5 of the most intriguing literary places in Havana

This is where the poet, writer and art critic José Lezama Lima lived from 1929 until 1976. His furniture, family portraits, his library: everything has been kept unchanged. It feels as if you are visiting him and that you are waiting for him to put in an appearance. Here Lezama wrote his most famous work Paradiso.

The Fundación can be found in the Casa del Conde de la Reunión. Alejo Carpentier wrote his novel El siglo de las luces here. A part of the house is dedicated to his memory. His early works are displayed here, and his raincoat is still thrown over his old deskchair. The rest of the house is used as a cultural center.

Birth house of national hero and poet José Martí, born on 28 January 1853. You can visit a permanent exhibition about the events that shaped his personal and political life in this beautiful, restored house.

Dulce María Loynaz was a Cuban poet and writer. In 1992, she received the Spanish Premio Cervantes. Lots of major writers such as Frederico García Lorca visited her in Cuba. She lived in this house in Vedado until she died in 1997. It is now a cultural literary center. You can still visit three rooms, which have been preserved in their original state.

Cecilia Valdés is a character in a novel by Cirilio Villaverde, the Balzac of Cuba. His novel is set in the 1830s colonial Havana, and it is considered important for its literary quality and its insight into the interaction of classes and races. The novel was adapted for the silver screen by Humberto Solas.