Where to Work: The Options
| Option | Rough budget | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Coworking day pass | about €15 to €35 per day | A full working day, calls, meetings |
| Café with Wi-Fi | the price of a drink | A few hours, light tasks |
| District library | free or very cheap | Quiet work, long hours |
| Hotel or apartment | included | If the Wi-Fi is reliable (check before booking) |
Coworking Spaces with Day Passes
Berlin has well over a hundred coworking spaces, concentrated in Mitte, Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Charlottenburg. Many sell a day pass with Wi-Fi, coffee and sometimes phone booths or meeting rooms. Prices move with supply and demand: booking platforms show a range of roughly €15 to €35 for a day, sometimes less for a simple shared desk. Long-standing names are betahaus, aimed at freelancers and start-ups, and the café-coworking St. Oberholz, near Rosenthaler Platz, which helped launch the café-working scene. Book online the day before, especially on weekdays: the best-known spaces fill up.
Working in a Café
In Berlin, working in a café is part of everyday habits. A few common-sense rules:
- Order a drink or a meal regularly, especially if you stay several hours.
- Watch for "Laptop-freie Zone" or "Keine Laptops" signs: some cafés, especially at weekends or brunch time, do not accept laptops. See also our guides to cafés and pastry shops and brunch in Berlin.
- Sockets are rare: arrive charged and bring a cable.
- Wi-Fi is often protected by a code given at the counter; do not expect steady speed for a video call.
- Many cafés accept cash only: see paying in Berlin.
The districts with the most cafés to work in are Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Friedrichshain: see our guides to Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Neukölln.
Libraries and Public Places
District libraries (Bezirksbibliotheken) offer workstations and Wi-Fi; some require registration or a reader's card, sometimes reserved for residents. Check the library's website. The reading room of the State Library (Staatsbibliothek) near Potsdamer Platz is well known to students, but its access conditions change: check them before you go.
Internet: Wi-Fi, SIM and Speed
Speeds in hotels and apartments vary a lot: ask about the connection speed before booking if you make video calls. As a backup, an eSIM or German prepaid card is good insurance: see our guide to SIM cards and eSIMs in Berlin. Free Wi-Fi exists, but it is not suitable for confidential work.
Hours, Public Holidays and the Local Rhythm
Berlin is on Central European Time (UTC+1 in winter, UTC+2 in summer). Most shops are closed on Sundays: plan your shopping and lunch accordingly (see our guide to Sundays in Berlin). Public holidays (such as 3 October, German Unity Day) also close most coworking spaces or shorten their hours.
Tourist Stay and Remote Work
EU citizens can stay and work in Berlin without a visa. For travellers from other countries, a tourist stay does not in principle allow professional activity in Germany, and remote work for a foreign employer is a grey area that depends on your nationality, the length of stay and your tax situation. For long stays, ask the German consulate or embassy in your country before leaving; this guide is not legal advice.
Balancing Work and Sightseeing
To combine work and tourism, group your office hours in the morning and keep the afternoon for sights, or the other way round. Our free activities in Berlin and the list of parks and gardens help you take an outdoor break between two video calls.
