Plaza de la Catedral Square of Old Havana

Discover all the wonders the Plaza de la Catedral Square has to offer in Old Havana, Cuba

Plaza de la Catedral Square of Old Havana
©F.Larrende.

The Plaza de La Catedral Square of Old Havana is the most uniform of the four main Colonial squares in Old Havana. This square is an authentic museum of Cuban Baroque, as all the buildings in it, including the Cathedral, date back to the 18th century. In this Square Empedrado and San Ignacio Street come together.

Plaza de la Catedral ©Tai Pan of HK.

La Bodeguita del Medio, Plaza de la Catedral

La Bodeguita del Medio © C. Viarisio.

Some of the most relevant buildings in this square, apart from the San Cristóbal de La Habana Cathedral are: Palacio de los Marqueses de Aguas Claras Palace; Conde de Lombillo Palace; Marqués de Arcos Palace; Condes de Casa Bayona Palace, which currently houses the Colonial Art Museum; and the Wifredo Lam Center, a small museum and gallery dedicated to Wifredo Lam, one of the best-known modern Cuban Artists.

In Chorro Alley, starting in the square, is the Experimental Graphics Art Workshop, where Cuban artists work with metal sheeting, lithographs, and serigraphs. They do high-quality samples of Cuban plastic arts. These works are also at affordable prices.

This is the newest of the four main squares in the city, its origins dating back to the 1700s. At the end of the 16th century it was a marshy area, the reason for which it is nowadays known as La Ciénaga (the swamp). The Zanja Real stretched to this point, an open channel which provided the city with water. After its surroundings were built and the area drained, the square as we know it was built.

Close to the square is La Bodeguita del Medio, the most famous bar-restaurant in all of Cuba. Ernest Hemingway, a daily client, mentioned it in one of his well-known sayings: “My daiquiri in Floridita and my mojito in La Bodeguita”. Its restaurant offers some of the best Creole cuisine in Cuba, so booking a table may not come easy.

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What to see in Old Havana

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