Finca La Vigía

Ernest Hemingway's Home in Cuba

Video of Finca La Vigía in Cuba

Hemingway reading in the living room of Finca Vigía.

Hemingway's bedroom at Finca Vigía, Cuba.

Satellite map of Finca Vigía

Pilar on display at Finca Vigía - Hemingway's fishing boat in Cuba.

Ten miles east of Havana is Hemingway's Cuba house - Finca Vigia, meaning "lookout house".

Finca Vigia is located in the small, working-class town of San Francisco de Paula. The Cuban people have always respected famous writer's choice to live in a modest town, amongst the people he fished with.

Built in 1886 by a Spanish Architect Miguel Pascual y Baguer, Finca Vigia was purchased by Hemingway in 1940 for a cost of $12,500.

There, Hemingway wrote two of his most celebrated novels: For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. A Movable Feast was written there as well.

After Hemingway's death in 1961, the Cuban government took ownership of the property - either with or without the approval of Mary Hemingway.

After years of neglect, restoration and preservation work has begun.

Finca Vigía has made both the World Monuments Fund list of 100 Most Endangered sites, and The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Places.

Hours:

The Hemingway Museum at Finca Vigia is currently scheduled to be open:

• 10am to 4pm, Monday thru Saturday
• 9am to 1pm, Sunday

Expect occaisional closures - usually attributed to renovations.

Location:

Finca Vigia and the Hemingway Museum are located in the town of San Francisco de Paula. Follow Carretera Central from Havana for 9 miles.

Cost:

$5 CUC per person.