Café Majestic is an historic

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

, located at Rua de Santa Catarina, in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The building is from the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

period, reminiscent of Parisian cafés at the time.

History

The cafe originally opened in 1922. It was designed to look like a Parisian cafe in the Art Nouveau style by the architect José Pinto de Oliveira. It was originally an exclusive and upmarket cafe that acted as a place for the elitist members of society to meet.

Present day

The café went through decades of decline, until it was considered a building of national historical interest in 1983. After major restoration works, it reopened in July 1994 in the original ''

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

style. Since the 1980s it has become iconic in Porto and is a popular destination in the city.

References

Bibliography

* ''Café Majestic''. Porto: Ed. Quiosque.org, 2006. * Porto de Encontro n.º 34, special edition 2001, Porto municipality

External links

*
Recipe

Café Majestic, Direção-Geral do Património Cultural

Visiting Majestic Cafe Guide
{{coord, 41.1472382, -8.6087682, display=title, type:landmark_region:PT-13 Coffeehouses and cafés Buildings and structures in Porto Art Nouveau architecture in Portugal Restaurants in Portugal