Plaza de San Francisco de Asís

Habana Vieja


Facing Havana harbor, the breezy Plaza de San Francisco de Asís first grew up in the 16th century when Spanish galleons stopped quayside on their passage from the Caribbean to Spain. A market took root in the 1500s, followed by a church in 1608, though when the monks complained of too much noise, the market was moved a few blocks south to Plaza Vieja.

The plaza underwent a full restoration in the late 1990s and is most notable for its uneven cobblestones and the white-marble Fuente de los Leones, a fountain carved by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Gaggini in 1836. A more modern statue outside the square's famous church depicts El Caballero de París, a well-known street person who roamed Havana during the 1950s, engaging passersby with his philosophies on life, religion, politics and current events. The square's newest sculpture (added in 2012) is La Conversación by French artist Etienne, a modernist bronze rendition of two seated people talking.

The cruise terminal is directly opposite the square.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Habana Vieja attractions

1. La Conversación

0.01 MILES

Making up a trio of sculptures in Plaza San Francisco de Asís, La Conversación was added in 2012, donated by the French ambassador as a gesture of Franco…

2. Fuente de los Leones

0.02 MILES

The cobbled Plaza de San Francisco de Asís' oldest and most impressive statue is the white-marble Fuente de los Leones, carved by Italian sculptor…

3. El Caballero de París

0.03 MILES

A statue outside Plaza San Francisco de Asís' famous church depicts El Caballero de París, a hirsute street person who roamed Havana during the 1950s,…

4. Lonja del Comercio

0.03 MILES

This large, box-shaped building on Plaza de San Francisco de Asís is a former commodities market erected in 1909. The building was completely renovated in…

5. Casa de Carmen Montilla

0.04 MILES

An important art gallery that is named after a celebrated Venezuelan painter who maintained a studio here until her death in 2004. Spread across three…

6. Jardín Madre Teresa de Calcuta

0.04 MILES

Passers-by usually miss this tree-filled oasis at Plaza de San Francisco de Asís’ southeastern corner, where the remains of some of Cuba’s best-known…

8. Coche Mambí

0.09 MILES

To the side of the Palacio de Gobierno on Churruca is the Coche Mambí, a 1900 train car built in the US and brought to Cuba in 1912. Put into service as…

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