TRAVELING IN STYLE : CORRESPONDENTS’ CHOICE : HISTORICAL HANGOUTS

Five Times correspondents from around the world offer thumbnail sketches, from cities they have covered, of places where people gather and memorable things happen.

CAFE RIQUET, Valparaiso

BEFORE 1914, WHEN THE Panama Canal opened a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Valparaiso, Chile, was an obligatory port of call on the long haul around South America. Ships and crews from throughout the world made it a booming, brawling city.

Today, Valparaiso is a quieter place. Among its pleasures are its narrow streets and palm-lined plazas, the stately buildings that have survived earthquakes and modernizations since the city’s 19th-Century heyday, the funicular cars that travel up steep hills for a view of the wide bay--and afternoon refreshment at the Cafe Riquet.

Valparaiso’s oldest and most popular tea parlor, the Riquet serves coffee and tea in sturdy china pots, accompanied by German-style cakes and pastries baked on the premises. The owner, Guillermo Spratz, came from Germany in 1930, opened the cafe the following year and still works there at age 85. It isn’t a fancy salon, but its high ceilings and crystal mirrors evoke another era.

The Riquet radiates family atmosphere and is a traditional hangout for upper-middle-class Chileans from both Valparaiso and Santiago. Santiago residents on seaside vacations in the South American summer, from December to March, often line up at the door waiting for tables. One warm day last March, customers included Chilean President Patricio Aylwin, who ordered iced coffee. The historic visit was recorded in photos that now hang on the cafe’s walls.