san francisco de asís square

We came from a cruise ship straight across the road to this square. There was an exhibition of bears painted to represent different countries. There were over 100 of them and the colours were vibrant, enhancing the atmosphere and welcome of this incredible city.

The plaza is surrounded by wonderful old buildings. Ensure you look way up to see the date of construction, usually in the decorative headpieces. It was under construction while we were there, still worth the visit.

In my opinion, the Canadian bear on the plaza represents the mosaic of people and races that we have in this country. The colours reflect the various colours of the country in the winter (brown, blue, white, grey etc...). It is also represents calm, quiet, and a little shyness and certainly not the loudness of some of the other bears (go and judge for yourself). In contrast it is not far from the North Korean bear representing picture of dancing females floating in the sky.... (hahahaha).What did you expect? the picture of a hockey player with the number 99 all over?

Right now with a "international" bear painted exhibition. Each country represented and each bear painted by a local artist from its country. The German Embassy or ? Consulate did a great job.

Old Havana does have a number of beautiful squares and this one is no exception. The current Buddy Bear exhibition, that lines up the whole square, was certainly an added bonus for our first trip here but I hope I will return one day to see it how the locals use it. - a place to stroll, meet and have a quite drink.

San Francisco de Asis Square is a Great plaza for photo taking,having a quick drink,seeing the locals go about their day,children at play,Nice place to relax for a few minutes. If in the area a must do

The square with it's cobble stones is quite beautiful. The UN bear exhibition form Germany was on display when we were there and was something unique and interesting. The Church of St Francis is also on the square and is a very beautiful building. The square is in the old town and within walking distance of everything. Well worth the visit.

Our first stop on a walking tour of Old Havana was this beautiful cobblestone plaza anchored by the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. We were ready for a slice of history dating from the 1500s but very surprised to see a huge circle of colorful bears representing most of the countries of the world. The bears were a big hit with tourists and locals alike. Everyone wanted to have a picture taken with their favorite bear. But although the bears are charming it was the Church of Saint Francis that really captured our attention. Built in 1739 this old church and monastery has undergone many changes and is now used as a concert hall. Another landmark is the white marble Fountain of Lions carved in 1836. This plaza, close to Havana's harbor, is a wonderful place for a peaceful wander. A word of caution, however. If you stop for any period of time to look around, be prepared for an assertive sketch artist creating a souvenir you may not want.

Loved it yet again. Lots of foot traffic but beautiful.every view is beautiful architecture , details.

This square is so beautiful, the bears are so artistic and lovely, I could spend a few hours just examining the artwork of every single bear in that square. The cathedral that is there is also very beautiful, and the history of the church is very fascinating. Very strong message of peace through these buddy bears, would go back to Havana just to see the architecture around the square as well as the artistic representations by the artists of the bears for their countries!

The square is definitely worth seeing and there's a rum and cigar store nearby for tastings as well as some nice looking restaurants. But this exhibit of paper mache bears representing many countries is wonderful. The purpose is to promote tolerance--how can you not looking at the Golden Rule Bear or the Statue of Liberty Bear. The Cuban bear features a cigar band.

This was on part of our tour . There were lots of bear statues along the lines of the lamb bananas in Liverpool. These bears represented the many countries of the world and it was fun seeing everyone finding their countries bear.

The start of our tour of Havana. A beautiful way to see the United Buddy Bears exhibition, it's meaning of tolerance and peace, and begin our walk through various parts of the city.

We saw this Plaza in the evening and took a look at all the bears. The plaza was beautiful and most of the bears were great. Sadly the Canadian bear was almost impossible to find. All other bears seemed to represent their home country in a recognizable way but not the Canada bear. (If you go see if you can find it.) The location of this plaza is right near the cruise ship terminal so if you are taking the Cuba Cruise ship you could easily visit this and go back to the ship for dinner. I wish i had more time to spend here.

San Francisco de Asisi Square was my start to the Old Habana tour. When I was there, it was filled with brightly painted bears from all over the world. There are little souvenir shops around the square and some cafes nearby. It is just round the corner from Rum Museum, which is great! On the square you can see ladies selling red kisses for convertibles, be aware, if you dont want to pay :)