Barcelona: where to sit and work/write/read?

September 22, 2019 11:58 AM

I find myself unexpectedly about to go to Barcelona for a week. There's work I need to do while I'm there. Are there interesting places where I can comfortably and unobtrusively sit with a laptop for a few hours?

I'll be tagging along to someone else's conference, so during the days I'll be on my own during the with some work to do.

We're staying in a nice old hotel in the Eixample. I'm assuming there will be some public space in the hotel where I can work, but I'd prefer to get out more. I can speak Spanish but not Catalan.

Ideally I'd like to spend some of each day walking around and looking at buildings, and also spend a chunk of each day working somewhere in an interesting neighborhood. If the local café culture doesn't do laptops, how about on-paper reading and writing?

(Might call a meetup and see if anyone's up for lunch, too, but that's a subject for another post.)

posted by tangerine to Travel & Transportation around Barcelona, Spain (5 answers total)

Best answer: I spent a few days working in Barcelona. I spent a lot of time in the lobby/bar area of a Hostel near my hotel, St Christopher's Inn Hostel. They had good wifi, drinks, a nice space, and didn't mind me staying around on my laptop all day. I didn't see anybody on laptops at local cafes, but there are Starbucks about and those had the normal group on laptops.
posted by miscbuff at 3:55 PM on September 22, 2019

Best answer: I visited Barcelona for the first time in late January. I enjoyed the Museo Maritim and was a little sorry I did not bring along a book after I was finished with the exhibits. It is in a nice area for walking around. There is a restaurant and a back patio. The slide show includes an image of tables with computers but I didn't notice that when I was there. In any case, even though I do not speak Spanish, the museum as a whole spoke to me. It is small, it is interesting, and it is near other engaging spots as well. I am a stranger to Barcelona so others probably have better suggestions. Have fun!
posted by Bella Donna at 3:59 PM on September 22, 2019

Best answer: If you don't need WiFi, if you head a little north of the Eixample into the central core of Gràcia, you will find a charming square located approximately every three blocks, each with a series of cafes. And when in doubt, you can always go to the library.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 8:28 PM on September 22, 2019

Best answer: There's a ton of 3rd wave coffee places that would probably suit your needs. Any local place wouldn't have a problem with a laptop either - the concept of turning over tables doesn't really exist here. There's also supposedly free city wifi spread all over the place, but I have never been able to get it to work. Just about every cafe and restaurant has free wifi, password is usually on the noticeboard or menu or receipt.
If you want to go with chains, there's lots of McDonalds Cafes, Starbucks and the more local Pans. Pretty much next to the St Christopher Inn Hostel mentioned above there's a Tim Horton's with wifi, and another local cafe with tables outside just around the corner.
One thing that we're not lacking is cafes.
Memail me if you have specific questions relating to this or Barcelona in general.
posted by conifer at 2:12 AM on September 23, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. Much appreciated.

The obligatory meetup thread is here if anyone's around and up for it.
posted by tangerine at 11:57 AM on September 25, 2019