TOP 5 OLD HAVANA SMALL MUSEUMS
CASA DEL CHOCOLATE
Called the elixir of the gods, chocolate not only has many health benefits, it is also a delicious treat for your taste buds. On the corner of Mercaderes and Amargura is this small museum and shop dedicated to everything chocolate. Where you may buy everything from a chocolate bunny to a cup hot chocolate, and learn about the process of getting chocolate into your hands from the cultivation of cacao to the commercialization of the final product.
HAVANA CASA DEL PERFUME
At 156 Mercaderes is the Havana House of Perfume, and at this stop one of your senses will experience unexplainable sensations. The combination of fragrances in the air will relax you, and at the shop you may create your own scent from a selection of ingredients, and they will bottle it for you.
ARMERIA
Continuing along Mercaderes we come upon the Armeria, Gunshop, with its collection of long guns and handguns dating back to the nineteenth century. Among the firearms on display are examples produced by Browning, Winchester, BRNO, Herstal, and German, Russian, and French firearms.
MUSEO DE LOS BOMBEROS
Staying on Mercaderes you will next stop at the Havana Firefighter’s Museum, located at the site where twenty firefighters lost their lives. Cuba was the first country in Latin America to establish a professional firefighting corps, and the museum displays items from its history. Antique water pumps and fire engines are on display.
On Obispo Street, between Aguiar and Habana, is Havana's Numismatic Museum, and its impressive collection of coins, medals, and paper money. There is a collection of Cuban money dating to the nineteenth century, and the museum regularly has visiting collections on display.
At the end of your visit you will have acquired chocolates, perfume, and who knows how many of Havana’s secrets.
By Dina GomGar
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