Historic European cafés you need to visit

Europe's enviable café culture revolves around some of the most famous and iconic coffeehouses on the continent. In their time, many of these distinguished establishments have served a litany of famous celebrities including artists, writers, scientists, philosophers, and even royalty. But where can you find Europe's most beautiful and best-preserved cafés and teahouses?

Click through and walk through these historic coffee-serving landmarks.

Café Central, Vienna

Inaugurated in 1876, this traditional Viennese café became the meeting place for numerous historical figures in Austrian high society, influential  personalities that included the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, writer and poet Peter Altenburg, and Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky. A youthful Adolf Hitler was also a patron. 

Café Le Procope, Paris

The French capital is blessed with several historic cafés, but Le Procope is the oldest and among the most famous. Serving guests since 1686, the café includes Rousseau, Voltaire, and other academic illuminati among its guests. Americans Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson also frequented the establishment.

Gran Caffè Gambrinus, Naples

Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde frequented Gran Caffè Gambrinus. So did French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. In fact, the southern Italian coffeehouse, which was founded in 1860, was known for being a meeting place for intellectuals, artists, and royalty. Ernest Hemingway sipped coffee here, as did the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was nicknamed Sisi.

Café de la Paix, Paris

Café de la Paix opened to great fanfare in 1862 to serve the Grand-Hôtel de la Paix. Its proximity to the Palais Garnier opera attracted many famous regulars, including French novelist Émile Zola, Russian composer Tchaikovsky, and, later, Britain's Edward VII. Charles, Prince of Wales,has also patronized the café.

Antico Caffè Greco, Rome

Established in 1760, Rome's Antico Caffè Greco is the oldest bar-café in the city, and the second oldest in Italy, after Caffè Florian in Venice. Over the centuries, celebrities of the age have gathered here, influential figures that include German literary giant Goethe, English poet John Keats, Danish author Hans Christian Anderson, and Italian adventurer and famous womanizer Giacomo Casanova.

Café A Brasileira, Lisbon

Opened in 1905 in the Portuguese capital's fashionable Chiado district, Café A Brasileira stands as a fine example of Art Nouveau architecture. The café was once a favorite rendezvous of intellectuals, including Portugal's most famous 20th-century poet Fernando Pessoa, who's seated in bronze at a table outside the premises.

Caffè Pedrocchi, Padua

Established in the 18th century, Caffè Pedrocchi is Padua's most famous coffeehouse not least because it shares an association with one of Italy's most recognized coffees—Pedrocchi, a dark rich blend served with mint cream and cocoa powder sprinkled on top. English romantic poet Lord Byron was a fan, as was Italian writer Dario Fo.

Café Tomaselli, Salzburg

Set in the heart of Salzburg's old town, Café Tomaselli is the oldest coffeehouse in Austria. It opened for business in 1700, and from the start the café was an important social and private meeting point for Salzburg's middle classes. The owner was friends with the family of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and it's said that the idea for the world famous Salzburg Festival had its origins in Café Tomaselli.

Atlas Café, Lviv

The Ukrainian city of Lviv hosts an annual coffee festival in late September. Among the coffeehouses taking part is the historic Atlas Café, a popular hangout for the city's artistic community before the Second World War. One of the rooms is covered entirely with dark wood paneling and decorated with paintings of knights.

Hafiz Mustafa, Istanbul

One of the delights of visiting Istanbul is sampling a rich dark Turkish coffee at Hafiz Mustafa, which also doubles up as a confectioner. Established in 1864, the shop on Hamidiye Street in the Sirkeci neighbourhood on the European side of Istanbul is the first and original.

Conditori La Glace, Copenhagen

A patisserie and coffeehouse, Conditori La Glace has been delighting residents and visitors to Copenhagen with its mouthwatering cakes and pastries since 1870. This is the city's most iconic café, and Denmark's oldest.

Osteria del Sole, Bologna

Bologna's Osteria del Sole opened its doors over 550 years ago, in 1465 (though Caffè Florian in Venice is still the oldest continuously operating coffeehouse). This is a traditional, no-frills café-bar with a limited menu of Champagne, French and local wines, and beers and spirits sold by the glass or bottle. But ordering a coffee and soaking in the atmosphere of this historic meeting place is an equally attractive option.

Café Gerbeaud, Budapest

One of Budapest's finest coffeehouses, Café Gerbeaud dates back to 1858. It quickly garnered a reputation as a upscale ice cream parlor. Its coffees, liqueurs, and candy, however, were favored by the likes of Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, among other luminaries of the era.

Pierre Loti Café, Istanbul

They've been admiring the jaw-dropping views from the terrace of Pierre Loti Café since 1876. The panorama takes in the Turkish city's Golden Horn, and is certainly worth the trek from the city center to admire. The café is named after a French naval officer and novelist, who set some of his writings in Istanbul.

Café Kranzler, Berlin

The original Café Kranzler was inaugurated in 1834 on Berlin's Unter den Linden boulevard. Its western branch on Kurfürstendamm opened in 1932. Only the rotunda (pictured) survives today, but is still regarded as an iconic city coffeehouse.