Havana shopping runs on two currencies and zero chain stores. Expect state cigar houses with holograms, artisan cooperatives selling papier-mâché Chevys, and Vedado studios where designers sew from repurposed sheets. Bring cash euros — most cards from US banks still fail.
Havana's biggest craft market fills a 1885 harbour warehouse on Avenida del Puerto: 200-plus stalls of Che canvases, mahogany carvings, papier-mâché 1950s Chevys, leather sandals and lace. Open daily 10:00–18:00, though sellers set up from 09:30.
The state cigar house behind El Capitolio stocks Cohiba Behike, Montecristo No. 2 and Partagás Serie D in walk-in humidors. Staff hand-check the hologram band and issue the official receipt customs demands for exports over 20 sticks.
A working farmers' market in Habana Vieja where Cubans shop in pesos: mounds of malanga, guava, sour oranges, raw sugar cane and cheap ground coffee. Vendors weigh on hand-balance scales; open Tuesday–Sunday, roughly 07:00–17:00.
Wooden stalls under the laurel trees sell 1960s Revolution pamphlets, faded Bohemia magazines, Cuban peso coins, Soviet-era medals and pulp editions of Martí. Traders pack up by 18:00 and skip rainy days entirely.
Cuba's first independent design brand, founded 2015 by Idania del Río, works from a Habana Vieja townhouse. Screen-printed tees reading '99% Cuban Design', tote bags and upcycled dresses sewn from donated hotel linen. Open 10:00–19:00.
A courtyard café in a restored colonial mansion on Plaza Vieja, useful as a shopping-day base: strong Cuban espresso, guava pastries and mixed-vendor shelves of local honey, cacao bars and Vedado-made ceramics near the till.
The converted cooking-oil factory turned art complex sells work by exhibiting Cuban artists — screen prints, hand-bound notebooks, jewellery from bike chains and reclaimed brass. Retail opens with the venue Thursday–Sunday from 17:00.
A two-floor concept store beside Plaza de la Catedral stocking Cuban-made goods only: hand-thrown ceramics, jute bags, tobacco-leaf jewellery, straw hats and stationery printed on recycled sugar-cane paper.
A 1940s-founded music shop on Obispo selling bongos, güiros, claves, maracas and cheap Cuban-made guitars, plus son and timba CDs no streaming service carries. Staff will tune and demo any drum before you buy.
The rum museum's ground-floor shop stocks bottles absent from export markets — Selección de Maestros, 15-Year Gran Reserva, Unión — alongside cocktail bitters and coffee liqueur. Free tastings run with the guided tour.
Havana's closest thing to a mall: a two-level state complex facing the Malecón with electronics, perfume, packaged food and a supermarket. Instructive as a study of scarcity — half the shelves hold one product in twenty facings.
A working silkscreen studio where Cuban printmakers pull limited editions on site; presses run in the back while signed, numbered prints hang out front. Open Monday–Friday 09:00–16:00, so arrive before closing.