8 Best Museums to Visit in Havana, Cuba

Havana is the bustling capital of Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, that is home to unique, colourful architecture, rich Afro-Cuban heritage and a vibrant street scene. Cuba is often portrayed in a polarized way in the media, centring particularly around the longstanding US embargo. However this portrayal fails to do justice to Cuba’s cultural vibrancy, historic resilience and advancements in areas such as healthcare, education and the arts. Havana is a complex and multifaceted city, and is home to some truly impressive museums that are well worth visiting.

Here are the 8 best museums to visit in Havana, Cuba.

Museo de la Revolución (Revolution Museum)

Museo de la Revolución, translated as Revolution Museum, is one of Cuba’s most iconic museums, dedicated to the history of the Cuban Revolution of 1953-1959. Located in the former Presidential Palace, which was originally used to house the offices and residence of the Cuban president and is a neoclassical architectural highlight, the Museo de la Revolución houses a variety of exhibits that outline the events leading up to, during and after the revolution.

Visitors can get up close and personal to the revolution experience by viewing the original bullet holes made during an assassination attempt of Fulgencio Batista (military dictator of Cuba), as well as personal items, photos and weapons of central revolutionary figures such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos.

And displayed in a glass pavilion outside is a replica of the Granma, the 60-foot yacht used to transport Fidel Castro and 82 other fighters from Mexico to Cuba in November, 1956.

There are also displays of various vehicles, planes and tanks that were used in pivotal moments in Cuba’s revolutionary history. For example, visitors can see the tank used by Fidel Castro to shoot at mercenaries during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, a failed CIA-backed landing operation in April, 1961.

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba (National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba)

The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba in Havana is Cuba’s premier art museum and is considered one of the finest in Latin America. It’s split into two main sections housed in separate buildings: the Palacio de Bellas Artes is dedicated to Cuban art and the Palacio del Centro Asturiano showcases international art.

The Palacio de Bellas Artes houses over 30,000 artistic pieces that include paintings, drawings, sculptures and engravings produced from the 17th century to the present day. The exhibits provide a deep dive into Cuban culture, exploring themes like national identity, history and social change, with works by some of Cuba’s most celebrated artists such as Wifredo Lam, René Portocarrero and Amelia Peláez.

The Palacio del Centro Asturiano houses what is referred to as the ‘Universal Art’ collection, which comprises five sections: Art of Antiquity, European Art, American Art, Latin American Art, and Asian Art. It’s a grand neoclassical building with ornate staircases and domes where you can explore a diverse range of artwork from ancient Egyptian artefacts to Ukiyo-e Japanese-style woodblock paintings from the 1800s.

Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Cuba (National Museum of Natural History of Cuba)

The Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Cuba offers visitors an in-depth look at Cuba’s rich biodiversity and geological heritage. Located in the heart of Habana Vieja (Old Havana) and a former US Embassy building, the museum features a variety of exhibits showcasing native Cuban wildlife, including displays of birds, reptiles and other animals unique to the island. It also covers broader topics such as the geological formation of the Caribbean region, with exhibits on fossils, minerals, and paleontology. In total, there are over 64,000 specimens housed in the museum.

A highlight is the exhibit on prehistoric animals, which includes models of dinosaur skeletons, and there’s a strong educational focus to the exhibits, emphasizing the importance of environmental conservation and preserving Cuba’s natural habitats and species.

Museo Casa Natal José Martí (José Martí Birthplace Museum)

The Museo Casa Natal José Martí is the birthplace of the “Apostle of Cuban Independence”, who was born in this modest colonial home in 1853. Martí is regarded as a Cuban national hero who fought for liberation from the Spanish Empire.

The museum’s exhibits focus on Martí’s life, writings and contributions to the independence movement. There are 7 rooms in total, containing rare artefacts such as personal belongings, his writing desk, manuscripts and original letters. There are also displays about Martí’s time abroad in exile, a time when he wrote extensively about Cuban independence and garnered support for the cause, highlighting Cuba’s unique identity and culture.

Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas Cuba (National Museum of Cuban Decorative Arts)

The Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas Cuba is a French Renaissance-inspired mansion with marble floors, a grand staircase and lush gardens that houses one of Cuba’s most exquisite collections of fine furnishings, art objects and décor. Located in the upscale Vedado district of Havana, the museum has a collection of over 33,000 artefacts that spans various centuries and styles, including pieces from the Rococo, Neoclassical, Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements. There’s a lot to see, from ornate furniture, ceramics and textiles to crystal chandeliers, sculptures and tapestries.

The museum offers guided tours that provide historical context to the items on display, and lectures by experts on various topics related to decorative arts, art history and cultural heritage.

Museo Hemingway Finca Vigía (Hemingway Museum)

Like the Ernest Hemingway books, For Whom the Bells Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea? At the Museo Hemingway Finca Vigía, you can visit the property where Hemingway lived from 1939 to 1960. Located in the district of San Francisco de Paula in Havana (about 24km from the city centre), the museum preserves Hemingway’s home as it was when he lived there, offering an intimate glimpse into his personal life, creative process and deep connection to Cuba. On display are photographs, letters, and handwritten notes. Outside is the Pilar, a 38-foot boat that Hemingway used for fishing trips and scientific research, and on which he derived inspiration for several of his books.

Casa de África (House of Africa)

Casa de África is a museum dedicated to showcasing and celebrating African heritage and cultural influence in Cuba. Located in Old Havana, the museum houses over 2,000 artefacts, with various exhibits exploring African spirituality, traditional crafts, clothing, musical instruments and daily life.

The museum is open about the island’s history and delves into slavery during the colonial period, in which cheap labour from Africa was forcibly made to work in sugar and tobacco plantations. Visitors can see original objects from that time period such as an original cart used for the transportation of sugar cane to the mills and a stone from an old grain mill.

The second floor adopts a pan-African stance where it displays cultural artefacts on the basis of various themes such as decorative, utilitarian or of a specific material. The idea is to help visitors better relate to the ways of life in African countries without being distracted by artificial borders.

The Casa de África serves as an important institution for understanding Cuba’s African roots and allows visitors to explore the African diaspora’s influence on the island’s language, music, religion and traditions.

Museo Napoleónico (Napoleon Museum)

The Museo Napoleónico is an impressive museum dedicated to the life and legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte. Located a 5 minute walk from Universidad de la Habana (Havana University) in the Vedado neighbourhood, the museum is housed in a stunning Italian Renaissance-style mansion that holds one of the most comprehensive collections of Napoleonic artefacts in Latin America.

The layout of the museum is chronologically ordered to coincide with the military and political events of the Napoleonic Era such as the fall of the French monarchy and the French Revolution, the expansion of the French Empire and Napoleon’s eventual exile and imprisonment.

Visitors are often surprised to see the range and quality of the collection. There are over 7,000 items on display that were estimated to be worth $8 million in 1986. Items include military uniforms, weapons, furniture, rare books and letters. There’s also a reconstruction of Napoleon’s study, along with a library of over 5,000 volumes that’s open to students and researchers.

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