Plaza Vieja

Plaza Vieja (Old Square) is the southernmost and most intimate of Old Havana's four main squares — a beautifully proportioned baroque space surrounded on all four sides by restored colonial buildings. Unlike the other squares, which are dominated by churches or government buildings, Plaza Vieja is entirely residential and commercial in character, its surrounding palaces once belonging to wealthy Havana merchants and now housing restaurants, bars, a photography gallery, an artisanal brewery, and a camera obscura at the top of one of the towers.

The square has been thoroughly restored over the past three decades and is now one of the most pleasant places in Old Havana to sit with a coffee or a beer and watch the city go by. The Factoría Plaza Vieja brewery, in the ground floor of one of the colonial buildings, serves decent craft beer — unusual in Cuba — and the Cámara Oscura on the tower roof offers a real-time panoramic view of the city through its optical projection system.

things to do habana vieja sight
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Plaza Vieja is the only one of Old Havana's major squares that was designed purely for civic use — no churches, no military buildings, just a place for residents to gather. For much of the 20th century it was covered by a multistorey car park built by the Batista government. When the restoration authority removed the car park in 1996 and dug down to the original colonial paving, they found it in almost perfect condition beneath the concrete.

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