Vedado is Havana's modern downtown — a grid of wide streets and mid-rise buildings developed in the early 20th century as the wealthy residential and commercial district of the city. It is home to the University of Havana, the main hotels, the Colon Cemetery, the Hotel Habana Libre, and most of the government ministries. It has a different feel from Old Havana: wider streets, more trees, fewer tourists, and more of the ordinary rhythms of Havana life.
The neighbourhood's cultural institutions are among the best in the city: the Casa de la Música, the Casa de las Américas, and several of Havana's better museums are in Vedado. The university campus, on a hill at the neighbourhood's eastern edge, is a handsome neoclassical complex with a famous staircase (La Escalinata) that has been the site of student protests and political gatherings throughout Cuban history.