This baroque-style, three-storey townhouse is a late-Qing gem that's barely changed inside or out since it was built in 1901, hence the name. It was donated to the Cathedral of Our Saviour nearby a few years later, and served as Beijing’s centre for Catholic Action until 1949. Today it's a whimsical cafe where you can while away hours at invitingly mismatched tables under wooden eaves.
Coffee, cakes and snacks are overpriced, admittedly, but there's nowhere quite like this left in Beijing.