Hotels - Beltran de Santa Cruz

About  Beltran de Santa Cruz

The mansion restored and converted by the Office of the City Historian of Havana into the Hotel Beltrán de Santa Cruz is only a moment’s walk down San Ignacio Street from one of Old Havana’s most beautiful squares, the Plaza Vieja. The Plaza is the old city’s only purely residential square. It was laid out in the late sixteenth century by the disgruntled citizenry after the commander of the Fuerza Castle had appropriated the Plaza de Armas for military exercises, thus depriving the habaneros of their public promenade-ground.

Plaza Vieja is surrounded by pretty colonial palaces and the Hotel Beltrán de Santa Cruz dates from the same period. It was built by the parents of Gabriel Beltrán de Santa Cruz y Aranda, who in 1770 received the title of Count of Jaruco and set up house nearby in the beautiful palace still known as the Casa de los Condes de Jaruco.

The mansion which was to become the Hotel Beltrán de Santa Cruz subsequently passed to the descendants of one of Havana’s most illustrious citizens, the Marquis of Cárdenas de Monte Hermoso. His guests over the years included the eminent German scientist Baron Alexander von Humboldt and three French princes: the Count of Beaujolais, the Duke of Montpensier and the Duke of Orleans, who later became Louis Philippe I of France.

Hotel Beltrán de Santa Cruz's gracious colonial architecture and interior design, and its proximity to the heart of the city’s historical centre, make it an extremely attractive option for aficionados of history and architecture.

 

Plaza de Armas, Habana Vieja

The Templete

The Templete, a small neo-classical style construction, was built in the second half of the 18th Century. It is located in Plaza de Armas. This was the site where the first public mass was celebrated and also the site of the first town council of the nascent town of San Cristóbal de La Habana. The Templete resembles a Doric temple and houses three commemorative canvasses by the famous French painter Juan Bautista Vermey. One of the walls exhibits the plate that declares Old Havana a World Heritage Site.

Calle Mercaderes No.120, Habana Vieja, La Habana

Tobacco Museum

The Museo del Tabaco (Tobacco Museum) is located within an 18th century building that belonged to the Bartolomé Luque family, in Calle Mercaderes Street, Old Havana. This museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of collections related to the plantations, production and commercialization of Cuban tobacco. It exhibits a large collection of pipes, leaves and other related items, as well as a collection of lithographic stones and machines of important cigar companies. The museum has a small shop where you’ll be able to get different Havana cigars and items for smokers.

Calle Mercaderes No. 160 e/ Lamaprilla y Obrapia, Habana Vieja, La Habana

Simón Bolívar Museum

The Simón Bolívar Museum is situated within an old Neoclassical palace dating back to between 1806 and 1817., right in front of the bronze statue of Latin America’s liberator, in Old Havana. This museum in honor of Simón Bolívar was opened July 24th 1993, coinciding with the anniversary of his birth. It has permanent exhibitions dealing with the history of the Bolivarian nation and its main figures of independence. The museum also houses a great library with important book collections and Latin-American documents.

San Ignacio No.61 (Plaza de la Catedral), Habana Vieja, La Habana

Colonial Art Museum

The Museo de Arte Colonial (Colonial Art Museum) is housed within the oldest construction in Old Havana, the Condes de Casa Bayona Palace, a mansion rebuilt in 1720 by Cuban Governor, Don Luis Chachón. The palace’s Classical patio and coffered ceiling made intricately of wood stand out within this construction. The palace boasts a wonderful location, right in front of the San Cristóbal de La Habana Cathedral. This small museum has a Colonial furniture and decorative art exhibition, amongst which will stand out some pottery with Colonial Cuba motifs, as well as several scenes of Colonial dining rooms and a fantastic collection of ornamental flowers.

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