So, you live or study in one of the Netherlands’ best student cities, and you’re looking for places to work or study in Groningen. Well, lucky for you, we have the low-down.
Steaming cups of coffee, sweat-induced pre-exam stress, and celebratory muffins; cafés, libraries, and coworking spaces are great places to work or study in this beautiful Dutch city. ✍
Got finals coming up? Or are you a freelancer who likes to find a home-away-from-home in the corner of a coffeeshop? (No, not those kinds of coffeeshops! 🌿). Say no more.
- 1. Kick back and study in the Forum’s public library
- 2. Get in your study time at Hoogkerk library
- 3. Grab a coffee and sit on a cosy couch at Uurwerker
- 4. Work away at Coffee Break
- 5. Stay for the day at Cappunvino (and enjoy a delicious lunch)
- 6. Study like a straight-A student at Selwerd
- 7. Relax the brain cells and read a book at Koffiestation Books & Coffee
- 8. Study at the Central Medical Library
1. Kick back and study in the Forum’s public library
The Forum in Groningen offers free access to all, and with long opening hours, it’s a warm and welcoming haven to find a comfy seat and bang out that 3,000-word essay. ✍
While you will need a membership to borrow books, there’s a rooftop you can access for free.
Tip: If you’re under 18, you can get a library membership free of charge.
The library has lots of events, so if you’re looking to hone your writing skills, be sure to check them out (though you will need to buy a ticket!)
There’s even a café on site to get that chai latte fix, and, with free Wifi and lots of places to charge your five-year-old laptop with a bad battery, the library is sure to be a place to spend the day studying or working.
🏢 Type: Library
💰 Price: Free
⏰ Opening hours: 9 AM to 12 AM from Monday to Saturday, and 10 AM to 11 PM on Sunday
📍 Location: Nieuwe Markt 1, 9712 KN Groningen
2. Get in your study time at Hoogkerk library
Another member of the Forum group of libraries here in Groningen, Hoogkerk library is a brilliant place to set down your laptop and study the day away.
READ MORE | The gem of the north: 8 free things to do in Groningen
This library offers free Wifi, comfortable places to sit and study, and it is completely free to access!
🏢 Type: Library
💰 Price: Free
⏰ Opening hours: 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM from Monday to Friday (closed on weekends)
📍 Location: Jan Ensinglaan 29, 9744 GP Groningen
3. Grab a coffee and sit on a cosy couch at Uurwerker
‘The Clock Worker’ in English, De Uurwerker, is a combination of a café, bar, and restaurant. Most importantly, it has lots of cosy couches to plop down on and work to your heart’s content.
Grab yourself a coffee, and if you’re staying for the day, you can even treat yourself to some lunch. With options for all diets, even those vegans (because you go to art college, right?), this is a great spot to work or study in Groningen.
🏢 Type: Café
💰 Price: €3.30 for an Americano
⏰ Opening hours: 12 PM to 11 PM from Monday to Thursday, 11 AM to 12:30 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 12 PM to 10 PM on Sundays
📍 Location: Uurwerkersplein 1, 9712 EJ Groningen
4. Work away at Coffee Break
Got a freelance job that needs some extra love? Well, you’ll find a cosy seat at Coffee Break, another lovely, laptop-friendly café in Groningen.
Here, you can stay for the whole day, sipping away on your mocha, using up all that free electricity (because we are in an energy crisis, after all).
With a good Wifi connection to top it all off, you won’t be sitting looking at that infamous dinosaur on Google’s error page.
🏢 Type: Café
💰 Price: Starts at €3.10 for an espresso
⏰ Opening hours: 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM from Monday to Friday, and 11 AM to 5:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday
📍 Location: Gedempte Zuiderdiep 158, 9711 HN Groningen
5. Stay for the day at Cappunvino (and enjoy a delicious lunch)
Even een bakkie(Glaasje) doen.#Groningen @cappuvino pic.twitter.com/b3pUDUCZ79
— Loes Coelman (@loose_n_cool) August 9, 2022
Looking for a café to make your home-away-from-home? Cappunvino can offer comfy seats, excellent coffee, and a place to work, study, or procrastinate your heart out.
Plus, the café becomes a vibrant and vintage-looking bar in the evening, so if that essay is particularly stressful, don’t pull your hair out, just close the laptop and grab a glass of vino with friends. 🍷
🏢 Type: Café
💰 Price: €3 for an Americano
⏰ Opening hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM on Tuesday, 10 AM to 9:30 PM on Wednesday, 10 AM to 10:30 PM on Thursday, 10 AM to 11:30 PM on Friday and Saturday, and 12 PM to 5:30 PM on Sunday
📍 Location: Vismarkt 1, 9712 CA Groningen
6. Study like a straight-A student at Selwerd
Yet another location part of the Forum group of libraries, at Selwerd you can grab a seat, make use of the books onsite as sources for that history essay, and study away.
If you’re looking to take a short break away from the endless work and study, there are also exhibits at Selwerd. Usually showcasing artwork and photography by local artists, you can take a mental break with a bit of art enjoyment while you work.
Let op: Selward is currently closed from September 1 to October 26, 2025, due to renovations.
🏢 Type: Library
💰 Price: Free
⏰ Opening hours: 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM from Monday to Friday
📍 Location: Eikenlaan 288/8, 9741 EW Groningen
7. Relax the brain cells and read a book at Koffiestation Books & Coffee
The Koffiestation is a café in Groningen that offers some incredible things: wonderful, expertly made coffee and English books to sit and read in between study breaks!
READ MORE | These are the 6 best international bookstores in the Netherlands
With a calming exterior of beige and wooden undertones, you can find a comfy seat and work away for hours.
You can also enjoy their coffee during your leisure time. You’ll find them, with an on-the-go coffee truck, so you can catch the Koffiestation at markets in Groningen.
Tip: The cinnamon buns in this café are to die for 😍
🏢 Type: Café
💰 Price: €3 for an Americano
⏰ Opening hours: 9 AM to 5 PM from Monday to Friday
📍 Location: Oude Kijk in Het Jatstraat 21, 9712 EA Groningen
8. Study at the Central Medical Library
Are you a student in Groningen? Then drop the fake stethoscope; there’s no need for you to pretend to be a medical student to enjoy the use of Groningen’s Central Medical Library.
The library grants open access to all students in the city, so you can borrow books and make use of their facilities.
Studying with a friend? You can book a study room for two ahead of time and spend the day chatting, ahem, working. 😬
Let op: This library is only open to Groningen University students.
🏢 Type: Library
💰 Price: Free
⏰ Opening hours: 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM from Monday to Thursday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM on Friday, and 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and Sunday
📍 Location: Antonius Deusinglaan 1 (building 3211, basement, 9713 AV Groningen
Got exams coming up, or just a remote worker sick of staring at the same old walls? Well, we hope that this list of wonderful places to work or study in Groningen will give you a welcome escape from your stress-riddled desk.
There’s nothing like stressing in a gezellig environment! 😏
Have you checked out any of these spots? Let us know in a comment below! 👇
