The Palacio de los Capitanes Generales anchors the east side of Plaza de Armas in Old Havana. Spanish governors ruled Cuba from here for more than a century, and the building now houses the Museo de la Ciudad, Havana’s city history museum. Visitors come for its Cuban Baroque architecture and for rooms that trace the island’s colonial and republican past.
Builders completed the palace in 1791 from coral limestone quarried near the coast. After 1902 it housed Cuba’s presidents, and later the city government. Historian Eusebio Leal opened the museum in 1968. Inside, a courtyard shaded by royal palms surrounds an 1862 marble statue of Christopher Columbus. Upstairs, the Throne Room was prepared for a Spanish monarch who never visited. Other rooms display period furniture, gilded mirrors, military relics, horse-drawn carriages and independence-era flags. Outside, the street is paved with wooden blocks, laid so carriage wheels would not disturb the governor.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
Arrive soon after opening to beat tour groups arriving from cruise ships. Hours have typically run Tuesday through Sunday from mid-morning to late afternoon, but restoration work and closures happen. Check with the Oficina del Historiador before you go, and bring cash for the entrance fee. Allow about 90 minutes inside. Afterward, browse the secondhand book stalls in Plaza de Armas. The Castillo de la Real Fuerza, El Templete and the Palacio del Segundo Cabo are all within a short walk. Calle Obispo, Old Havana’s main pedestrian street, runs west from the plaza.
