From Café Sacher, in Vienna, to Tortoni in Buenos Aires, jumping from coffee to coffee in 20 cities around the world

Enjoying a good coffee requires your ceremony, your time and a suitable atmosphere.

The coffee culture spreads throughout the world, although mainly in Europe, where there are authentic temples dedicated to this stimulating drink often accompanied by a good social gathering.

This is a small tour of the world, from coffee to coffee, to discover the best corners to enjoy it in 20 cities.

Many of them with decades of history behind them and a meeting place for numerous personalities.

Information in the guide

and in lonelyplanet.es.

1. New York Café and Centrál Grand Cafe (Budapest, Hungary)

“The best coffee in the world”, this is how the New York Café in Budapest promotes itself.

And who was going to contradict him?

With its exuberant decoration, wooden balustrades and luxurious ceiling moldings, this space is reminiscent of a baroque temple.

This lavish café from the year 1894, a traditional meeting point for intellectuals and writers in the Hungarian capital, has emerged surprisingly unscathed from the storms of history and, for a few years, after a painstaking restoration, once again offers good coffee and all kinds of delicacies to accompany it.

Main lobby of the New York Café in Budapest, built in 1894 by the Hungarian architect Alajos Hauszmann.ATTILA KISBENEDEK (AFP via Getty Images)

The other great literary café in the city is the Centrál Grand Café, which has also attracted a literary audience since the 19th century;

Two highly influential local newspapers were even published in its rooms.

And it is that the cafes of Budapest have always been an essential part of their social life, long before other similar rooms appeared in cities such as Vienna or Paris.

Just one piece of information: in the last decades of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were more than 600 of these places in the city.

2. Grand Café Orient (Prague, Czech Republic)

Interior of the Grand Café Orient in Prague, built and decorated in the cubist style.

Alamy Stock Photo

In the House of the Black Madonna, one of the best examples of cubist architecture in Prague, is located the Grand Café Orient, a unique place in Europe.

From its extraordinary chandeliers to the cushioned pews upholstered in green stripes, everything here is cubist.

Even the sweets.

For example, the crown

which is one of the typical Czech desserts, usually round, here it is square.

The current café imitates the original decoration, although not all the details of the period interiors could be rescued after a fire that devastated everything.

3. Café de la Paix, La Rotonde, Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots (Paris, France)

Paris is one of the capitals with the most classic cafes in the world.

Artists, writers, painters, intellectuals and great figures from the entertainment industry have passed through them.

Places like La Rotonde, an emblematic place in the Montparnasse neighborhood that opened its doors in 1911 and was frequented by Picasso and Modigliani.

Or the mythical Les Deux Magots, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in the Latin Quarter of the French capital, which was the café of the romantics at the end of the 19th century.

Today it maintains its terrace with a great atmosphere and great views.

Also worth a visit is the Café de Flore, another meeting place for intellectuals, especially existentialists.

Terrace of La Rotonde, in the Montparnasse district of Paris.

Alamy Stock Photo

But you must go to Café de la Paix to find the oldest Parisian café that is still open.

Located opposite the Opera, this place is full of history and stories.

It was inaugurated in 1862, but it gained its enormous fame on the occasion of the World's Fair in Paris in 1867. This institution has retained its worldly glamor to this day, with its gilded columns and Second Empire-style frescoes.

It continues to be one of the classics of Parisian gastronomy, although its prices are in line with its fame.

4. The Wolseley and other classics (London, UK)

Strictly speaking, The Wolseley, with all its classic gilts, is not a café, but a tea room.

It is also a restaurant,

, a meeting point for the world of fashion... (Kate Moss used to sit at table number 32).

The traditional

, which of course also exists in a champagne version, is

a dream with its delicious

and

Also served under high arches and marble columns.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan at The Wolseley cafe, near Picadilly.

Alamy Stock Photo

In the British capital, more than Central European-style cafes, the tea rooms stand out, and in this they are unrivaled.

And in all of them, of course, coffee is also served to whoever requests it.

All big hotels have their tea room, but among the best and most classic are those of Claridge's, the Ritz and The Berkeley (here the sweets are designed by big fashion brands, such as Gucci or Dolce & Gabbana).

And of course: the essential and historic Fortnum and Mason, in its Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon on the fourth floor.

5. Cafe A Brasileira (Lisbon, Portugal)

Interior of Café A Brasileira, one of the most famous in Lisbon, founded in 1905. Education Images (Universal Images Group via Getty)

The luxurious cafes of the last century, are they an endangered species?

Perhaps, but some magnificent specimens have survived in Europe.

In Lisbon, the quintessential café is A Brasileira, in the Bairro Alto, where the café culture has flourished, between mirrored walls and refined decoration, for more than 110 years: a public living room that remains the same as in times of Fernando Pessoa.

6. Sprüngli Confectionery (Zurich, Switzerland)

Shop window of the Sprüngli confectionery, in Zurich (Switzerland).Alamy Stock Photo

Choosing between a range of sweets like the one at the Sprüngli confectionery ―fine chocolates, pralines or pasta― is extremely complicated.

originated here

, those cream-filled biscuits so typical of Switzerland.

7. Cafe Pushkin (Moscow, Russia)

Counter and tables of the Pushkin café in Moscow, opened in 1999 and inspired by the lyrics of the song 'Nathalie' by Gilbert Bécaud.Alamy Stock Photo

This café was born in 1964 with the song

, by Gilbert Bécaud, in which the singer meets his beloved ―a supposed Russian guide he met on a tour― in the fictional Pushkin café in Moscow.

The theme became so popular at the time that many French tourists visiting the Russian city were looking for that cafe that didn't really exist.

So it had to be created from the lyrics of the song, and it opened in 1999. Handpicked antiques, paneled walls, and Russian and French dishes on its menu lend it a worldly charm.

8. Schamong Kaffee (Cologne, Germany)

Schamong Kaffee bar in Cologne (Germany).Schamong kaffee

Schamong is the oldest coffee roastery in Cologne, with more than 50 years of history.

His shop sells a wide range of blends: classic coffees alongside special interpretations of the coffee bean.

But Schamong is also a café, which means one can stay in and enjoy one of the house's delicious compositions.

It is also home to the first "coffee academy" in the city, where they teach, for example, that in order to prepare an authentic

, no less than seven rules must be strictly followed.

And all this with great concern for sustainability.

9. Cafe Sacher (Vienna, Austria)

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Vienna was the capital of a great empire that included not only the Austrians, but also Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Italians, Bosnians, Romanians, Germans... It was a metropolis comparable to the New York today, and the center of everything was in its cafes.

Almost all of them are maintained and retain the atmosphere of that time when Mahler, Adolf Loos, Wagner, Klimt or Freud passed through them, to such an extent that Vienna's cafes are Unesco's intangible cultural heritage.

The famous Sacher cake served at the Sacher cafe in Vienna (Austria).ullstein bild Dtl.

(ullstein picture via Getty Images)

The most popular and most touristy is the Sacher, an absolute legend for its chocolate cake that bears the same name and that they continue to make in a completely traditional way.

But there are many others in the city, such as the Sperl, from 1880, frequented by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, who paid for their drinks with the drawings they made in the cafe.

Around the same time, Freud went to the Landtmann, very close to his office.

10. Grand Cafe (Oslo, Norway)

Dining room of the Grand Café in Oslo (Norway).Robert B. Fishman;

ecomedia (ullstein bild via Getty Images)

The whole of Oslo was shocked by the announcement that the Grand Hotel's café, steeped in tradition, was closing after more than 140 years of history.

At the end of the 19th century, mainly artists came here in search of tranquility: Henrik Ibsen came daily, and Edvard Munch painted the place.

A few years ago they have reopened it;

They have remodeled it, but it is still the same cozy oasis to spend hours of reflection in front of a good coffee.

11. Caffè Tommaseo (Trieste, Italy)

A cappuccino coffee at Caffè Tommaseo in Trieste (Italy).Alamy Stock Photo

The Tommaseo, opened in 1830, served for decades as a meeting point for successful businessmen, artists and intellectuals, as well as the epicenter of various political movements;

in fact, there is an exhibition dedicated to its interesting history.

People come to this place in the Italian town of Trieste, however, above all for its cappuccino.

12. Cafe Maiasmokk (Tallinn, Estonia)

The yellow facade of Cafe Maiasmokk in Tallinn, one of the oldest in the Estonian capital.

Alamy Stock Photo

The Maiasmokk has been on its site since no less than 1864. The decoration of this Tallinn (Estonia) venue includes many unique pieces dating from that time.

With coffee you can eat delicious biscuits, cakes and pastries.

In an adjoining room, a small marzipan museum provides information on the history and origin of this sweet almond paste.

13. Hafiz Mustafa (Istanbul, Turkey)

Assortment of 'baklavas', Turkish delight, at the Hafiz Mustafa cafe in Istanbul.

Alamy Stock Photo

A good Turkish coffee is very different from what is drunk in most of Europe: it is prepared with very finely ground coffee in the

, a typical long-handled copper and brass coffee pot.

It is served with grounds and accompanied with the typical Turkish delight or

.

At Istanbul's Hafiz Mustafa, Turkish sweets and treats are available from early morning until well after midnight.

This business was founded by a pawnbroker over 150 years ago.

On the first floor you can quietly drink the typical Turkish black coffee or strong black tea.

It is mandatory to try the house specialty:

stuffed with almonds or pistachios that are also exported all over the world.

14. Gran Café Gijón (Madrid, Spain)

Windows of the Café Gijón, venue for mythical gatherings on Paseo de Recoletos in Madrid.

Alamy Stock Photo

Of all the great Madrid cafes famous for their gatherings, Café Gijón stands out, on the Paseo de Recoletos in the Spanish capital.

It was founded by an Asturian living in the city in 1888 and, from the outset, it became a meeting point for writers, artists and intellectuals, whose words may still doze somewhere in its red curtains.

In this place they have sat from Salvador Dalí or Luis Buñuel to the legendary spy Mata Hari.

When, in 1914, the premises were sold, the new owner had to sign that this business and his name would never disappear.

Today it is still a landmark in the city.

15. Furst Confectionery (Salzburg, Austria)

The Mozartkugel cake (Mozart ball) is the specialty of the Furst confectionery in Salzburg (Austria).Alamy Stock Photo

No sweet tooth can avoid a visit to the cozy headquarters of the Furst confectionery shop on Salzburg's Market Square, or to its three other branches.

Here it is impossible to have nothing more than a coffee and ignore the many appetizing sweets.

This confectionery is known above all for its small round bombshell, the Mozartkugel (Mozart ball), which is still prepared according to the old recipe.

16. Caffè Florian (Venice, Italy)

Exterior of the Caffè Florian, opened in 1720 in Saint Mark's Square in Venice.

Alamy Stock Photo

In the oldest café in Europe, time seems to have stopped.

Since it opened in 1720, the only things that have changed at the Florian in Venice are the prices and the customers.

The rituals remain the same: waiters in white jackets serve the cappuccino on silver trays, and in the evening the orchestra gets going.

Where centuries ago artists, intellectuals and politicians shared their reflections, today throngs of tourists stir their Capuchins.

The Florian was the first café in Italy where women could enter, earning it the unfortunate nickname of “Casanova's hunting ground”.

17. Antico Caffè Greco (Rome, Italy)

Tables outside the Antico Caffè Greco, in Rome.

Alamy Stock Photo

The oldest café in Rome, open since 1760, it boasts waiters in tailcoats and bow ties, waitresses in frilly white aprons, red velvet walls and gilt mirrors pitted by time.

Antico Caffè Greco's prices reflect this impressive heritage.

Casanova, Goethe, Wagner, Keats, Byron, Shelley and Baudelaire were regular patrons of the venue and you can even lie down on Hans Christian Andersen's ginger-coloured settee (from the entrance on Via dei Condotti, you have to cross the eight rooms to the last room, with a grand piano).

18. Britt plantation and La Mancha coffee (San José, Costa Rica)

Costa Rica has made coffee one of its icons and it is unthinkable to visit the Latin American country without trying one of the most famous coffees in the world.

A good place can be Barva, in the Central Valley.

There is the most famous Costa Rican roastery, Britt, who encourages a 90-minute guided tour to see her plantation, which also includes a coffee tasting and even a dramatization of the history of coffee.

Guided visit to the Britt plantation, near San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Alamy Stock Photo

Those who simply prefer to try a good coffee have many places in San José, the capital.

A good recommendation is the café La Mancha, hidden in a courtyard of the historic Steinvorth building.

The establishment is the result of the passion of a Costa Rican photographer for this energizing drink.

coffee maker

, it offers the most advanced technology in its preparation.

It is a quiet place, full of photographs and plants, which serves as an oasis in the street chaos.

19. Tortoni (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Waiters at the bar of the historic Café Tortoni, one of the most famous in Buenos Aires.

Phil Clarke Hill (Corbis via Getty Images)

The Argentine capital inherited from the Italian and Spanish tradition the taste for cafes with modernist windows and wooden tables, converted into centers of social and cultural life.

The porteños even boast of being “the Vienna of America”.

And as a symbol of all this, the famous Tortoni café, the oldest in Buenos Aires, which was the center of emblematic literary gatherings.

It is still so famous that busloads of tourists stop at the door, which takes away from its charm.

Despite everything, it is an almost mandatory visit for anyone visiting the city.

The best thing is to order a couple of churros with hot chocolate and forget about the prices while you enjoy the atmosphere.

In Buenos Aires there are other cafés with a literary flavor, such as London City, the favorite of Julio Cortázar, who places his novel

in this room .

In the Palermo neighborhood, the meeting point for Buenos Aires storytellers and poets is the Varela Varelita, and his photos hang on its walls.

It works until late at night, something very common in Buenos Aires.

20. Camelot (Krakow, Warsaw)

Terrace of the Camelot cafe in Stare Miasto, the old town of Krakow (Poland).

Artur Widak (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The European center of coffee culture?

Vienna of course.

Only some connoisseurs consider Krakow the secret coffee capital.

And it is that here there are many cafes installed in historic buildings in its old town and with a long tradition.

For example, the Camelot café, where you can enjoy accompanied by a piece of cake in its cozy rooms lit with candles and tables with lace rugs.

Here there is no shortage of good breakfasts and lunches for those who want something more than a good coffee.

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