Writing by Peter Hilton

European Cafe Watch

So what makes a good cafe then?

Illustration: map of Europe showing the locations of the featured cafes

HH cafe reviews & photos

The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party, Park Street, Bristol, England

Ard Bia

Ard Bia, Quay Street, Galway, Ireland

Şimdi

Şimdi, Asmalımescit Caddesi No. 9, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

see also: European phrase book

What is better than watching people on television in Eastenders, or listening to the repartee of the characters in Friends as they sit in Central Perk café? Well, since you need telling, the answer is to spend time in a real café, watching and talking to real people. Spend your money on coffee instead of on a television license or cable subscription!

The S-list - cafes with sofas

Luckily, not all of that time spent in front of the television was for nothing: Friends teaches us that every café needs a sofa  WHY? . This page exists to tell you where you can find suitably equipped cafes.

The city with the highest cafe factor is Cambridge, England, which is unusual because it's really quite a small place: the following public sofas are within walking distance of each other.

Meanwhile, the S-list cafes in other European cities are

Good cafes - more than just a sofa

Sometimes the best cafe in each town doesn't have asofa. For example:

N.B. Worthing, England, is not included as there are no decent cafés there.

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