Café Calcinha in Loulé is a part of the Association of Cafés with History in Portugal and was put forward for the award by the association which was created to help promote tourism through cultural heritage, and has created a network between Portugal and Spain which has established a list of historic cafés.

In Portugal, a Route of Cafés with History was created so that these spaces, with historical references, become officially part of the tourist itineraries of the cities where they are located. The idea of creating this Route of Cafés with History came from Vítor Marques, manager of Café Santa Cruz, in Coimbra.

“Historical cafés represent heritage, history and identity and show the living memory of our society and our cities. Due to their commercial longevity, it can also be said that, they express the values, traditions, memories and social experiences of our cities, our countries and undoubtedly, Europe”, said Vítor Marques.

The Mayor of Loulé Vítor Aleixo, congratulated the Portuguese historical café association for the “incredible amount of research, appreciation and placement of these historical cafés in an international context which highlights our intangible cultural heritage in tourist guides.”

These historic cafés have been found to contribute to the economic, social, cultural, tourist and gastronomic sustainability of Portugal. The Rota dos Cafés Históricos of the Iberian Peninsula, a transnational route, is an opportunity to travel, to discover and learn about the history, cultural heritage and social diversity of Portugal and Spain.

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes