Hotels - Nacional de Cuba

About  Nacional de Cuba

So much has been written about the charismatic Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Built in 1930, the Nacional boasts a long and rich history – palpable today – and is part of what makes a stay here so unique.

From the palm-flanked pool to the breezy garden terrace, the Nacional has many attractive areas to linger or lounge. Tuck into one of the Chesterfield sofas under stunning chandeliers and carved wooden ceiling to see why this is a favorite spot of foreigners and Cubans alike.

The sloping garden with aerial Malecón views is perfect for enjoying a cappuccino, tuna sandwich, Cuban cigar or stiff cocktail. Dotted with palms and archetypical wicker furniture, it’s an oasis of tranquility. It is a popular meeting spot for local business people, visiting dignitaries and Cuban cultural icons.

Everything here channels the glory days of the 1950s, from the Bar Hístórico to the vintage American cars parked outside in the long, sweeping driveway. For full effect, rent one (with obligatory driver) for an hour or two. Hotel Nacional has always been allied to the film industry and is the headquarters for the annual Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of Havana.

Music and dance are equally represented at the Nacional where extravagant shows are hosted nightly at the Cabaret Parisien, second only to the Tropicana. Meanwhile, Salon 1930 is dedicated to Compay Segundo (of Buena Vista Social Club fame) and his successors perform here weekly.

Calle Línea No. 251 esq G, Vedado, La Habana

Dance Museum

The Museo de la Danza (Dance Museum) is located in an eclectic mansion in Vedado. The museum exhibits a rich collection of objects from the history of Cuban dance, among which are some personal belongings of famous former dancer Alicia Alonso, who founded the National Ballet of Cuba, and she is precisely the live soul of this Museum. The exhibition room dedicated to Alonso displays her costume for Giselle's first act, a ballet play that opened her vertiginous way to stardom, as well as her costume for Carmen (designed by Salvador Fernández), another of her mythical characters. Its halls contain several collections of the dressing room items, photographs, paintings, engravings of the old Tacón Theater, and pieces ranging from 16th century to contemporary society. The most ancient piece in the Museum is a book by Raoul Auger Feuillet, The Art of Writing Dance, from 1700, with demonstrative signs and letters, a gift given to Alicia. The collection of the Dance Museum is extremely valuable, a true treasure thanks to which this apparently intangible art can be trapped.

Zapata y 12, Vedado

Colon Cemetery

This cemetery holds the largest concentration of statues in the country and its finest funerary monuments representing different styles of architecture. Its structure is rectangular shaped Roman camp and comprises a grid of street blocks and lots. The entrance features a sculptural monument, Carrara marble, 34 meters long and 21.66 meters high, it is one of the most outstanding Cuban works of the 19th century. Classified as a National Monument, the cemetery is therefore seen as an outdoor museum. The cemetery is the only American cemetery dedicated to Christopher Columbus, the great navigator who discovered the island and other major destinations in the Americas.

Malecon, Habana

Malecón Seawall Drive

The metropolitan esplanade that runs along the coast for some 12 kilometres, from the entrance to the Bay of Havana (Castillo de La Punta) to the fort of La Chorrera, beside the mouth of the river Almendares. The first project for the construction of this magnificent seawall dates back to the beginning of the 19th Century. Along it is a series of lookout points, esplanades and parks with geometrical layouts. It is one of the most popular places among the people of Havana.

Calle San Miguel No. 1159 esq. a Ronda, Habana

Napoleonic Museum

Very close to the bicentennial University of Havana is the Napoleonic Museum. This museum, the finest dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte outside of France, is housed in a small Florentine palace built in line with plans for a villa designed for the Medici family. It houses more than 7,000 pieces: weapons, military equipment, furniture, Sèvres porcelain, paintings, coins, books, personal items used by the Bonaparte family and even the death mask of the prisoner of St Helena, brought to Cuba by his last doctor. The Napoleonic Museum is considered to be one of the most important of the world, It is unique in its type in Latin America.

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