by Anna Berkowitz
I’m sure you don’t need a reminder that exam season is approaching fast. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of fighting for a seat in the library. And plus, the air in there is absolutely toxic sometimes. If you’re sick of trying to get to campus as early as possible to bag one of the (still very limited) study spaces in the main campus buildings, this article is for you. Armed with this expertise, you too can revise, suffer, or even cry in nice locations!
- Redemption Roasters (locations on Drury Lane and on Lincoln’s Inn Fields)
First of all, Redemption has great coffee. So there’s something to motivate you to actually go and sit down and study. Both locations have plenty of seating, fast wifi, and attractive baristas. What more can you ask for from a coffee shop? Both locations are a five to seven minutes’ walk away from campus. And I’m not even getting paid to say this stuff.
- Senate House Library
Just set behind Russell Square, the rather imposing art deco University of London Senate House Building is hard to miss. The 19 floor building is the administrative centre for UoL, and also happens to have a beautiful library inside. As an LSE student you can get a library card by filling out a quick online questionnaire and then the library is yours to peruse. It’s quiet, it’s pretty, and if you’re lucky you can get a spot on one of the couches.
- Wellcome Collection
The Wellcome Collection is another underrated central London spot. It’s really a museum dedicated to medical antiquities (not really my thing), but there’s a really nice reading room on the top floor that looks out onto the not-so-nice Euston Road. It’s open everyday (except for Monday) until 6:00pm, it’s free to enter and it’s also rarely crowded! If you get tired of staring at your computer you can always go look at some old medical textbooks, so that’s a plus too.
- The Penny Drop
This is by far my favourite cafe in Central London. It’s just off Tottenham Court Road by Goodge Street Station, and worth a try if you’re tired of just going to Caffè Nero or Pret. It’s an independent shop, owned by the same two guys who are always working there. It’s cosy, has nice interior design, and it just has a generally friendly vibe.
- The British Library
Now I know this isn’t really a secret spot by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a welcome break from campus. It is also free from the people who think the LSE library is the best place for telling their friends about every single thing that has happened to them in the past week at an abnormal volume. They have eduroam wifi, and it’s much closer for students who live anywhere near Kings Cross or Camden. They also, incidentally, have a good cafe on the ground floor.
