The Top Museums in Havana, Cuba
In Cuba, history, heroes, traditions and renowned figures of art and culture are so reverently remembered and celebrated that sometimes museums are created for the most random topics and reasons. Refraining from entering every place labeled as a ‘museum’ is therefore a good strategy when in Cuba. Just don’t be cautious to the point of disregarding them all – if you are interested in art, literature, history and culture, here are the ones you won’t want to miss in Havana.
1. National Museum of Fine Arts (Cuban Art)
Building, Museum
Although the National Museum of Fine Arts (the MNBA – ‘Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes‘ – in its Spanish incarnation) is a single institution, in practice the Cuban and international collections are divided into two separate buildings (see second building below). Of the two, the Cuban collection is undoubtedly the most valuable. Paintings, sculptures, engravings and installations by some of the best Cuban artists in history can be seen here. Organized chronologically, the exhibition starts with works from the 16th century, evolving through different periods of formation of Cuban identity – it was not until the dawn of the 20th century that more authentic and distinctive styles started to be appreciated. From the boom of modern art in the 1930s, to the works inspired by the changes that followed the 1959 revolution, to pieces from the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, this collection offers a fascinating portrait of Cuban history and culture.
2. Museum of the Revolution
Museum, Building
3. Finca Vigía
Museum
The country house where American author Ernest Hemingway lived from 1939 to the end of his days in Cuba is today a museum that treasures a valuable collection of personal objects, from over 9,000 books to shotguns and hunting trophies. The display preserves the original disposition of rooms and objects in the house. Pilar, his old yacht, is also at this location.
4. National Museum of Fine Arts (International Art)
Building, Museum
Only a few blocks away from the building that houses the Cuban collection of the MNBA, you will find the former Asturias Center, which today is home to a large display of international art. Since its foundation in 1954, the museum had grown its collection through donations and acquisitions, but after 1959 works expropriated from rich Cuban families became a new source for the museum, counting over 40,000 pieces to this day. The organization here responds more to the origin of the works: from important examples of ancient art from Egypt, Rome, Etruria and Greece, to small collections from Latin America, Spain, Germany, France, the United States, Italy, Flanders, and Holland.
5. Morro-Cabaña Complex
Museum
This military complex is made up by two of the main fortresses built by the Spanish Crown to protect its possessions on the island: Morro Castle and the Cabaña Fortress. Morro Castle is strategically located at the entrance of the Havana bay. It is better known for its lighthouse (installed in 1895), which has become one of the main symbols of the city of Havana. Among the objects on display at the museum are artillery pieces and other weapons and tools.
6. Museum of the City
Museum, Building
7. Museum of Decorative Arts
Museum
8. Napoleon Museum
Building, Museum, University
Havana’s Napoleon Museum treasures one of the most important collections of objects linked to the life of the the French emperor (outside of France) as well as objects linked to the French Revolution through the times of the Second Empire. Located in Vedado, near the University of Havana, the building was the home of sugar magnate Orestes Ferrara, whose properties were seized by the government that came to power in 1959. Over 8,000 items are on display at this sumptuous mansion, including weapons, military equipment, furniture, coins, and Napoleon’s telescope and death mask, brought to Cuba by the last doctor who treated him before his death.
Napoleon Museum, San Miguel, Vedado, Havana, Cuba, +53 7 8791412
9. Rum Museum
Museum
Other mini-museums
There’s a series of one-room museums scattered all over Havana that could, in some cases, be of interest, as long as you have realistic expectations about what they offer. The Museum of Chocolate, for instance, is a tiny chocolate factory showcasing a few objects and posters related to chocolate production, where you can have cold chocolate milkshakes and other chocolate products. The Maqueta de la Habana Vieja is a room containing a model of the old part of the city, while the Dark Room is a room on the top floor of a building in Old Square where you can see in real time what’s going on on the local rooftops and other nearby places in a projection in a dark room.
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