The Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, to give it its full name, is one of the finest surviving examples of early 20th-century theatrical architecture in Latin America — a flamboyant Baroque Revival building that faces the Parque Central on the Paseo del Prado. The building seats around 1,500 in a horseshoe auditorium with excellent sight lines and acoustics.
The Gran Teatro is the home of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, one of the great classical ballet companies in the world. Performances — typically Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday afternoons — are excellent value by international standards and the company's training in the Russian school of technique is evident. The theatre also hosts opera, concerts, and visiting companies. Even if you do not attend a performance, a daytime guided tour of the building is worthwhile for the architecture alone — the sculptural facade, the grand staircase, and the recently restored gilded auditorium.