Boulevard Independencia
Bulevar de Santa Clara (Calle Independencia)
A pedestrian shopping street one block north of Parque Leoncio Vidal, lined with shops, cafés, ice cream parlors and an old cinema, where locals go to shop.
Independence Street runs one block north of Parque Leoncio Vidal, and its central stretch has been turned into a pedestrian street that locals call “the Boulevard.” Lined with neoclassical and Art Deco buildings, it is home to state-run shops, bookstores, handicraft stalls, cafés and ice cream parlors, as well as the traditional cultural events of the Casa de la Cultura. Here you can see the everyday shopping and queuing of ordinary Cubans, and it is busiest in the evenings and on weekends. Nearby, the El Mejunje cultural center is a well-known venue for live music and nightlife. It is ideal to walk here from Parque Leoncio Vidal, with 20 to 40 minutes of browsing.
Opening hours
Open all day; shops about 9:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby sights
- Teatro La Caridad
- Museo de Artes Decorativas
- Parque Vidal
- Constantino Pérez Carrodegua Cigar Factory
- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen
- Monumento a la Toma del Tren Blindado
- Che Guevara Mausoleum & Monument
- Loma del Capiro