This small neo-classical style construction was built in the second half of the 18th Century. It is located in Plaza de Armas on the site where the first public mass was celebrated and also the site of the first town council of the nascent town of San Cristóbal de La Habana. The Templete resembles a Doric temple and houses three commemorative canvasses by the famous French painter Juan Bautista Vermey. One of the walls exhibits the plate that declares Old Havana a World Heritage Site.Place: Ciudad de La Habana
After more than fifty years of existence, this famous Cuban nightclub is internationally renowned for the virtuosity of its dancers, experience of its artistic directors and skill of its cast (made up by more than 200 professionals) and also because the performance is not presented in a theatre but rather, and true to its slogan, in a "Paradise under the Stars". Numerous prominent Cuban and American artists as well as countless of famed actors, actresses, businessmen and politician were regulars at this cabaret. Its show has toured the leading capitals of the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas.
Towards the end of the 16th Century, the square was known as the Plaza Nueva (New Square), however after the construction of the Plaza Nueva del Cristo (New Square of Christ) in the 18th Century, it was then called Plaza Vieja (Old Square). The buildings that surround this open space are of unquestionable architectural and artistic importance and typify Cuban architecture of the 18th Century. After the complete refurbishment of the central fountain, the square has recovered its original splendour.
The origin of this beautiful popular square, situated between San Pedro, Oficios y Amargura streets, goes back to 1628. Two buildings of significant importance flank its large cobbled space: the Convent and the Lesser Basilica, whose tower for many years was considered the highest point of the town. Given its location very close to the bay, it soon became a commercial square and a source of livelihood for the people of Havana. The Covent and the Basilica are now a concert hall and the Museum of Religious Art.
The Malecón is the largest bench in the world and also one of the most popular sites of Havana. The first project for the construction of this magnificent seawall dates back to the beginning of the 19th Century. The wall borders 7 Km of the northern coastline of the city, from the entrance to the bay (Castillo de La Punta) all the way to La Chorrera fort at the entrance to the Almendares River.
The San Francisco de Asís Church and Convent is the current scenario of the richest cultural traditions. As the City Historian has said: “to collect, restore, conserve and exhibit are the classic principles that govern there.... so as to save from the offenses of time the endangered heritage.” The construction of the current set dates from 1738, and it replaced a more modest one completed in 1591. Since it was closed to worship in 1841, the building has seen the most diverse uses. After a restoration that brought back its original values in the nineties, the architectural group has harbored, also, a concert hall and the Holy, Sacred and Religious Art museums.
