Café Milenário was opened in November 1953, the year in which the city of Guimarães celebrated 1000 years of existence, hence the name Milenário.

Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an “exceptionally well-preserved and authentic example of the evolution of a medieval settlement into a modern town” in Europe.

The Café Milenári is located in Largo do Toural, in the heart of Vimaranense City, next to the wall where you can read: “Aqui Nasceu Portugal” – “Here Portugal was born” .

It maintains its original architecture, both on the façade and on the interior design, having undergone improvements over the years.

It has been a meeting point for generations of Guimarães for over six decades, a place for socializing.

It is one of the symbols of the city itself, offering a special view on to the remodeling of the Largo do Toural when Guimarães was the European City of Culture in 2012. Any review of those coming to visit Guimarães almost has to include the Milenar and it will inevitably tell the world to go for the pork steak in bread with melted cheese, although the vinho verde and the price/quality factor also receive favorable comments.

In the Café Milenário building, contemporary art intersects with tradition, the Laboratory of the Arts, often extending artistic residences to the Cafe with the textured marble and the wooden benches – as if they were individual garden benches -, alongside the large windows looking out on to the centre of the city.

Elements recalling the Discoveries, sculptured figures and even the black-and-white illustrated scenes from America in the 1950s, we believe to be – because the simplicity of the café provides an open space for your imagination – small additions to daily life in Guimarães, in a space that renews itself upon each visit.

Café Milenário is the most emblematic and Historic Café in the City of Guimarães.

Café Milenario is one of the six featured in the philatelic issue “Cafés Históricos”, which recalls some of the most emblematic Portuguese cafés in the country, launched by CTT.

This issue comprises five stamps and a block representing six cafes, namely: Café Aliança, in Faro, Café A Brasileira, in Braga, Pastelaria Manuel Natário, in Viana do Castelo, Café Milenário, in Guimarães, Café Piolho (Âncora D’Ouro), in Porto, and Pastelaria Versailles, in Lisbon.