A few European cigar shops of note

[Habana Mike]

As I have had the opportunity to travel quite extensively in Europe , I've been able to visit many tobacconists in various countries.

Some of my favorites include:

P.G.C. Hajenius in Amsterdam.

Over 100 years old now, the furnishings are luxurious. The tobacco musuem on the second floor in the back and the library are a wealth of cigar knowledge, as is the cigar display - just about every Habano produced in the past 50+ years. Shames these are pinned like butterflies and not humidified as I'm sure most of them have substantial age.

Excellent selection in the humidor and I took the opportunity to enjoy a fine Cuaba Diademas on Father's Day there a couple Junes back. Must say I did smoke other than cigars at a couple of coffee shops while in town.

Peter Heinrichs / Cologne

This shop on the Hahnenstrasse appears to be very pipe-centric upon entry. Once guided up and through a room connecting to an adjoining shop you are in the LCDH part of the store. As you may know, the former home of Herr Wolters.

Lots of vintage goodies and regional edition smokes like the Por Larranaga Lonsdale and Bolivar Colosales to be had.

Downstairs from the humidor is a lovely cigar lounge with a fully stocked bar - great place to spend a reflective afternoon.

J.J. Fox / London

This St. James street fixture offers vintage cigars in an open display just inside the store. While pricey even with the current exchange rate, it's worth picking out a stick that catches your fancy and enjoying it with some coffee and conversation with the staff. Unfortunately with the smoking ban enacted a couple of years back you can only 'sample' now.

The Davidoff shop just up the street also has a nice cabinet with vintage cigars inside of the humidor, a couple of comfortable chairs and a host of gracious shopkeepers.

Boutique 22 / Paris

While this shop does not have a smoking area it does have a wide selection of fine smokes and accessories. A plus is that just around the corner from the shop and about a block from the Arc d'Triomphe is the Mojito Habana Club, a lovely place to spend the afternoon with a smoke and drink.

Estanco Magallanes / Madrid

Excellent selection and amazing prices. The proprietor, José Martínez Franco, was named Retailer of the Year at the 1st International Festival of the Habano. Again no smoking unfortunately due to the laws banning smoking in the workplace (yes, even cigar stores!).

Linzbach / Dusseldorf

This shop has an outstanding humidor and some of the friendliest people I've met.

Once Margret Schmitz, the owner, found I was looking for vintage cigars and Lonsdales were one of my preferred sizes, she exclaimed this was her son's favorite vitola as well and went to collect him.

Werner and I scoured the humidor finding numerous vintage samples for my selection. Once the damage was done he invited me back to the lounge for a rum tasting with my smoke of choice.

Here I also met the proprietor of a local cigar club. We exchanged conversation and I gifted a couple of unique smokes to each of them. Werner escorted me to the cellar (certainly a misnomer, this was a grand space) where he showed me through the main storage area stopping at his private cabinet.

Both he and his companion offered up a variety of smokes for my selection - I came away with two exceptional cigars, a Bolivar Inmensa and an R&J Cazadores which they proclaimed some of the best examples of each.

Le Roi du Cigare / Brussels

This unassuming shopfront at 60 rue de l'Enseignement features a well-stocked humidor and many hidden gems.

On my first visit the owner's daughter was minding the shop, and while she possessed good knowledge her English was limited (not as much as my Dutch or French however). We managed to communicate enough that I came away with some good cigars.

On my second visit M. Philippe Vanderbruggen was present and set about to provide me a tour of his selection. Quite a few boxes with several years of age were produced and we discussed the merits of each.

We decided upon a few plus some other interesting samples though I had to decline the offer of taking home the 35th Anniversary Cohiba humidor he had for sale.

He also taunted me with the Behike he had collected at that year's Habanos Festival.

At last visit he was preparing to move the shop to a more prominent location around the corner on rue Royale by the entrance to la colonne du Congrès and le Parc Royal. I was fortunate enough to be provided with a guided tour of the new space and a fine cigar for the journey.

This represents just a few of the shops I've visited, many providing fond memories. There are many more I've visited and hope to in the future.

While I've previously posted much of this on other forums, I thought I'd share it here as well. I look forward to hearing about others as I'm always looking for new places to check out.

[ChanceSchmerr]

This is a great post, thanks very much! I'm headed to Portugal in July for a couple of weeks, and hoping to head to Madrid for a day to see Estanco Magallanes......but if I cannot, any stores of note in Porto, Portugal?

[thechenman]

Great post. Thanks for sharing this information. Loved hearing about your experiences at each shop as well. Gave it a nice touch.

[thcooper]

Thanks for this Post. I'm heading towards the Netherlands over Easter and staying in a private apartment in Amsterdam. I will definitely check out the P.G.C. Hajenius, it sounds like the right kind of place for me to be at for a couple of hours and relax. Where exactly is it located? Do you still have an address? Would be great to get more info, thx.

[michael69]

Since this thread has reopened.....

in Geneva:

Raffi Cigares

Place Longemalle 2 - CH 1204 Genève

Gestocigars SA

rue du Marché, 12-14 CH-1204 Geneva

LCDH (Spring Cigars)

THE PASSAGE

82, rue du Rhône, 1204 Geneva

Tabac Rhein

Rue du Mont Blanc 3, 1201 Genève

Davidoff

Rue de Rive 2

1204 Geneva

Gérard Père et Fils

Grand Hôtel Kempinski, Quai du Mont Blanc 19 - 1201 Genève

Not far away in Nyon (amazing cellar full of rare stuff!):

La Couronne - Cigar Cellar

Place de Rive 34

1260 Nyon