Birdie Food & Coffee
Cappuccino, espresso, fruit juice, generously sized brioches, sandwiches and granola. That’s your food and drink sorted for the working day. Not bad, eh? In the Bains district, head over to this cute little coffee shop, order yourself a coffee and settle in at one of the tables in the bright and airy workspace for a productive day. Naturally, there’s Wi-Fi available and plenty of sweet treats for when you need a break. Try to get there first thing in the morning if you want to be sure of finding a comfortable seat for the day. Our tip: if you love coffee, try an aeropress for maximum flavour!
📍 Birdie Food & Coffee, Rue des Bains 40, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland. Cup of coffee from EUR 4.
Oh Martine
Oh Martine is a funky café in the Eaux-Vives district of Geneva that really stands out from the crowd. This small café is on a mission, and serves up good vibes at every table. Get there for midday so you can try their sandwiches, including banh mi and Italian and Canadian-style sandwiches made from crusty bread with a soft interior. Sit down for lunch, finish your meal with a coffee, then tackle your work projects for the whole afternoon. You might be tempted to try something from the dessert buffet as an afternoon snack. Choose your (non) guilty pleasure and then get on with your working day. You’ll have a productive, and delicious, afternoon!
📍 Oh Martine, Route de Chêne 6, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland.
Page and Sips
You’ll find Page and Sips café in Geneva’s Old Town. The name is highly apt, because this is no ordinary café. It’s also a fabulous English bookshop. In keeping with the anglophone theme, you’ll choose from a range of teas to drink during your working day. There’s chai tea, Christmas tea, yuzu caviar, Irish ballad, or more classic sencha or black teas. Prepare yourself for a productive work session surrounded by books. It’s not hard to find a cosy, quiet corner to get some work done in this 150 m2 café. If you’re feeling peckish, they have traditional sweet and savoury scones on offer to meet your snacking needs. After a deep work session, lose yourself in a second-hand book and take it with you on the train on your return journey.
📍 Page and Sips, Grand-Rue 37, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland.
Bongo Joe Records et Café
You won’t find books here. Instead, they have records. A whole library of vinyls as a backdrop all around. Here at Bongo Joe Records, you can spend an hour or a half-day working with a musical soundtrack. Crack open your work files out on the terrace or inside, but we advise making the most of the outside views, which are unique among Geneva cafés. Located on the Place de l’Île with views of the River Rhône, this waterfront café hosts remote workers and freelancers from lunchtime into the evening. Settle in under the big tree for a few hours of work, and then just enjoy the atmosphere afterwards. The café regularly transforms into a concert venue at the end of the day.
📍 Bongo Joe Records et Café, Bongo Joe, Place de l’Île 1, Association, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland
Corde Café
There’s a wide choice available at Corde Coffee. Right bank or left bank? This is a no-frills café, with vintage furniture and coloured walls that will get you in the mood to work. Order yourself a little coffee to give yourself the energy boost you need to start your day. You won’t even notice the time passing in this welcoming café. And that’s a promise! You really should try the carrot cake for dessert. It’s our favourite! As a bonus, the café is transformed into a beer bar in the evening, so you can spend some well-deserved time chilling out after frantically typing out your work documents! The best part of all about this place is the people you meet. You’re guaranteed to encounter other remote workers there who are keen to explore Geneva and all the hotspots on offer in the city if you’re going to extend your stay for an offline weekend.
📍 Corde Café, Rue du 31 Décembre 32, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland.
If you need to work in Geneva, there are warm, welcoming venues and coworking spaces aplenty. With places dotted all over the city, all you need is your charging cable and your laptop to get stuck in. Another accessible option is the university. But the on-site café isn’t quite as tempting as the other suggestions on our list of top picks. In all of these spaces, you can have lunch or a snack for a reasonable price, spend a super-productive day working somewhere that’s slightly off the beaten track and spend some time in the city after a hard day’s work. All you need to do now is buy your train ticket, right?