Cuba: Architecture
Program includes
- Roundtrip Airfare
- 8 Nights of Accommodation
- Daily Continental Breakfast
- Welcome & Farewell Dinners
- All Ground Transportation
- Architectural, Historical & Cultural Walking Tours
- Entrance to All Venues
- Travelers Insurance
Program Highlights
- Las Murallas, Centro Habana and El Vedado
- Plaza de la Revolución
- Matanzas and Varadero
- Ciudad Universitaria José Antonio Echeverría
- Parque Lenin
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas
- Las Escuelas Nacionales de Artes
Itinerary
Day 1 – Departure
- Depart Home for Havana, Cuba
- Arrive in Havana, Cuba
- Airport Transfer
- Orientation Walking Tour – Plaza San Francisco, El Morro Fortress, La Cabana and more…
- Cuban Welcome Dinner & Live Jazz Music – The group will be taken for an authentic dinner with a variety of menu options to cater all diets.
Day 2 – Havana – Colonial
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Colonial Tour of Old Havana – Plaza de Armas, Palacio de los Capitanes, Castillo Real de la Fuerza, Convento San Francisco, Plaza Vieja, Convento de Belén, Palacio Aldama, Catedral de San Cristóbal and more…
Day 3 – Havana – Eclecticism and Art Deco
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Tour of Las Murallas, Centro Habana and El Vedado – Paseo del Prado, Presidential Palace, Centro Gallego, Centro Asturiano now the Museo de Bellas Artes, Capitolio Nacional, Calle Cárdenas, Central Railway Station,
- Bacardi Building, The former Barró residence.
Day 4 – Havana – Modernism
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- El Vedado & Western Suburbs – College of Architects, Seguro Médico building, Pabellón Cuba, Hotel Habana Libre, Coppelia, Hebrew Community Center.
- Plaza de la Revolución – Visit the mid-20th century civic center, now Plaza de la Revolución, and the western extensions of the city that were developed during the 1930s through the 1950s. Important Cuban modernists such as Mario Romañach, Max Borges-Recio, Frank Martínez, Manuel Gutierrez and Ricardo Porro built their careers designing homes for affluent Cubans in the neighborhoods of Nuevo Vedado, Miramar, Siboney and Playa.
- Interior Visits – Club Nautico, De Schulthess Residence, Ambassador’s residence, Ofelia Viamonte Residence, Hotel Riviera.
Day 5 – Havana – Matanzas and Varadero
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Matanzas and Varadero – Day trip to the east to visit the historic sugar port of Matanzas and the fabled Varadero beach resort with notable architecture from the 1920s through the 1970s. Habana del Este, Matanzas; opera house, neoclassical police station, 19th century pharmacy, and blocks of neoclassical houses, Varadero, Hotel
- Internacional Varadero and Casa de los Cosmonautas.
Day 6 – Havana – Post Revolution
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Ciudad Universitaria José Antonio Echeverría – a new campus for the technical faculties of the University of Havana, including architecture and engineering. Built with an advanced system of prefabricated lift slab construction, CUJAE is the exemplar of the high-tech architecture promoted in Cuba after the revolution.
- Parque Lenin – an ambitious project to convert 670 hectares of deforested and eroded land, south of the city, into a new recreational zone.
Las Ruinas Restaurant – within the park, is a structure of virtuoso concrete engineering built around the ruins of a 19th century sugar mill. - Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas – expressive concrete, under the influence of Kenzo Tange.
- Las Escuelas Nacionales de Artes – is the most celebrated work of post-revolution architecture in Cuba. Built on the grounds of the Havana Country Club, the campus was developed to house the five art faculties in separate structures: The Schools of Fine Arts and Modern Dance, School of Dramatic Arts and Schools of Music and Ballet.
Day 7 – Cienfuegos
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Travel to Cienfuegos (approx. 3 hours)
- Architecture Walking Tour of Cienfuegos – Parque Martí, Palacio Ferrer, Palacio del Valle and Hotel Jagua.
Day 8 – Trinidad
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Travel to Trinidad (approx. 1.5 hours)
- Architecture Walking Tour of Trinidad – Plaza Mayor and Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísima Trinidad, Casa Sánchez Iznaga, Casa Brunet, Palacio Cantero, Convento San Francisco de Asis
- Farewell Dinner & Program Closing
Day 9 – Return
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Airport Transfer
- Depart Havana, Cuba for Home
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