Banco de La Habana

CA2
General sightseeing
Architectural style: Eclectic
CA Ranking: 2
Admission: Free
Cuba e/ Obispo y Obrapía, Habana Vieja
  • This 1915 two-story building was made of reinforced concrete. Its façade was composed of elements of the Ionic order and stood out because of its semicircular portico and its beautiful wooden door, which was protected by a solid wrought-iron gate. The façade’s six large columns with imposing pedestals gave the building a monumental character, very much in keeping with its role. With the Cuban banking collapse, the institution, which from the start was under the control of the National City Bank of New York, was compelled to enlarge the building due to an increase in operations, and in 1922, the third floor was added. Today, it is an office building for the national Insurance Company.

    
  • Hotel Saratoga

    Hotel Saratoga  LH 3

    The Saratoga Hotel – Reborn The oldest reference of what today is the elegant eclectic Saratoga Hotel dates back to 1879 when construction works for a three-story building began. The first floor was s …

    Casa de Carmen Montilla

    Casa de Carmen Montilla  LH 3

    This charming art gallery was established in 1994 by the late Venezuelan artist Carmen Montilla (1944-2004) with the support of the Office of the Historian of Havana. It is housed in 18th-century buil …

    La Casa del Agua La Tinaja

    La Casa del Agua La Tinaja  LH 3

    The quaint cobbled section of Calle Obispo between Calles Oficios and Mercaderes is lined with the oldest buildings in Havana. The row of 17th-century townhouse mansions includes the tiny La Casa del …

    Cementerio Chino

    Cementerio Chino  LH 3

    Chinese immigrants were promised rivers of gold on their arrival in Cuba, but in reality they were confined to barracks in abject poverty, where conditions were brutal. Many of them thought of returni …

    Casa de Masía L’Ampurdá

    Casa de Masía L’Ampurdá  LH 3

    Another modernist gem by Rotllant, who on this occasion proclaimed his Catalan ancestry. Like in Dámaso Gutiérrez’s home, the stylistic harmony between interiors and exteriors surprises pleasingly. Th …

    Museo de la Pintura Mural

    Museo de la Pintura Mural  LH 3

    The Museum of Mural Painting exhibits some beautifully restored original frescoes in one of the oldest surviving houses in the city, owned by Antón Recio, important figure of 16th-century Havana. Open …

    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 …

    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 …

    Monumento a Máximo Gómez

    Monumento a Máximo Gómez  LH 3

    Inaugurated in the mid-1930s, this magnificent monument pays homage to Dominican-born General Máximo Gómez, who became Commander in Chief of Cuba’s Liberation Army during the Wars of Independence. The …

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