De los Mercaderes street goes from the Plaza Vieja (that was called before Plaza Nueva) to the Plaza de la Catedral (known before 1789 as la Plaza Parroquial Mayor). When you walk over its paving-stones (better known as adoquines) suddenly you are surprised by a big mural portraying the old Liceo ArtÃstico y Literario de La Habana and the remarkable personalities that attended to that lyceum.
On this street there are other important institutions, as the recently created Universidad de San Jerónimo, showing its new concept and look. Also we can reach the Casa de Asia, the Casa de Benito Juarez and the Casa Simon Bolivar, the Old Havana miniature model, the Casa de la Obra PÃa, the Wagner garden, the Casa del Habano, and at the intersection with Obispo street the well known Ambos Mundos Hotel which accommodated Ernest Hemingway during the 30´s of past century
Enjoy natural fragrances at Habana 1971 store, a place full of colonial aromas from the Cuban Island. The Hostal Conde de Villanueva and the traditional restaurant Torre de Marfil share Mercaderes street with the popular Café Habana, the Chocolate Museum, the Meson de la Flota and the crowded Café Taberna amigos de Benny More
At the street end the Plaza Vieja emerges magnificent with its beautiful marble fountain. The Dark Chamber (Camara Oscura) lets us look over the whole city just in a blink. Also at the Plaza Vieja are the Fototeca (photo archives) and a nice tavern where you can learn beer manufacture and damp your thirst with a jar of this foamy drink
|