Charles Dickens, Lord Byron and Ernest Hemingway might be the names that made us visit the Café Florian in Venice as those literary giants had enjoyed coffee there.

Historically, coffee first entered Italy in the 16th century through Venice, a trading point between Italy and the Arab world, due to its position. Six years shy of its 300th anniversary celebration, Caffe Florian that opened in 1720 is probably the oldest café in the world.

It was a bit cold when we visited Venice in February and the Piazza San Marco, a must visit for all travelers to Venice was not that crowded. Caffe Florian is located in one of the buildings facing Piazza San Marco. As luck would have it, even if we did not make a reservation, there were seats available at Café Florian. It might be because we came at around 2.00 PM.

Caffe Florian is one of the most beautiful cafes in the world, although you can see some of the dilapidated parts. Named after its first owner, Floriano Francesconi, Café Florian has 6 stunning rooms decorated with works of the best artists in Venice.

Over the years, all its beautiful Rooms have been restored, with the latest restoration began in 2004 and ended in 2012. It was reported that some walls had been covered with dull stains due to centuries of tobacco smoke and the gas burned for lighting the place.

The café decoration was not the only attraction as reading the menu is a mouthwatering event in itself. Florian offers breakfast, snacks, light lunch & dinner, cakes, parfaits, ice cream and chocolates.

As indicated in the menu, most food is European and mostly Italian. The portions are not huge. As an example, the light lunch and dinner, named Intermezzo Florian offers Salmone norvegese affumicato, Norwegian smoked salmon served with toast. Salad is also on the menu, such as Insalata Nizzarda, a bowl of string beans, potatoes, tomatoes, olives, tuna, anchovy fillets, boiled egg and lettuce.

We found it funny that English afternoon tea is also on the menu as Florian is a culture in itself. There is also a glass showcase full of cakes and cookies. It was really tempting to have Piatto di 5 Macarons Florian, a plate of 5 macarons Florians with assorted colors. Nonetheless, we settled for Café Latte and Florian Darjeeling tea for the beverages and Torta Alla Ricotta and Sacher Florian for the sweets.

Usually when a place is well known for its history and patrons, the food comes in second. Caffe Florian’s cakes however were really delectable despite the steep price of everything in there.

When we were there most of the tourists were international travelers heard from several languages spoken. They, like us, enjoyed the piece of Venice history. It is worthy to know that the famous Venice Biennale art exhibition was conceived at Café Florian at the end of 19th century, making the place an important cultural center.

Not only literary giants frequent Caffe Florian. Casanova, the Venetian adventurer and author known for his debauchery liked to go there because unlike other places, women were allowed to have their coffee at Florian. The movie stars also have their share in visiting the famous cafe, from Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable in the old days to Miranda Kerr and Brangelina in modern days.

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