El Capitolio, Havana

1. Wait for rain and watch the kids slide down the long and steeply descending walls along the stairs up to the Capitolio.

2. Take a seat in the cafý of the Capitolio. You get good tea and coffee, nice atmosphere and most importantly have a great view over the big square in front of the capitolio. Also every once in a while at least I needed a rest from being approached all the time ý you can sit back and relax for a moment without being talked to, also nice after a day in the city, believe me.

One of the main sites. Buy a ticket and go inside, it?s worth it. The contrast between inside and outside life is almost shocking, especially if you go outside again to enter the ?real world?. You can even enter the parliaments session rooms and take your seat on the seat of ?El Comandante?. Nobody really looks where you are going so you can sneak behind many doors or catch a glimpse where you probably were not supposed to.

Plaza Central - the Capitol - worth to visit.
Inaugurated in 1929 by dictator Gerardo Machado - a copy of the Capitol in DC Washington - builded in 3 years time for a unreasonable cost.
You will find a huge library of Cuban History
and a scenery of the Parlement.
And behind this monument you will find (The real fabricia de tabacos Partagas)- an elegant red and cream colored building !

Visiting this area is unavoidable when you visit Cuba
It is the center of Old Havana and a copy of the Washington Capitol
Nice to see the olden goldies in front - taxi's and old glory of the American period.There are many local bars in this area !

The Capitol is a very impressive building, a replica of the Capitol in Washington DC, built between 1926-1929. It was the home of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic. As having such a representation seemed unnecessary after the revolution, since 1959 it houses the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. It is open for tourists - we could walk around on our own, but the chambers were closed, had to opened by a guide (expecting a tip, of course). Several little painting exhibitions were shown in the building, with paintings for sale (I bought a nice "ecological" painting of Old Havana by Ernesto Gonzales).

El Capitolio - Nice cubans can make you little old white & Black pics as souvenir for 1 dollar....well the quality of the pics is not particularly good but it's nice to see how these old ancient cameras still work!

The Nacional Capitol (El Capityolio) is a very impressive building which no doubt reminds of the white house... ! It was built in 1929.
This is one of the most popular places to visit in Havana Just make sure to check the tours time in order not to miss it.

Located in Central Havana this building called the Capitolo was inaugurated in 1929. It's taller than the capitol in Washington DC. This was the home of government until 1959. Today this building houses the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment but is open for tours. You can also see the former government chambers and the library.