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Travel bucket list idea:

Last updated: 09 March, 2024
Expert travel writer: Alex Robinson

The magical neo-baroque Grand Theatre on Central Park, decorated in muses and angels, houses Havana’s most magnificent theatre.

Come for the variety of performances including ballet by Cuban National Ballet dancers; modern performance by Carlos Acosta’s new Acosta Danza troupe, and contemporary moves by Danza Contemporánea de Cuba.

Tours of the building are available, too, giving access to the gorgeous marble staircase and upper floors.

Logistics

Price from: £20
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Duration: 2 hours

Getting there & doing it

Performance information for the next week, sometimes two, is posted on blackboards outside the theatre.

You can buy tickets in advance or on the day in cash at the theatre box office (you can’t currently buy online). Seats are sold separately (at a higher price) to foreigners. There is usually no queue and just two box office windows for both Cubans and foreigners. If it’s something popular like Carlos Acosta’s new dance company – you will need to buy in advance as it will sell out.

When to do it

Performances are held all year round. The box office is open every day except Monday.

The Festival Internacional de Ballet de La Habana is held every two years at the end of October. The festival lasts two weeks. The 27th edition will take place in 2022.

Destination guides

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Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

Havana

Cuba

Colorful colonial buildings, Havana, Cuba

Sensual and sultry communist Caribbean capital, home to captivating, crumbling architecture, and enlivened by dance, music, avant-garde art and cocktails. Impossible to describe, there’s nowhere else quite like it.