Calle Mercaderes wall mural.

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Calle Mercaderes

Top choice in Habana Vieja


Cobbled, car-free Calle Mercaderes (Merchant's Street) has been extensively restored by the Office of the City Historian and is an almost complete replica of itself at its splendid 18th-century high-water mark. Interspersed with the museums, shops and restaurants are some working social projects, such as a maternity home and a paper-making cooperative.

Most of the myriad museums are free, including the Casa de Asia, with paintings and sculpture from China and Japan; the Armería 9 de Abril, an old gun shop (now museum) stormed by revolutionaries on the said date in 1958; and the Museo de Bomberos, which has antediluvian fire equipment dedicated to 19 Havana firefighters who lost their lives in an 1890 railway blaze.

Just off Mercaderes down Obrapía, it's worth slinking into the gratis Casa de África, which houses sacred objects relating to Santería and the secret Abakuá fraternity collected by ethnographer Fernando Ortíz.

The corner of Mercaderes and Obrapía has an international flavor, with a bronze statue of Latin America liberator Simón Bolívar; across the street you'll find the Museo de Simón Bolívar, dedicated to Bolívar's life. The Casa de México Benito Juárez exhibits Mexican folk art and plenty of books but not a lot on Juárez (Mexico's first indigenous president) himself. Just east is the Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín, now a museum but once the studio of the great Ecuadorian artist who painted Fidel Castro in numerous poses.

Mercaderes is also characterized by its restored shops, including a perfume store and a spice shop. Wander at will.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Habana Vieja attractions

1. Casa de Asia

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Casa de Asia exhibits a minor cache of paintings and sculpture from China and Japan.

2. Maqueta de La Habana Vieja

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Herein lies a 1:500 scale model of Habana Vieja, complete with an authentic soundtrack meant to replicate a day in the life of the city. It's incredibly…

3. Museo de Pintura Mural

0.02 MILES

A simple museum that exhibits some beautifully restored original frescoes in the Casa del Mayorazgo de Recio, popularly considered to be Havana's oldest…

4. Casa de México Benito Juárez

0.03 MILES

The Casa de México Benito Juárez exhibits Mexican folk art and plenty of books but not a lot on Juárez (Mexico’s first indigenous president) himself.

5. Statue of Simón Bolívar

0.03 MILES

The corner of Mercaderes and Obrapía has an international flavor, with a bronze statue of Simón Bolívar, the Latin America liberator, in a small park.

6. Casa de la Obra Pía

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One of the more muscular sights around Calle Mercaderes is this typical Havana aristocratic residence, constructed around 1648 and rebuilt in 1780…

7. Edificio Santo Domingo

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The block behind Plaza de Armas was the original home of Havana's university, from 1728 to 1902. The university was once part of a convent. The office…

8. Armería 9 de Abril

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An old gun shop (now museum) stormed by revolutionaries on the said date in 1958. Mercifully, the armaments are no longer for sale.

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