Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura
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ClanAnderson
Leicester, UK351 contributions
Aug 2022
A great place to visit, view are amazing from the top. There is a lift to the top but it's good fun climbing the stairs to the top in 30 degrees heat! Air con room at the top where the camera is. This was amazing to see the whole of the city live in action, it was like watching a video but there are no cameras, never seen anything like this before and was definitely worth the climb to the top. Great photo opportunities too.
Written August 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amber M
Rock Hill, SC25 contributions
Aug 2019 • Couples
This was probably the coolest part of our visit to Cuba. It was neat to see such an old invention. Cost a little bit to go up the elevator and view the city from above. Great place to take pictures on the balcony
Written February 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mediatwin
Bournemouth, UK178 contributions
Feb 2011
First the science bit! A Camera Obscura is a darkened room where a lens and a series of mirrors throw images of the exterior surroundings onto a concave surface. The room tends to be high up in the building, so you get a pin-sharp 360 degree view of the landscape, which can be zoomed in.
Havana's Camera Obscura installation gives a superb bird's eye view of the city. For about 10-15 minutes, a guide pans and zooms around the cityscape, pointing out buildings and monuments of interest and discreetly spying on the locals and tourists. Great for people watching!
There are different guides with various language skills, so we didn't need to wait long until one fluent in English was available. As well as the Camera Obscura, there's also access to a roof garden and a terrific view of the city - all for only a couple of pesos.
I'm amazed that this attraction more widely advertised and known - it's highly recommended and should be high up on your list of things to do in Havana.
Havana's Camera Obscura installation gives a superb bird's eye view of the city. For about 10-15 minutes, a guide pans and zooms around the cityscape, pointing out buildings and monuments of interest and discreetly spying on the locals and tourists. Great for people watching!
There are different guides with various language skills, so we didn't need to wait long until one fluent in English was available. As well as the Camera Obscura, there's also access to a roof garden and a terrific view of the city - all for only a couple of pesos.
I'm amazed that this attraction more widely advertised and known - it's highly recommended and should be high up on your list of things to do in Havana.
Written March 7, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Irene L
Tortola11 contributions
May 2012 • Couples
A must visit to exprience this brilliant man's invention and see all of Havana from a different perspective.
Written May 25, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
100nights19flights
Japan268 contributions
Jan 2019
The science behind this tour of Havana adds to the fun. The tour is given in Spanish and English. It is well worth the price.
Written October 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jimfoto
Orlando, FL18 contributions
May 2017 • Family
Being a photographer, even the idea of a camera obscura deserves 4 stars. This did not disappoint. It's actually a pretty sophisticated version which delivers a great 360 degree view of the Havana skyline. You can also walk out on the roof and see the skyline in person. Go ahead, google "camera obscura" find out what it is, see how many of them are in your part of the world (74 worldwide?) and cough up the $2 when you're in Plaza Vieja.
Written May 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anita M
Cincinnati, OH91 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
This is a small but significant experience that is totally worth the time in Havana. Not only do you get to see a piece of history and a form of technology that one rarely gets to see and only something like 15 in the world with public access. The camera gives you a 360 view of the city and then there is also an amazing view from the rooftop. Only suggestion: if you're up for it, and are even slightly claustrophobic, hit the stairs for the 5 floor climb up. Definitely take the stairs down. The elevator is oppressively small. You can also do this in about 1/2 hour. We got there right before closing and did it with plenty of time though we might have liked to linger on the roof for views a little longer.
Written May 15, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AmyB27
Atlanta, GA46 contributions
Jan 2017 • Friends
You buy a ticket at a little booth just outside on the corner. Show it to the people sitting just inside the door and then take the elevator to the top floor. (4th ?) Once there you can walk around the rooftop terrace until the next "show" begins. The narrator will announce it. Once inside the room there is A round viewing area with a wood step so if you are short or have kids make sure they hop on the step so they can see. The narrator explains in English and Spanish how the machine works with mirrors and a periscope and you can see all of Havana with a birds eye view. He can zoom in and out. It has incredibly good definition. Real time so you see Cars and people moving. Very interesting. Worth the $10.
Written March 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sylvia B
Auckland Central, New Zealand25 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
We decided to check out the camera obscura and were pleased we had. After being quite disappointed with a couple of the museums we had visited (at more cost) we were not quite sure what to expect. The views from the rooftop of the building alone are great. We found the camera set up to be interesting in its own right and the guide was amusing and informative. It was a good way to get an overview of the city. Certainly not a "must see" but a worthwhile and fun diversion.
Written February 11, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tracy M
Hitchin, UK28 contributions
Oct 2013 • Friends
I would recommend this as one of the first things to do if visiting Havana for the first time as the 15 minute presentation gives you a virtual tour of the city enabling you to get your bearings before setting off to explore it for real and the 8th floor rooftop terrace (where you are welcome to wait if there is a presentation in progress and/or spend time afterwards) affords fabulous views/photo opportunities of the old town (out over the Plaza Vieja, the top of San Francisco church (another fabulous place to take photos from) and the port).
We paid 2CUC per person in October 2013. The presentation itself lasted about 15 minutes and was very interesting and informative. You can take photos during the presentation but I didn’t as I was totally absorbed by the guide’s words and the camera’s projected image of the city.
We arrived during a Spanish language presentation so were invited to take photos from the rooftop terrace while we waited for the English one. We took some of our best photos there.
Definitely high up on my Havana ‘must see/do’ list.
We paid 2CUC per person in October 2013. The presentation itself lasted about 15 minutes and was very interesting and informative. You can take photos during the presentation but I didn’t as I was totally absorbed by the guide’s words and the camera’s projected image of the city.
We arrived during a Spanish language presentation so were invited to take photos from the rooftop terrace while we waited for the English one. We took some of our best photos there.
Definitely high up on my Havana ‘must see/do’ list.
Written November 8, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yes, they are welcome. But telling them in advance that they are going to a Camera Obscura will bring on puzzled looks. It depends on the age (I'm thinking more here of single digits and pre-teens), so tell them it is like flying over the city and looking down on the buildings and people.
Written December 12, 2016
According to Camera Obscura Havana's website, it is open Monday to Saturday 10 - 5.20.
Hope this helps.
Written October 25, 2016
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