Best Parisian co-working spaces for creatives
There’s a tremendous amount of cool co-working spaces in Paris, each with their own unique spins. From pimped up abandoned buildings to beautifully decorated cozy cafes, there’s honestly not one that could be considered the ultimate best. It all falls down to one’s personal taste and needs.
And so earlier this year, my colleagues and I at Goodpatch went on the ultimate quest of picking our ideal work space in Paris. We worked from different spaces every Friday all around the city, experiencing hands on how productive, comfortable (or not) we felt in each. Which space did we end up choosing? It was a tough choice — read on our thoughts about each and our reasonings for pick.
But first, it is important to mention that we are currently four designers at Goodpatch Paris working together with our Automotive client most of the week. Since we have specific needs, we will grade our space according to these criteria:
- Flexible offer: we need a space only on Fridays, 3 to 4 times per month as the rest of the week we split our time at our client’s office.
- Location: has to be reasonably central, making it efficient to attend meetings all around the city and a reasonably easy commute to everyone.
- Meeting rooms: since every Friday we have a design review with our offices in Berlin & Munich, we need this option.
- Get shit done: a quiet environment with good wifi, comfortable chairs, light and plenty of space is of course a must.
Le Laptop
Tucked inside a quiet courtyard in the 18th arrondissement, this coworking space felt like an extension of our homes.
We enjoyed the cozy, comfortable interior decorations with wood linings and were lucky enough to work from a sunroof room all day. There are two buildings connected by the courtyard, one of which is mostly used for workshops, small events or meeting rooms. Their community of coworkers are extremely kind and welcoming, as you can already tell from their website.
Although we were there during the fall/winter, we could easily imagine it as a secret heaven during the summer months where they roll out their wooden chairs & tables and yes: work from outside! At a bargain price, what a jewel find in Paris. We only wished it was a bit more central.
Flexible offer: Yes, nomad pack
Location: Not as central for our needs, located in the 18th district
Meeting rooms: Yes, but no option to book in advance. Also, in the second building where most of the meeting rooms are, workshops & events take priority.
Get shit done: Yes, the staff is very respectful and instructs everyone to keep noise to a minimum.
10h10 Saint Martin
Coworking café with a pay by the hour system, the uniqueness of this space lies in the details. It is 100% retro style and very unique with it’s patterned wall tapestry, piano organ, 70’s juke music playing station and even an old school phone booth. The bright colors scream happiness and we found it very inspiring.
Included in the price are a good variety of delicious snacks, tees and coffee. The chairs are super comfortable and tables decently sized but there are sofa options too, with a few private corners making it great for personal discussions. 10h10 has two central locations, but we picked the Saint Martin space largely for their meeting room options. We paid extra for a 2 hour meeting room and were not disappointed.
Sparkling clean, super easy to book and very central, this is a “get shit done” type of space and we can hardly think of anything that would have made our experience even better.
Flexible offer: Yes, pay by the hour
Location: Very central
Meeting rooms: Yes, multiple options available. Book by calling or emailing.
Get shit done: Yes, comfortable with plenty of private spots.
Nuage Café
My online research led me to another coworking café where I was immediately attracted by their easy system of self booking meeting rooms. No need to call or send an email — with quite a few meeting options to choose from and attractive pictures, I booked within a few minutes.
Once there, the staff is friendly well prepared with an impressive coffee machine (that none of us tried, sadly) and a set of healthy snacks. The decor slightly resembles a high school classroom, great visually but in practice the chairs were not so comfortable. They do have a few couch and bench options too. It has high ceilings that spread over 2 floors, but we wished we had more space especially in the afternoon where the café got crowded.
Flexible offer: Yes, pay by the hour.
Location: Central, latin quarter
Meeting rooms: Book online in advance but check carefully before for closed or open space. Our meeting room was open, making it difficult for calls.
Get shit done: We would have prefered more comfortable chairs, more space and less noise.
Spaces Réamur
Out of all our “try out list” option, this coworking space is the largest. We’ve heard so much hype about it and after seeing that they offer flexible desks we decided to give it a try. Spaces is part of a chain spread around Paris and what’s particularly great about that is that their flex desk membership lets one use any of their spaces. A bit on the expensive side, you pay for a sparkling clean, well decorated modern space with professional staff and all amenities included.
The huge ceilings and enormous windows paired with great lightning quickly won as one of our favorites.
Flexible offer: Our best offer was a 5 day per month pass, but we would have appreciated a pay as we go system.
Location: Very central, multiple options.
Meeting rooms: Yes and even one available for everyone with no booking needed. Plenty of other private spots.
Get shit done: Yes, what a bright and inviting place!
Station W
Another example of a brilliant concept, Station W is a series of temporary co-working spaces in cafes that would normally be empty during the day. By opening their doors to nomads, they give these cafés a new life during their off-peak hours.
I looked online and decided to try out Bliss Station’s sunny space equipped with sofas and even a pool table. Unfortunately we were in bad luck as this sunny spot was under construction but we were able to enjoy their comfy sofas. After we were told that there’s no meeting room space we thought it was a great chance to try out another space only across the street, Station Else. So we split our time between both, something that anyone can do with their flexible ‘work from any of our stations’ offer.
Flexible offer: Yes, option to get a 10 day pass to be used within 3 months.
Location: Very central, multiple locations.
Meeting rooms: Yes, but not at all stations.
Get shit done: We would have appreciated a cleaner space with fresher air and especially more light.
It’s been an exciting few Friday’s for us. We’ve had the thrills of working from some very cool spaces, exploring different neighbourhoods with a variety of delicious lunches and especially learning more about what gives us a kick of productivity as a team. At the same time, it was also a nerve-racking experience not knowing if our day’s productivity or comfort would be affected. Something as little as a slightly smelly space or an uncomfortable chair can really ruin your day, or even back. Crowded spaces can also easily become distracting.
We felt really great at Spaces, with 10h10 taking second place and have decided to pursue both at the moment. They both meet all of our needs and we’re excited to give them a try.
If you want to meet the Goodpatch Paris team come to one of our Product Crunch meetups. To stay in touch for new posts — follow here or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. ✌️
