The best coworking spaces in Rio de Janeiro

I’m a remote worker and have decided to be based in Rio de Janeiro for a while. I like working from my current home, but this city is just too beautiful, so of course I work outside as well. Luckily, there are some nice cafes and coworking spaces in Rio de Janeiro. In this article, I’ll recommend a few places from my own experience and that of digital nomad friends who are also in Rio or spent some time here recently.

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You might also like to read:

• How to learn Brazilian Portuguese
• A guide to Rio de Janeiro for digital nomads
• The best cities for digital nomads in Brazil

Coworking spaces in Rio de Janeiro

WeWork

The US-based coworking company WeWork has three locations in Rio: two in the city center (one at Almirante Barroso, 81, and another at the Bossa Nova Mall, right next to Santos Dumont domestic airport) and another one in Barra da Tijuca (Helios Seelinger 155).

They all have shared desk spaces and meeting rooms, and an honest market for your snack or lunch time.

Selina Lapa and Copacabana

The trendy hostel chain Selina offers a coworking space in both of their locations: Lapa and Copacabana. This is a cozy environment and a good choice if you want to meet other nomads. They have shared desk positions and a meeting room and offer a free trial day.

Selina Copacabana (Av. Almirante Gonçalves 5, Copacabana) has a beautiful rooftop view, but the coworking space is small and is often fully booked. Selina Lapa (R. Visc. de Maranguape, 9 – Lapa) is located near Cinelândia subway and Lapa’s famous bars, and besides the coworking itself you can also work in their downstairs cafe. Just beware that it’s good to have extra caution with your valuables in this area at night.

EmWork

This is a less trendy coworking space, but still quite functional. It’s close to Santos Dumont airport and offers private rooms as well. They have a space for meals, refrigerator, and microwave, if you like bringing lunch.

Coworking Town

This coworking in Rio de Janeiro has four locations: Copacabana beach, Recreio, Nova América mall and Cinelândia (Centro), besides from one in São Paulo. The Copacabana one is located within Rio Othon Palace hotel and boasts quite a nice view.

Spaces

Spaces coworking has one location in Centro (Rua do Passeio, 38) and one in Ipanema (Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 495). They’re not offering day passes at the moment, so you need to sign up for a private desk with monthly payment. I haven’t been, but I’ve heard the décor is quite nice in the Centro location, and the Ipanema one is very well located.

CCBB

Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB) is a museum and cultural space in Centro which often houses great exhibitions and events with free entry. They also have a free coworking space, which is quite nice. If you get hungry, there are two good very good cafes there too.

BiblioMaison

My favorite coworking space in Rio de Janeiro is actually a library: the BilioMaison, located at the French Consulate, in Centro.

Entrance is free, Wi-Fi is great and there’s AC, plenty of comfortable seats, and many power outlets. The best part is you get an amazing view of the Sugarloaf. The only downside is that its opening hours aren’t so great.

Finding other coworking spaces in Rio de Janeiro

If you want to browse through more options of coworking spaces in Rio, you can use a website/app called Woba. You can book your spot through there, and it also gives you a free trial day.

Good cafes for working in Rio de Janeiro

In my opinion, even better than going to a coworking space is working from a cafe. That way I get to get a sense of daily routine in the city and try out good food while getting work done.

Slow Bakery

One of my favorite cafes in Rio is Slow Bakery, which as the name suggests is actually an artisanal bakery. It’s located in Botafogo, about 10 minutes’ walk from the Botafogo subway station. Food is great, and I love their chai latte. They have a few outlets, good Wi-Fi and staff is super nice. Seating isn’t so comfortable, though.

Aussie Coffee

If you’re looking to meet other “gringos”, this is the place to go. Aussie Coffee, in Ipanema (R. Visc. de Piraja 98, loja 2), is a very popular spot among foreigners. It has good food and coffee and strong wi-fi, but seating is a big limited and they don’t have A/C.

Tiny Cat Café

Despite it isn’t a proper “cat cafe” (there aren’t any cats, just some cat-inspired décor), this is another good place to work from in Rio. They have one location in Copacabana (Av. Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, 308) and another in Catete (R. Correa Dutra, 75).

Their menu is quite varied and there are many seats and outlets in the Copacabana location (I still haven’t been to the other one). Internet is usually good.

Arp Bar

More on the fancy side, Arp Bar is located below Arp Hotel, in Arpoador (R. Francisco Otaviano, 177 – Ipanema). Food is good, and there’s also alcohol. There’s internet and outlets on the inside, but if you seat outside you get a nice view from the beach.

Café Cultura

This is a franchise with units in Copacabana (Av. Nossa Sra. de Copacabana, 457), Barra da Tijuca (Av. das Américas, 3900 and another at the Villagemall), Tijuca (Av. Maracanã, 987) and Botafogo (Rio Sul mall). I haven’t been, but it looks beautiful, and some friends work at the Copacabana one quite often.

Livraria da Travessa

Livraria da Travessa is a traditional bookstore in Rio de Janeiro and they have a few locations in the city: Centro, Ipanema, Leblon, Barra da Tijuca, Niterói… My favorite is the Botafogo one, which is right next to Botafogo subway station.

It’s very easy to reach, what makes me feel safe walking with my laptop, and its cafe on the first floor is quite nice, although a bit pricey. Wi-fi is strong, staff is nice, and they don’t seem to mind me staying there for a long time. But there’s a big downside: I haven’t found any power outlets available for customers.

More cafes to work from in Rio

Other options you might consider when looking for places to work from in Rio de Janeiro are Dark Coffee (R. São Bento, 29 – Centro), Farro (Av Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, 630), Work Café Santander (Av. Rio Branco, 115 – Centro and Av. Nossa Sra. de Copacabana, 599 – Copacabana), and Starbucks (several locations).

Do you have any other recommendations of cafes or coworking spaces in Rio de Janeiro? Let me know in the comments section!

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