We’ve all been there: huge test tomorrow, you haven’t studied all week, you’re coming back from classes and instead of a welcoming, noiseless, citadel of serenity, your dorm-mates are hosting a floor-wide Mario Kart tournament until 3 a.m. or decided tonight is the perfect night for a block party.
You need a place to study and it needs to be quiet, secluded and Mario Kart-free. Here are the seven best places around Knoxvegas to finally get some studying done (or at least pretend to).
French Market Creperie
Sometimes with studying, taking your time results in the best outcome. If you’ve got some time before your test, get a study group together and take a table for the day. If you’ve still got a while to go on that paper, have a crepe and a cappuccino first. And if you miss that deadline anyway? C’est la vie.
Ray’s Place
Where do you go if you don’t have time to go too far to study? If you’re a UT student, you already know. Ray’s has always catered specifically to students, being tucked away under the South College, with its cheap sandwiches and welcoming atmosphere. Grab a quick coffee between classes and, in that 20 minutes, write that entire English essay you probably should’ve written last night. It’s impossible to be stressed out at Ray’s, even for pathological procrastinators.
World’s Fair Park
World’s Fair Park is big enough for any nature-loving students to find their most zen spot and dive into their studies. Want a more forested solitude? Go down to the more southern part of World’s Fair. Want an open-aired city view? That’s northern World’s Fair. Need some inspiration? Take a walk on the trail winding down with the stream. At World’s Fair Park, you can combine relaxation with studying.
Lawson McGhee Library/Yassin’s Falafel House
The biggest library downtown is a great place for resources and focused study with its substantial space and free computer workstations. However, if you start getting hungry while you’re getting lost in the studious sanctuary, look no further than Yassin’s Falafel House, which lies just across the street.
Golden Roast
You might have noticed that some of these places have one very important thing in common and that’s ready access to joe. It’s what keeps us students alive and studying. If you’re going to need coffee just to start on that daunting assigned reading, then you might as well drink the best around at the Golden Roast. With free Wi-Fi and locally-roasted, fresh coffee all just a hop, skip and a jump away from the strip, it’s a great place to study for caffeine addicts.
Chaiyo’s
Comfort is key and if you want to reach your happy place before you dive into the books, then this Thai restaurant will make you feel at home with fast service and warm food that tucks in your tastebuds with a slight spicy goodnight kiss. Plus, with a huge list of of foods, it can be a recurring spots for study groups as well.
Niro’s Gyros
It may not be immediately obvious, but Niro’s is perfect for studying. Everyone gets their food to go so the restaurant is always empty. The only possible distraction is the TV, but that’s always switched on to either C-SPAN, a generic cop procedural or the local network showcasing high school scholars bowl tournaments. When your choice of attention is between your homework or a live-math competition, you’ll get that work done in no-time. After you’re done, reward yourself with a humongous gyro. You’ve earned it.
