Where the WiFi’s are…

I recently received an email from another expat in the region asking if I knew the best places to get wifi access in Maastricht. Since the place I used when we first moved here has shut down, I realized I really didn’t know what options remain. So I did a bit of digging. I haven’t tested most of these locations, but they should give you a place to start.

Free Wifi & Open Hotspots

• Centre Ceramique Library; 1992 Plein
• Markt (or Vrijthof) McDonalds; Markt & Vrijthof Squares
• Slekzy Bookstore Café: Strictly speaking the Slezky does not have its own wifi, but you can sometimes tap into the Vrijthof McDonalds’ wifi. So if you prefer Coffeelovers to clowns, head to the bookstore.
• La Place Maastricht; 15 Grote Straat

(Probably) Paid Wifi

A lot of paid hotspots in Maastricht seem to be T-mobile or Vodaphone hotspots. It’s possible to get a monthly subscription to these networks via the cellphone company in question, or you can usually get a day or hourly pass. Other locations may have their own systems set up with daily and hourly pricing.

• NS Station Maastricht; Stationsplein 27
• Les Trois Seaux; Markt 41
• De Pauwenhof; Boschstraat 70
• Café Zuid; Plein 1992
• Delifrance Maastricht; Brusselsepoort 41
• Café Twee; Kommel 8
• Café Zondag; Wycker Brugstraat 42
• Delifrance Maastricht Spilstraat; Spilstraat 4
• Hotels: Many of the hotels in Maastricht offer wifi for their guests. I suspect it is mostly paid, but if you are visiting watch for that availability. I find that free wifi is more common with bed and breakfasts and guest houses than with regular hotels and chains.

Finally, a quick Google for sites wifi or hotspots in Maastricht may help you locate more. Remember, if you’re using an open wifi spot, consider running a protective program such as Hotspot Shield and avoid logging into sites like your bank.

Have I missed something or got it wrong? Let me know in the comments below.

Wifi photo by Nicholasnova via Flickr. Uses under a Creative Commons License.

This article originally published at Maastricht Region to Live.

6 Responses to “Where the WiFi’s are…”

1. Dave Hampton says:

   October 25, 2010 at 6:23 pm

   If you have a Starbucks card, you can get wifi for free in any of their coffee shops. I use that almost everywhere; it’s easy to find them in cities and airports.

   Skype 5.0 has an agreement with Boingo that automatically offers cheap internet billed through Skype if it detects a local access point: it’s good if you need to make a quick e-mail refresh.

   Finally, if you have ever bought time with KPN or The Cloud while on the road, they keep your residual minutes waiting for a surprisingly long time. I discovered a Cloud connection that still had 30 minutes on it from a business billing a year ago and was able to continue using the account.

   Reply
   • Amanda says:

     October 25, 2010 at 6:26 pm

     Hey Dave,
     Good tips. I’ve got some minutes on a The Cloud account from our last trip to London. I hope it’s still good.

     Reply
2. Invader_Stu says:

   October 26, 2010 at 11:55 am

   I’ve become quite good at hunting for places in Amsterdam. I like to spend my lunch times out of the office at a cafe with wifi sometimes.

   Reply
   • Amanda says:

     October 26, 2010 at 12:15 pm

     Are there not many places? I’ve always assumed that Amsterdam would be pretty stocked with hotspots.

     Reply
3. Josh says:

   November 5, 2010 at 2:59 pm

   Free Wi-Fi is 24/7 available at the Townhouse Designhotel Maastricht on Sint Maartenslaan 5 (http://www.townhousehotels.nl/) and Hip Hotel St. Martenslane Maastricht on Sint Maartenslaan 6 (http://www.st-martenslane.com/)!

   Reply
4. Yatan Blumenthal says:

   May 15, 2011 at 5:59 pm

   More wifi spots are
   De la Bourse Bar and Restaurant on the Markt
   Hotel Grand L’Empereur nxt to the station

   and
   BounceSpace in De Geusselt MVV Stadium (with view on the pitch)

   Reply