Before I visited any Copenhagen coworking spaces, I had already started to notice a different beat to working life in the city. People cycled breezily along the waterfront in the middle of the day, cafés were busy but never frantic. Offices seemed to empty at sensible hours, and even in central areas there was very little traffic noise. Compared with bigger, faster-paced capitals like London or Paris, where stress hangs in the air, Copenhagen felt more balanced and breathable.
This atmosphere carries into the city’s coworking culture. It’s a scene with deeper roots than most European cities, as Copenhagen was well ahead of the remote working curve. Communal working was already thriving here well before the pandemic.
Over the last decade, Copenhagen has built on these foundations, developing an ecosystem of coworking spaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs, startups and remote workers. Some are polished and modern with a strong tech focus, while others feel more creative and community-driven, shaped over many years by the people who have come and gone.
Coworking culture in Copenhagen is sociable without being overwhelming, and has become woven into the fabric of the place. Across the city, old townhouses, industrial buildings and navigation houses have been reimagined into bright, flexible workspaces integrated with cafés, communal kitchens, phone booths, meeting rooms and social spaces.
Between exploring the city’s waterways and characterful neighbourhoods, I visited two of the longest-running Copenhagen coworking spaces to get to the heart of it.
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Copenhagen coworking spaces uncovered
The two coworking spaces that I visited – Republikken and Talent Garden – stood out for very different reasons. Both reflect the city’s creative and collaborative energy, but each has its own personality, community and pace.
Republikken, on the edge of industrial-chic Vesterbro, has evolved steadily over two decades into a sprawling creative hub with a vibrant and fluid community. Talent Garden, set among the waterways and islands of Holmen, just south-east of the old town, brings a more modern startup and innovation feel in a converted old naval building.
Both spaces offered a fascinating glimpse into coworking culture in Copenhagen, and the wider lifestyle that makes the city such a compelling place for remote work. Let’s dive in.
Republikken: flexible coworking with a community spirit
“We don’t work late.” That was one of the first things Ivan said to me as he showed me around Republikken. He was talking about the culture of the coworking space, but he could just as easily have been talking about Copenhagen itself.
Ivan has been part of Republikken since it first opened more than 20 years ago. In coworking terms, that makes him something of a veteran. Most of the spaces I’ve visited around Europe have emerged over the last five years as remote working culture has accelerated, but Republikken had foundations long before the digital nomad boom hit.
These foundations are obvious when you walk around the place. But from the street outside, Republikken looks surprisingly modest. The entrance is an unassuming doorway that looks like it might lead to a dingy little backroom café, but once you climb the stairs and through a doorway into the reception area, it unfolds into a vast network of offices, lounges, kitchens, meeting spaces and communal areas.
A workspace for every mood
Republikken occupies a big space but doesn’t feel crowded. You will find coworkers gathered sociably around shared desks in some areas, but you only need to walk along a corridor or round a corner to find peaceful, more secluded spots. You can shape your own working day here depending on your mood, whether you want focus, conversation or just a change of scenery for an hour or two.
Two of the larger spaces within Republikken have an open-plan setup beneath high ceilings. Tall windows flood these rooms with natural light, bouncing off white-painted walls adorned with giant artworks. Each has a cosy mezzanine space that provides a creative little retreat and an expansive view of the room. It’s a natural breeding ground for creative ideas.
Ivan told me how Republikken has continued to evolve over the years. It has expanded from small beginnings to a bolder space that is now embracing creative new technologies like laser cutters and 3D printers for the next generation of members.
A coworking space built around people
There is a balance between permanence and renewal that gives Republikken a fluid but rooted feel. Some members have been there for years, including one guy who has worked from the space since the very beginning, while others pass through Copenhagen for shorter periods and use flexible desk arrangements for a few days or weeks at a time. As such, it has very much leant into the rise of the workation.
Republikken now has more than 200 members, but its atmosphere still feels personal and community-led. On the wall hangs a sign displaying three guiding principles: “relations are everything”, “the more you give the more you get”, and “curiosity fosters development”. A community calendar pinned nearby advertises wine tastings, breakfasts, creative workshops, Friday bars, table football tournaments and welcome events for new members.
The social atmosphere feels relaxed and organic. People stop for conversations in communal kitchens, drift between workspaces and settle into sofas with coffees. The kitchen facilities themselves are excellent, stocked with pastries, fruit and top-notch coffee.
Flexible coworking in Copenhagen
For remote workers visiting Copenhagen temporarily, Republikken is one of the city’s more flexible options. There are a variety of packages that fit naturally around different working styles, ranging from day access through to longer-term memberships, including Fly Desk, Hot Desk, Flex Desk and Fixed Desk arrangements.
The location is another big part of Republikken’s appeal. While set away from the heart of the city, it is a short walk from the Central Station, while also being right on the edge of Vesterbro, one of the coolest and most creative neighbourhoods in Copenhagen. The area’s revitalised industrial character and independent food and drink scene feel perfectly matched to the culture at Republikken.
My lingering impression after visiting Republikken was Ivan’s sheer enthusiasm for the place. Two decades in, he still spoke about the coworking space with energy and pride, reflecting a place that keeps growing and changing. As Copenhagen’s very first coworking space when it opened, it is a trailblazer of the modern city. But still it remains open to whoever walks through the door next.
Find out about coworking pass options on Republikken’s website.
Talent Garden: waterside coworking for creative minds
If Republikken feels rooted in Copenhagen’s creative coworking history, Talent Garden gives more of a glimpse into the city’s more modern startup and innovation culture. The setting makes an immediate impression, and I had a lot of fun finding it after a stroll through the city’s prettiest canals.
Talent Garden is located in Holmen, across the water from the famous Nyhavn old town waterfront and next to the picturesque Christianhavn. This area of Copenhagen is a maze of canals and islands, with a steady flow of cyclists gliding past amid the whirr of boats on the water. Despite being so close to the centre, it’s like a quiet little waterside village within the city.
The coworking space is set inside a historic brick naval building near the waterside, originally constructed in 1888. At one point it served as a “beklædningshus”, where soldiers and nurses would wait in line to collect their uniforms during wartime. You can still see the markings on the walls where soldiers would carve their initials into the brickwork from boredom while waiting in hour-long queues.
Upon arriving, the first thing I noticed was the dozens of bicycles parked neatly outside, a clue about the lifestyle and pace of the people who work here. Inside, the historic building has been transformed into a bright, modern coworking campus filled with light, plants, social spaces and creative energy. Talent Garden embodies that classic Copenhagen blend of old and new.
Inside the coworking campus
Entering Talent Garden, you step straight into an expansive café and communal lounge area that seems like the social heart of the building. There are comfortable seating areas, a huge television screen, people chatting over coffees and staff greeting visitors from behind the café counter.
This is where I met Michelle, Campus & Partnerships Manager, who showed me around the building. She had been very helpful in our prior email exchange, and I found that everyone I met at Talent Garden was similarly warm and welcoming.
Talent Garden is set across four floors covering some 3,000 square metres of workspace, where you wander among flexible desk areas, private offices, meeting rooms, phone booths and breakout areas interspersed with plants, modern lighting and informal seating. The design feels sleek and contemporary without becoming cold.
Like many of Copenhagen’s converted historic buildings, the space benefits from high ceilings and tall windows that make for an open and airy environment. I visited around lunchtime, when the office spaces were a bit quieter, but you still get the sense of a communal buzz about the place, with coworkers stopping for chats in corridors, stepping out to take calls or gathering in the kitchens and communal spaces.
There is a lunch package available for coworkers whether you’re stopping by for a day or working here longer-term, with a daily buffet-style spread of salads, breads, cold cuts and hot dishes. It’s great value compared to food prices around the city, and of course a natural opportunity to socialise with other coworkers.
A modern community for startups and creatives
This emphasis on community and networking is central to Talent Garden’s identity. Alongside coworking memberships, the wider Talent Garden network focuses heavily on digital learning, collaboration and professional development, bringing together people from many different creative fields. It’s an atmosphere that feels especially suited to startups, digital creatives and entrepreneurs building modern online businesses.
Michelle later told me about a current coworking member who had previously studied in the building back when it housed the Royal Danish Academy of Architecture. This is another little reminder of how the space has evolved across generations of Copenhagen’s creative community, and how it blends history and continuity with fresh ideas.
There is an ambitious energy about Talent Garden, but I didn’t feel it had the intense or performative culture that is associated with some startup hubs. Instead, it’s more shaped by that wider Copenhagen mindset. People work hard without overworking, and there is space for conversation, coffees by the water and a more sustainable pace to the day.
As with Republikken, flexibility is part of the setup. Day passes are available alongside longer-term memberships and flexible desk arrangements, so it’s accessible whether you are a professional based in Copenhagen or just visiting the city on a workation.
And because everyone passes through the café lounge when arriving or leaving, there is always a sense of shared atmosphere running through the building. Even brief visits naturally create moments of interaction and connection.
I left feeling that Talent Garden captures another side of coworking culture in Copenhagen. It is more polished and innovation-focused than Republikken perhaps, but built around many of the same ideas that resonate through the city: community, flexibility, creativity, and a healthier relationship with work.
Find out about coworking membership and pass options on Talent Garden’s website.
More Copenhagen coworking spaces
These are some more coworking spaces in Copenhagen that have day passes or other flexible options:
- Bloxhub: large-scaler coworking space and innovation hub on the waterside near the city centre.
- Zoku: award-winning hotel featuring a coworking space.
Map of Copenhagen coworking spaces
You can explore the locations of the Copenhagen coworking spaces featured in this article by clicking the map below:
Have you worked in any Copenhagen coworking spaces? Let us know about your experiences in the comments below.
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