Cuba's cultural heritage, which has accumulated for centuries since the Caribbean Island was discovered by the Spanish conquistadors, benefits from preservation projects and is available for both Cubans and foreigners.

The island nation has a large infrastructure of nearly 290 museums, including 14 on art, seven on science and technology, five on ethnography and anthropology and 68 on history.

Another nine museums are specialized, 164 exhibit general collections, and four deal with archeology. There are also typical museums such as those on Rum and Tobacco.

Havana is the country's cultural hub, boasting a wide range of museums, many of which are unique in the island nation.

The Numismatic Museum, in the Cuban capital, holds more than 100,000 valuable pieces, including coins and bills.

Tourists can also visit the Museum of Colonial Art, whose building was constructed in 1720 on Cathedral Square – one of the best-preserved areas in Old Havana.

The Cuban capital's museums also include baroque-style buildings such as the convent and church of Saint Francis of Assisi, on the square of the same name.

The Tranquilino Sandalio de Noda Museum of Natural Sciences stands out in Cuba's westernmost province, Pinar del Río.

The museum's collections include fossil remains of the plesiosaurus, a huge marine animal that lived in Pinar del Río millions of years ago, when the area was underwater.

One of the colossuses in Cuba's cultural infrastructure is the National Museum of Fine Arts, created in 1913 and whose current venue was built in 1954 as the Palace of Fine Arts.

That building replaced the old Colón Market, benefiting from a comprehensive restoration project carried out recently, when the museum was distributed in three buildings, two of which hold the exhibitions.

The museum's patrimony consists of 47,600 artworks, including 45,000 that were designated national heritage and more than 2,000 that are kept in deposit.

The Palace of Fine Arts holds the Cuban art collections, consisting of more than 1,200 paintings, sculptures, engravings and drawings on display in 7,700 square meters of exhibition halls.

The museum was divided into four areas – Colonial Art, Turn of the Century, Modern Art and Contemporary Art – where visitors can appreciate the historic evolution of Cuban plastic arts, from the first views by travelers in the 16th and 17th centuries to the works of present-day artists.

At the same time, the collections of Universal Art are exhibited at the former venue of the Asturian Center of Havana, which is a true example of Spanish eclectic architecture.