On May 7th 2023, the official certification ceremony of the Historic Cafés Route as a "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe" took place. The ceremony took place at the Café Santa Cruz in Coimbra, Portugal, as part of the celebrations of the café's 100th anniversary. The Cultural Route, which already includes 99 member cafés in 15 European countries, highlights not only the architectural richness of these establishments, most of which date back to the 19th century, but also the intangible historical legacy of the cultural, political, literary and artistic exchanges that took place in them.

The diploma for the certification – which was obtained in 2022 – was presented to Vitor de Sá Marques, co-owner of Café Santa Cruz, member of the board of the Historic Cafés Route (HCR) and HCR ambassador to Portugal, by Mr. Stefano Dominioni, Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.

The Historic Cafés Route was also represented by George Loverdos, Head of HCR, and Maria Mystakidou, Head of Communications. Arnold Klingeis, HCR ambassador to Romania and manager of the Brukenthal Palace Café in Avrig (Romania), and Fernando Barrias, manager of the emblematic Café Majestic in Porto, also attended the ceremony.

The mayor of the city, José Manuel Silva, the president of the Portuguese Tourism Centre, Pedro Machado, and the president of the Union of Coimbra Parishes, João Francisco Campos, were also present at the event to take part in the unveiling of the Historic Cafés Route plaque inside Café Santa Cruz.