Several coffee houses in Romania have joined the Historic Cafés Route, a cultural route of the Council of Europe.

The route aims to allow travelers to get acquainted with cafés of the golden age and “the role they have played in the past and continue to play in the present in shaping Europe’s cultural history.”

Pardon Café in Sibiu and Chios Social Lounge in Cluj-Napoca have been recently included in the route. The route also lists Braşov’s CH9 Specialty Coffee and La Vatra Ardealului, Sibiu’s Max-The Original, and Cluj-Napoca’s Hotel Transilvania café as friends.

Romania became the 14th country participating in the Historic Cafés Route in 2019, when the café housed at Brukenthal Castle in Arvig, which dates back to 1788, and Festival ’39 café in Brașov joined the route. Queen Marie’s Tea House in Bran is also part of the cultural route, while Avrig’s Cabana Bâlea Lac café is listed as a friend. 

The Historic Cafés Route covers Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey.

The venues on the route “uphold the traditions of European coffee culture and the consumption of cakes and pastries reflecting local products and practices.” They allow tourists to experience the “café culture and understand the significance of these places in otherwise very similar urban landscapes,” according to a presentation of the project.

The list of cafés included in the route is available here.

(Photo: Aprescindere | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com