The third post of the Workation Diary series is about public working in Barcelona. This week, I tried several cafès and want to share my impressions. In January this year, I decided to move to Barcelona for work and vacation. In total I will stay for three month here, will work remotely and get more insights of the city. In the Workation Diary blog series I address different sides of my experience. The first post was about my workation plans, the preparation and my first couple of days in the city. The second blog was about the beatiful art and architecture of the city. You can check it out here.
It has been more than two weeks now in Barcelona. I think I have arrived in the city and feel comfortable by now. The first couple of days were different but I got used to it very quick. One big advantage is the European Union – thanks to being in the same union, I can use my phone, mobile internet, I do not need to pay fees for online payments and many articles in the super market are the same.
Remote Work in Barcelona
Besides of sideseeing, I worked a lot during these two weeks. I can not complain about the internet connectivity and speed (at least not at my place) and it feels like as usual. However, being a software engineer enables me to work from almost anywhere. As the modern name „digital nomad“ implies, sitting every day in another café or co working place is possible as long as the place has WiFi and a power plug. I tried a couple of cafés and here are my impressions:
Coco Coffice
Coco Coffice is a tiny place to visit for work and especially focused work. There is everything you need: fast WiFi, power plugs, meeting rooms and spots, coffee/tea and snacks. Especially drinks and snacks are advertised to be included in the price and for the time of this blog, you will pay 3,5 EUR per hour. In return, you have a quiet environment which reminded me of the libraries at university time. The workplaces and the kitchen were very clean and the overall look and feel of this place is very inviting and to feel good. The staff is very friendly and helpful.
On the downside, the snacks included were “just” some super market cookies and cakes. The coffee machine is a Nespresso machine with aluminium capsules (which is a no-go) and for the meeting rooms, you have to pay additional 1 EUR/h if it takes longer than a quick phone talk. The places in front of the window are very cool but you need to be very early to fetch on of them.
Check out at Google Maps.
Natural Coffee
Not very far away from Coco Coffice, Natural Coffee is located close to the Poble Sec metro station. This café is not intended for work such as Starbucks or SandwiChez. The chairs and seating, for instance, are not very confortable und you need to stand up very early. However, you can keep this place as “hidden location” for work as they have everything you need: fast WiFi, power plugs, coffee, snacks and food. The interior is very lovely and you will have a great time here. Checkout at Google Maps.
Morrow Coffee
Located very central at Placa d’Espanya, Morrow Coffee is a great place for work. The interior is business like, there are tables at the window which is a nice view to the street (especially on sunny days), the WiFi is great and power plugs available. The coffee and snacks are great, but – compared to what I visited so far – a little bit expensive. They have also places on the street but the day I visited this place, it was a little too sunny so I would not be able to see my screen and burn under the sun.
Close to this café, there is a very nice park Parc Joan Miró. There are places to have a seat between palm trees.
Checkout on Morrow Coffee at Google Maps.
Federal Café Gòtic
As the name suggests, this place is located in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona and is in between of very lovely buildings. There is a small lane that connects the inner courtyard to the road where you will find amazing architectural things. Check blog post #2 of this series – I have uploaded pictures there.
I do not know what to conclude regarding to this place. On the one hand, the interior and the staff is very friendly (except than one “incident”). On the other hand, I was not able to connect to the WiFi and the staff told me they can not do anything about it. The concept of this place is very nice and smart – there are classic places to work and study, small places to sit and e.g. read a book and “regular” places to have a sit with friends and talk. On the other hand, I did a very unpleasant encounter at the restrooms. This and the missing WiFi holds me actually back to visit this place again, which is very sad because it is close to my place I stay. Checkout on Google Maps.
Hidden Coffee Roasters – El Born
My absolute favorite so far. Great place, great coffee and snacks and cool staff. The WiFi is very fast and there are power plugs. Not at every place, but you will find a way to charge your devices. Further, it is very close to my place and from this location, it is not far away to the beach. So what speaks against getting your work done and having a walk at the beach?
There is just one thing I need to mention – you are not allowed to sit with your laptop at the round tables. The staff have very kindly pointed out to me that this is not desired, which is Ok since there are other places as well. Checkout at Google Maps.
Conclusion
There is one thing I can say for sure – Barcelona is a city to work, travel and have fun. A lot of cafés who have understood the spirit of the times – meaning that they are equipped for working people like me -, great environment, culture and architecture and a lot of (tapas) bars, restaurants and so on.
And it is not limited to cafés: Barcelona has so much more – for instance a lot of co working spaces and public places. I definetely did not discover every café and/or place to work. Check this series, I will update…