Page 86 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

84  HA V ANA AREA B Y AREA

Street-by-Street: Around the Parque Central

Lying on the border of the old city and 2 . Gran Teatro de
Centro Habana, between the Capitolio and La Habana
the Prado promenade, the Parque Central With one of its rooms
named after the great
was designed in 1877 after the old city walls Spanish poet, García
were demolished. A statue of Isabella II was Lorca, who stayed
put in the middle of the square but was later in Havana for a few
replaced by one of José Martí. The park is months in 1930, the
theatre is a mixture
surrounded by 19th- and 20th-century of influences with
monumental buildings and adorned with slender, angular
palm trees. It is the heart of the city centre towers.
and a popular meeting place. Towards
evening, when the air is cooler, people
gather here to talk until the small hours of
the night about baseball, music and politics.
5 Real Fábrica de
Tabacos Partagás
This elegant red and cream-
coloured building is home
to a prestigious cigar factory.

4 Parque de la
Fraternidad
The park was laid
out in 1892 to C A L L E S A N M A R T Í N ( S A N J O S É )
celebrate the C A L L E I N D U S T R I A
400th anniversary P A R Q U E C E N T R A L
of the discovery
of America.

P A S E O D E M A R T Í ( P R A D O )
C
A
L
L
E
D R A
G
O
N
E
S C A L L E B R A S I L

The Cine Payret, Cuba’s first
motion picture theatre, opened
in 1897, a year after the Lumière
brothers presented their
invention in Paris.
Key
Suggested route
3 . Capitolio
The dome of one of the most
imposing buildings in Latin
0 metres 100 America towers over the
0 yards 100 urban landscape of Havana.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp256–7 and p271

084-085_EW_Cuba.indd 84 14/02/17 11:35 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm