🇳🇱
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Canals, bikes and one of Europe's most international cities.
🇪🇸
Madrid
Spain
Spain's capital — museums, parks and endless nights.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
€1,300–1,700 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇪🇸 Madrid
€1,050–1,400 / month
Best for
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
- Students who want a deeply international experience
- Those interested in top-tier universities
- People who plan to travel across Europe constantly
Best for
🇪🇸 Madrid
- Students looking for a large international city
- Those who want to travel frequently around Europe
- People interested in academic and professional opportunities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Very Expensive
Cost of Living
Expensive
Very High
Nightlife
Very High
Fair
Weather
Very Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Very Active
Student Life
Very Active
Very Tight
Housing
Tight
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Top-Tier
Student insights
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
- Extremely international and English-friendly
- World-class universities
- Iconic, beautiful city to live in
Student insights
🇪🇸 Madrid
- Exceptional nightlife
- Outstanding national and international connections
- Highly prestigious universities
Student voice — 🇳🇱 Amsterdam
“Amsterdam is magical — just lock in housing months early.”
Student voice — 🇪🇸 Madrid
“Madrid is a city that never sleeps.”
🇳🇱 Amsterdam
Pros
- Extremely international and English-friendly
- World-class universities
- Iconic, beautiful city to live in
- Excellent flight and rail connections
- Wide cultural and nightlife offer
Cons
- Notoriously difficult housing market
- Very high cost of living
- Grey, rainy climate much of the year
- Tourist saturation in central areas
- Expectations often exceed the day-to-day reality
🇪🇸 Madrid
Pros
- Exceptional nightlife
- Outstanding national and international connections
- Highly prestigious universities
- Wide cultural and leisure offer
- Great networking and career opportunities
Cons
- Very expensive rent
- High cost of living by Spanish standards
- Large, sometimes overwhelming city
- Longer daily commutes than in mid-sized cities
- Less sense of student community than in more compact destinations
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.