The world's 10 most beautiful cafes

The ten most beautiful Cafés in the world according to the classification by

UCityGuidesThe coffee, as a beverage, first appeared in Turkey in 1585, and crossed its borders when, in 1683, the Ottoman Turks invaded Vienna. There is another historical reference stating that it was in Venice that it began to be sold commercially from 1638. Anyway, it was in the 18th century that coffee houses began to appear around the city and then throughout Europe.

However, only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries European cafes have become gathering places preferred by intellectuals, epoch in which the ornamentation of these "hangouts" started to have characteristics of cultural institutions and interior decoration resembling palatial ones.

Hungary - BudapestCafé New York

The New York Palace Hotel, a Boscolo Luxury Hotel, – of which the New York Café is part - was built in eclectic style between the years 1891 and 1895.

The New York Café is located on the ground floor of that hotel, now owned and named after the international group Boscolo.

The Café, however, maintains its already legendary name - Café New York – and is a spot of obligatory passage in the city, a living legend that, at the beginning of the 20th century attracted the city's cultural elite.

Its exterior is adorned with bronze statues while the interior impresses with its monumental headroom, frescoes and chandeliers. The tables and sofas modern lines create exquisite contrast.

This place, that was sacred to the artists of the early 20th century, maintains a stunning interior with gilts, ornamental lamps, ceiling paintings, mixed with contemporary furnishings.

Italy – VeniceCafé Florian

Located in a privileged position under the arcades of the Procuratie Nuove in Piazza San Marco, at the Caffè Florian you can still feel the Venetian tradition, while as well being the meeting point

of several worlds.

The Grand Venice can only be seen in its palaces and museums, but it’s in its historic cafés that it can be felt, still exuding the elegant effluvium of the 18th century, especially in the most impressive of all, the

Caffè Florian in its splendor of frescoes and mirrored interior..

Café Florian that has been a meeting point for writers and artists in the past, at present, stands out as a living museum. At its desks, sat Charles Dickens, Proust, Byron and other renowned writers.

The refinement of a coffee served at Florian.

Austria – ViennaCafé Central

Housed in a historic palace, the Café Central , like most of Vienna’s historical cafés, that receives a great deal of tourists visiting the city, remains a local attraction, offering live

classical music in the afternoon.

The Café Central has marble pillars, big chandeliers and arched ceilings that welcomed intellectuals since the turn of the 19th century.

At present, with a more eclectic frequency, the “Central Kaffeehaus” is still a place that attracts philosophers, thinkers and writers. Historically, it is said that here was

where Trotsky had planned the Russian Revolution.

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Czechoslovakia – Prague Café Imperial

Prague - continuation

The Café Imperial belongs to the Prague Art Deco Imperial Hotel, five stars, dated 1914, which is located in central Prague protected by UNESCO.

Many of the great Prague cafes have disappeared after the Second World War, while other survived and were restored to its former glory – as Café Imperial .

The Café Imperial has chairs in bright mahogany finely worked, with seats upholstered in pale yellow leather; the waiters invariably wear an immaculate white shirt.

The Café Imperial is still the largest of these examples, and is known as a jewel of Art Deco.

Its mosaic of ornate tile is one of the most incredibly beautiful scenery in the world for breakfast, afternoon tea, and even a selection of Czech dishes.

The tile panel sits above another one, artistically carved in wood.

The taps in the bathroom were cast in the form of swan wings in flight position and the faucet waterspout coincides with the beak of the bird in its outside.

The restoration of the complex added a new touch of class to this place, maintaining the aura of the past and unforgettable atmosphere. There are not many places like the Imperial in Prague.

France - Paris Café de La Paix

Café de La Paix is located at the Opera square, at angle to the Boulevard des Capucines. It was designed by the same architect that created the Paris Opera - Charles Garnier.

The Café de La Paix was built in the purest Napoleon III style, in the ground floor of a luxury building Haussmann, which now houses the Hotel InterContinental.

Among the famous frequenters of the Café de La Paix in the late 19th century stand out, among others, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Zola and Maupassant.

During the Belle Epoque, were also included among the visitors to the Café de la Paix, Sergei Diaghilev, and the then Prince of Wales, future King of Britain, Edward VII.

Portugal – PortoCafé Majestic

It is in the second largest city of Portugal that locates one of the finest cafés around the world, with the name of Café Majestic. Opened in 1921 under the name "Elite", the café was immediately

associated with the frequency of that epoch’s distinguished people.

The Majestic is one of the most impressive of all the cafés in the country and one of the most attractive in the world. From its facade to the interior, Café Majestic is still a beautiful scenery

for cultural events, making it more than just a tourist attraction.

In its Art Nouveau style in the symmetry of the curved wooden frames, in the large mirrors interspersed with metal worked chandeliers that delimit the walls with a clever optical play of amplitude, retains its

entire former splendor and invites to revive the fascinating Belle Époque..

Confeitaria Colombo

Brazil – Rio de Janeiro

Founded in 1894, the Confeitaria Colombo holds still today its original style: art nouveauof l9l3. There are 4 floors with 3 spacious lounges decorated with eight Belgian beveled mirrors,

measuring 3 x 6 m and weighing 1 ½ tons each, all framed in rosewood.

Its balconies are in Italian marble and the furniture of all rooms exquisite. Five cupboards house early 20th Century china and crystal goblets with gold embroidery.

Culminating it all, on the last floor the ceiling is a skylight in colorful mosaics bathing the restaurant with natural light.

Among its distinguished visitors, detach King Albert of Belgium in l920, and Queen Elizabeth of England in l968.

Besides Olavo Bilac, were also regulars at Colombo: Jose do Patrocinio, Oscar Lopez, Luis Murat, Placido Jr., Pedro Rabelo, Manoel Carlos, Father Severiano and Lima Barreto.From the round of presidents of the Republic stand out Getulio Vargas and Juscelino Kubitschek.

Italy – NaplesCafé Gambrinus

Founded in 1860, Café Gambrinus was soon recognized by Royal Decree as "Supplier of the Royal House."

The Gambrinus is legendary not only for being the oldest café in the city, but because since it opened in mid-19th century has welcomed royalty, celebrities and artists attracted by its beautiful interior.

Throughout its history, it received personalities from all countries and loyal customers such as Gabriele D'Annunzio, who in a coffee table, wrote the poem "The Vucchella" later set to music by FP Tosti, and recorded by Caruso in 1919; Benedetto Croce; Matilde Serao; Eduardo Scarpetta; Totò; De Filippo (it); Ernest Hemingway; Oscar Wilde; Guy de Maupassant; Jean Paul Sartre, That all marked their presence through a poem, a dedication or a photo.

The Gambrinus’ interior decoration was entrusted to the best painters of the Neapolitan school, and today still you can admire its frescoes, as well as floral friezes announcing the Art Nouveau.

Argentina – Buenos Aires – Palermo ParkCafé Tortoni

Café Tortoni - Opened in 1858, it was moved to its present location only in 1880, but its former entrance was by Rivadavia Avenue. Since 1898 its main entrance is by the Avenue of May.

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The Tortoni was obligatory reference for anyone in the twentieth century Argentine culture. Jorge Luis Borges and Carlos Gardel, the big names that Argentina gave the world, were regulars. It was said that

Borges and his companions were poor and spent little, but gave notoriety to the home.

Alfonsina Storni, Arthur Rubinstein, José Ortega, were some of the personalities connected with the fame of the Café Tortoni. Today, besides a remarkable library, the house offers place to read,

appreciate painting, enjoy music, dance, dine, see shows, chat, play snooker, listen poetry...

Italy – RomeCafé Greco

In one of the streets of greater luxury and most famous of Rome - Via dei Condotti – since 250 years there’s the Caffè Greco, that has served coffee to many of the historical figures of Europe, and

remains a refuge for today’s intellectuals and politicians, in a traditional and striking atmosphere.

Under decoration based on mirrors, romantic paintings, golden, wood, marble and epoch furnishings that deliver a unique charm to each of the small rooms that make up its interior, became

regular visitors to the Caffè Greco, Stendhal, Goethe, Byron Liszt, Keats, Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, among many others.

Arrivederci, eternal Rome ...

Images:   All drawn from the Net with credits to their respective authors.

Music: Die Fledermaus (“The Bat") - an operetta composed by Johann Strauss – (edited). Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa

Creation, research, compilation and formatting:

Delza Dias Ferreira new e-mail delzadfer@gmail.com

English version: Flavio Musa de Freitas Guimarães www.culturesandart.com São Paulo, IX - 2011