 years, and three palaces of two counts and one marquis (currently one houses the PATIO restaurant, another the Museum of Colonial Art, and the third a museum, shops, and administrative centers).

Plaza Vieja (Old Square), where there are old palaces, the famous brewery La Muralla, Café Escorial, and restaurants, one of which hosted American singer Madonna’s 58th birthday celebration on August 16 this year.

Plaza San Francisco de Asís, where stands the monument to San Francisco, the famous church—one of the oldest in Havana, Lonja del Comercio (former Stock Exchange), the fountain of lions, the monument to Chopin, and the monument to Caballero de París.

In the inner courtyard of the square is the Greek Orthodox Church.

Price for adults $30 / children $20.

Individual Russian-speaking guide, 4 hours, walking tour, without lunch.