Hostal Conde de Villanueva

CA4
General sightseeing
Architectural style: Spanish colonial
CA Ranking: 4
Admission: n-a
Mercaderes #202, e/ Lamparilla y Amargura, Habana Vieja
  • The former 18th-century mansion of Claudio Martínez de Pinillos, Count of Villanueva, leader of Cuban Creole society in the 19th century, was restored in the 1990s to create a charming and comfortable nine-bedroom boutique hotel run by Habaguanex. The hotel also boasts one of Old Havana’s best cigar shops with private humidors to boot.

    The exterior is painted in sienna red and bulges outward from the base, giving the impression of impending collapse. It has an attractive and soothing inner courtyard while the upstairs suites contain stained-glass windows, chandeliers and arty sculptures.

    
  • Cruz Verde

    Cruz Verde  LH 3

    The corner of Amargura and Mercaderes is known as Cruz Verde (Green Cross) due to a green-painted cross affixed to the northwest-facing cornerstone. The cross is one of twelve that were to be found al …

    Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta

    Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta  LH 3

    Given its strategic location on one side of the harbor mouth, this fortress was one of the two most important defensive constructions in Havana’s defense system in colonial times. Construction works t …

    Fuente de los Leones

    Fuente de los Leones  LH 3

    Designed in 1836 by Italian artist Giuseppe Gaggini, the Carrara marble Fuente del Conde de Villanueva is popularly known as “Fuente de los Leones” for its four lions, one to each corner, resting on p …

    Oratorio de San Felipe Neri

    Oratorio de San Felipe Neri  LH 3

    Originally a small church built in 1693, it was acquired two centuries later by a bank. The building was eventually returned to the city as a concert hall where lyric theater and song is performed. It …

    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 …

    Museo del Chocolate

    Museo del Chocolate  LH 3

    Although calling this place a museum is an overstatement, there are some intriguing artefacts relating to the history of chocolate production in Cuba. More appropriate would be to call it Café Fábrica …

    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 …

    Iglesia de Santa Rita de Casia

    Iglesia de Santa Rita de Casia  LH 3

    The succession of parabolic arcs made of reinforced concrete in contrast to the three stories of rectangular windows which alternate with the arcs create a sense of motion and modernity, accentuated b …

    Plaza Carlos III

    Plaza Carlos III  LH 3

    This is a four-story commercial center that includes shops, fast food outlets, a bank, food market, etc, which after wide-ranging remodeling and restoration, first opened in October 1997. At the time, …

    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 …

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