Cuba Museum of the Revolution. Museums in Havana

Museum of the Revolution- the most important museum; former presidential palace, located in the historical center. The exposition of the museum tells about the events that took place during the revolution of the 20th century, as well as the dramatic events of the late 19th century associated with the struggle for independence. This monumental neoclassical building is included in the version of our site.

Near the museum building you can see a Soviet tank with an artillery mount and a glass pavilion with F. Castro's motor yacht called "Granma". On this ship, the revolutionary with his supporters crossed from Mexico to Cuba. Among the famous exhibits of the Museum of the Revolution are the gilded telephone of the dictator F. Batista, the life-size wax figure of Che Guevara, the weapons and hats of the revolutionaries, etc.

From 1920 to 1959 before the start of the fight against the dictatorship, the building was used as the residence of the rulers of Cuba. It is noteworthy that Tiffany’s was engaged in interior design, which makes the palace look even more luxurious. Original chandeliers and mirrors of those times can be seen in a separate room. In total, the museum has about 30 rooms and 9,000 exhibits. It is easy to get to it, as it is located in the very center of the Cuban capital. You just need to walk along the Paseo de Martí from the Capitol building.

Photo attraction: Museum of the Revolution

The Ernest Hemingway House Museum is a house on the outskirts of Havana, where in the morning, standing at his typewriter, the talented American writer Ernest Hemingway drew creative energy. This very energy resulted in the excellent works of the master of the pen - "A holiday that is always with you", "For whom the bell tolls", "Across the river, in the shade of trees".

Here Hemingway spent the last 20 years of his life with his third wife Martha Gellhorn, who, by the way, was the initiator of the purchase of an enviable home.

The decor of the house is fully consistent with the taste of an eccentric lover of fishing on the high seas and hunting big game. Hunting trophies from Africa and posters depicting the writer's favorite bullfight are hung everywhere, and the library holds more than 9,000 books. Here the writer posted his collection of weapons, badges and all kinds of memorabilia, photographs of his three children.

As a museum, the house opened its doors in 1962. Here everything remained untouched, as during the life of the master, up to the boots of the 48th size, exposed for airing in front of the door. In this regard, they are not allowed into the museum, allowing only to look through the open windows. This fact makes you think: “Maybe the writer just went out for a walk?”

Coordinates: 24.55180700,-81.80076600

Steam Locomotive Museum

A little north of the Railway Station, behind the Parque de la Fraternidad, there is a small open-air museum, the exposition of which represents the history of the railway business in Cuba. The exhibits of the museum are two dozen different horse-drawn carts, steam locomotives, diesel locomotives. Many exhibits are already rusty and have lost their original appearance of the car, but there are also completely unique and interesting specimens, such as, for example, the first steam carriage. There was only enough room in this carriage for two passengers.

Most of the steam locomotives presented in the museum were produced by the American company Baldwin, which ceased to exist in 1956 due to the inability to restructure its production for the production of diesel locomotives. Steam locomotives of this brand were also in Russia: in 1895 the company delivered 2 copies, and in 1945 already 30 pieces.

Coordinates: 23.13386100,-82.36048100

Sugar Museum "Marcelo Salado"

The Marcelo Salado Sugar Museum is located 400 meters from the road to Remedios, in the village of Villa Clara. This is one of the abandoned sugar factories in Cuba, which is central to the country.

This interesting museum is dedicated to the history of the development of the sugar industry in Cuba, with a permanent display of various types of installations of the sugar factory, its tools, machines and boilers.

Here you will be able to see several working steam engines and even be able to operate some of the working units and visit the video room where you can watch a documentary.

Coordinates: 22.50000000,-79.50000000

Museum of Pharmacy

Of all the museums located in Cuba, the most unique is the Museum of Pharmacy, located in the building of a former French pharmacy. All exhibits of the institution - devices and raw materials for the preparation of essences, have been preserved unchanged. Vessels intended for storage and preparation of medicines were made to order from massive Bohemian glass. The building of the former pharmacy became famous in the city even before the opening of the museum, thanks to its first telephone booth in the city.

The museum's infrastructure includes a library that stores prescriptions for medicines, their purpose and cost, as well as a laboratory located below it, in which medicines were developed, brewed and bottled. The exit from the museum's laboratory leads to the main street of the city, decorated with flowers and fountains.

A trip to the pharmaceutical museum can be a great pastime for you and your family. You will be pleasantly surprised by the courtesy of the staff and the affordable prices. The museum has a small shop where you can buy various handmade souvenirs. The entrance to the institution is only 0.8 dollars.

Coordinates: 23.13593300,-82.35345200

Vintage Car Museum

If you were lucky enough to visit Cuba and would like to spend time in an unusual exciting environment, pay attention to the Museum of Vintage Cars, which is considered a local attraction along with the Capitol and the streets of old Havana. Here, visitors can diversify their vacation on the island by studying the history of classic cars. All the cars presented in the museum are kept in perfect condition - they will delight true connoisseurs with their sparkling polish and a variety of colors. The exhibit here features old Rolls-Royces, Cadillacs, Fords and Packards from the 1830s. The main attraction of the museum is the green "Chevrolet Bel Air", once owned by Che Guevara.

After the 1959 revolution, Cuba became a country of retro cars, due to the established ban on the export and import of cars. During the years of this ban, a lot of efficient cars, mostly American ones, have accumulated here, which served as the basis for the creation of a museum in the capital. You can visit it, both individually and as part of an excursion group. The establishment is open from 10:00 to 18:00 local time.

Coordinates: 23.14030100,-82.35717400

Museum of the Revolution

If you are interested in historical events related to the Cuban revolution, this place is a must visit. The Museum of the Revolution is located in the old part of Havana in the former building of the Presidential Palace, which was the residence of all Cuban presidents - from Mario Garcia Menocal to Fulgencio Batista. In the years following the Cuban Revolution, the presidential palace became a museum.

The exposition of the museum is mainly devoted to the period of the revolutionary war of the 1950s and the history of the country after 1959. Part of the museum shows pre-revolutionary Cuba. In the halls of the museum you can see life-size plastic figures of revolutionaries in natural settings, as well as Kalashnikov assault rifles, worn boots, blood-stained shirts and plates used by the revolutionaries. Behind the museum building is the Granma Memorial, where behind the glass is the Granma yacht, which brought Fidel Castro and his associates from Mexico to Cuba to start a guerrilla war.

Coordinates: 23.14141600,-82.35685200

Museum of Colonial Art

One of the world's most famous museums in Havana, this museum of colonial art is housed in a modest two-story charming building in the Cathedral Square. Modesty and outward simplicity did not prevent the mansion, which houses the museum, from perfectly fitting into the historical center of the city. Built in 1720 for the military ruler of Cuba, Don Luis Hacon, the building was often called the Palace for its colonial pomp. Havana is rich in such buildings.

Throughout its long history, the building has changed owners frequently. In addition to the governor of Cuba, the house was occupied by a college of notaries, a newspaper, and even a liquor company. Since 1969, after a large-scale reconstruction, the building houses a museum of colonial art.

Rum Museum Havana Club

The Rum Museum was opened in 2000 in an 18th century building in the old part of Havana. The organizers of the museum are the company Havana Club, which produces rum under the same name, which is by far the best-selling rum in the world. The building consists of two floors and the so-called ground floor. On the ground floor there is a workshop where special barrels are made from solid oak for aging rum. On the second floor, the production of rum itself has been reconstructed, for example, there is a sugar cane press here. One of the exhibits of the museum is a real wagon for transporting sugar cane from the plantation to the factory. A separate exhibition presents models of various rum factories in Cuba.

If you want to experience the unforgettable atmosphere of Old Havana, stroll through the local streets on a weekend evening and be sure to visit this museum. At this time, the Museum hosts concerts of local musical groups. Salsa, rumba, a sea of ​​the best rum, as well as soulful Cuban songs - all this awaits you at the Havana Club Museum.

Coordinates: 23.13553100,-82.34768500

Museum building and exhibits

The former government palace was designed by Belgian Paul Belau and Cuban architect Carlos Maruri in 1920. For 30 years, the palace was used by the first persons of Cuba. After the victory of the revolution, the building was reconstructed and a museum was placed in it.

The palace has not preserved stained glass lamps from Tiffany and outdoor forging. However, inside you can see large mirrors and beautiful glass chandeliers from the time of the announcer Fulgencio Batista.

The Museum of the Revolution in Havana has 38 rooms. Many visitors like the spacious presidential office, which retains the interiors and decorations of the 1940s. The attention of tourists is attracted by the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, as a prototype for which the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles of the 17th century was used.

Bullet holes can be seen on the marble staircase of the museum, left as a result of the assassination attempt on Batista in March 1957. It also shows a small tractor converted into a tank, and full-length wax figures that depict Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos during the battle.

The pride of the Museum of the Revolution is the spacesuit that belonged to the first Cuban to go into space - Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez, and the gold phone of the dictator Batista. The museum halls exhibit personal belongings of Fidel Castro. In addition, strands of Che Guevara's hair are stored here, and items of clothing in which the famous revolutionary died.

During the tour, tourists are told about the struggle of the Cuban people against the Spanish colonizers, the pre-revolutionary and revolutionary history of Cuba. Visitors can watch a documentary about the Cuban Revolution and learn how Cuban society lives in the 21st century.

Near the entrance to the Museum of the Revolution in Havana, there is a caricature of US President George W. Bush wearing a Nazi helmet. In texts in several languages, the American president is ironically thanked for the fact that socialism in Cuba has become eternal.

Useful information for tourists

The Museum of the Revolution in Havana is open seven days a week from 9:30 to 16:00. In guidebooks for the Cuban capital, visiting the museum is declared free, but without money, tourists are only allowed on the threshold, and they can see the entrance to the interior. Ticket prices are not published anywhere, but it is known that the entrance to the museum is inexpensive.

How to get there

The Museum of the Revolution in Havana is located in the very center of the Cuban capital, on Avenida Bélgica. It is enough to ask any taxi driver for a ride to the “presidential palace” or to the “Museum of the Revolution”.

Museum of the Revolution in Havana (Havana, Cuba) - expositions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.

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The Museum of the Revolution in Havana is one of the must-see attractions. First of all, because "Cuba" and "revolution" have become almost synonymous in the minds of the world community. Secondly, because the building itself, which now houses the museum, is a historical and architectural monument. Previously, it was nothing less than a presidential palace and looks very beautiful.

In Cuba, the Museum of the Revolution is considered the most important of all the more than 300 museums on the island.

The palace was designed in the neoclassical style, built in 1920 and for almost 30 years, until the revolution, served as the official residence of all Cuban rulers. According to Cuban historians, the then President Menocal, who built the palace for himself, spent more than three million US dollars from the state treasury to hire the Cuban Carlos Maruri and the Belgian Paul Belau as the main architects. The interior design was done by New York Tiffany's, which received almost a million and a half more for it.

Immediately after the overthrow of the Batista regime, the palace was turned into a museum, and, despite the fact that the palace lost most of the forging and glass stained glass lamps "Tiffany", the original mirrors and glass chandeliers can still be seen in the Hall of Mirrors. The latter was created in the likeness of the Versailles Hall of Mirrors of the 17th century. The second particularly remarkable hall of the palace is the presidential office, where the original furniture and decor elements of the 40s have been preserved.

Approximately 9000 exhibits are placed in 30 halls of the museum. The expositions touch not only the revolutionary period, but also the history of the island on a wider scale, starting from the 15th century. Of course, the main focus here is on the 50s and 60s of the last century, but there are also exhibits related to the war for independence from Spain and the pre-revolutionary years. These are photographs, newspapers, letters, items of clothing, reconstructions of battles, weapons, sculptures. Not surprisingly, in Cuba, the Museum of the Revolution is considered the most important of all the more than three hundred museums on the island.

Walking up the wide marble staircase, a closer examination of the walls reveals the bullet holes left from the failed student assassination attempt on Batista on March 13, 1957. Among the curious (and sometimes amusing) exhibits of the museum is the Dragon-I, a small agricultural tractor converted into a tank ; life-size wax dummies depicting Guevara and Cienfuegos in the field (their real rifles and caps are on display separately); Batista's gold phone and the space suit of the first Cuban cosmonaut, Arnaldo Mendez.

On the side of the facade of the museum is a domestic self-propelled gun SU-100. And in the square behind the palace, in a special glazed pavilion, the Granma yacht is placed, on which the rebels, led by Fidel, sailed to the island in 1956 from Mexico to start a revolutionary struggle against the dictatorship. It is surrounded by rockets, which, during the Caribbean crisis, knocked out the American "Lockheed" spy from the ground, and its engines.

At the entrance to the Museum of the Revolution, a colorful caricature of George W. Bush (senior) in a Nazi helmet with a swastika is placed on the wall. The inscription on the tablet next to it in Spanish, English and French reads: "Thank you, cretin, for helping us make socialism irrevocable."

Address: Habana, Avenida Belgica.