Finca Vigía is about 24 kilometers east of Old Havana. The abundant tropical vegetation surrounds the splendid place formed by the administrative office, the house, the bungalow, the tower, the swimming pool and the yacht. The farm with the house occupies an area of about 43.000 m2 today. It was about 61.000 m2, when Hemingway bought it.

The flat-roofed one-storey house is built on the crest of a mild rise. It has clean lines and mullioned big windows. Stone steps lead up to the neo-classical portico of the house that has pale-cream stucco.  The house is surrounded by a veranda with access to all rooms. All the rooms are open and airy.

The spacious living room, which occupies the largest area of the house, is furnished to the taste of Mary Hemingway. It is esthetic, simple and practical. Much of the furniture is made of dark, polished wood. The walls have cream color. Pastel colors are dominating the room. But the walls reflect the Hemingway style. Several hunting trophies, almost all hunted by Hemingway during his safari trips to Africa, are hung on the walls. They are mostly antelopes, but the kudu’s head with twisted horns is outstanding.

An oil painting with a bullfighting scene adorns the wall: it is the work of the Spanish painter Roberto Domingo. Opposite to it, there are also two paintings reflecting the bullfighting. The painting on the right with the title The Bullfighter is the work of the Spanish painter and sculptor Juan Gris (José Victoriano González-Pérez).  You can see both the pictures of Roberto Domingo and Juan Gris on the book jacket cover of Hemingway’s novel Death In The Afternoon, published in 1932. The circular frame in front of the painting of Juan Gris is La Batea Mexicana (the Mexican Bat) that Hemingway bought on one of his travels to Mexico.  It is a species of done handicraft of wood.

Next to the favorite chair of Hemingway you can see some rum and soda bottles. The comfortable chair belongs to a set of upholstered furniture, consisting of a sofa and two chairs, covered in flowered chintz. There are also some planters’ chairs with cane seats and slanting backs in the living room

A cabinet full of musical plates and a turntable with vacuum tubes that still work, show that music was frequently listened in the house. The plate collection consists of about 900 records of unforgettable songs, like some jazz records such as Louis Armstrong, Cuban music such as Rita Montaner, Bola de Neive, Ernesto Lecuna, Spanish popular music and classical music.

The magazine rack at one corner is another detail in the room. The floor is paved with soft buff tiles.

The living room opens to the library that was used initially as the guest room. Mary Hemingway designed the room later, converting it into a library, when every corner of the house became full of books. The shelves of the large bookcases contain thousands of books and magazines (about 9.000 pieces), placed irregularly, among which you can find the complete works of Mark Twain and Honoré de Balzac, and other classics. In fact, in all rooms you will find a wooden bookcase packed with books, which is a constant feature of the house. The room has a long, ostentatious desk, placed in its center. The curved desk is made of dark polished wood. The room is spacious, in contrast to the workroom.

The workroom of the house is preserved as in the last days of Hemingway's stay. Ernest Hemingway wrote everywhere in the house, even in bed. He preferred mornings to write his novels, as he needed absolute silence. The typewriter that he preferred to write directly and the graphite pencil that he used when he preferred to write first on a paper, are still there. There was always little space on the desk for the typewriter. On the desk, you will find a collection of objects of animals carved in wood, brought from Africa for the Hemingways,  the key of the city of Matanzas that was delivered to Hemingway by the Cuban poet Carilda Oliver Labra and several objects like flood stones that Hemingway considered of good luck.

Several paintings are placed on the upper shelf of the bookcase, among which the painting on the right is the reproduction of the German painter Paul Klee’s Monument in Arbeit (Monument Under Construction; 1929). The original was bought by Hemingway in Berlin. On one of the walls you will see the big black water buffalo head that he hunted in Tanzania during his first safari in 1933. Its horns are rather frightening. In his novel The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, Hemingway describes the hunt of the water buffalo.

Next to the workroom, you will find a small room that Hemingway used to store his moccasins, boots and sandals.

On the opposite side of the workroom, you will find Mary Welsh’s room with objects and books mostly belonged to her.

The bright dining room has a rustic furniture, manufactured by Francisco Castro. The walls are adorned with trophies and a big oil painting. In the cabinets you will find a collection of jugs of different restaurants, as well as glassware with the emblem of Finca Vigía (three hills representing those of Paris: Montmartre, Montparnasse, St. Genenieve).

The bedroom is rather simple with a wooden low bed. The spectacles of the writer are on the bedside table. His Royal typewriter rests atop the bookcase.

Priorly, the guest room was reserved for the cats, but Mary Hemingway changed it into a guestroom that is also known a Venetian room.

In the bathroom, there is a bookcase and a magazine rack with some publications, but the most interesting detail is the penciled numbers on the wall: Hemingway noted his weights daily.