🇩🇪
Berlin
Germany
Counter-culture capital with legendary nightlife and history.
🇧🇪
Brussels
Belgium
Multilingual capital of Europe with great rail connections.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇩🇪 Berlin
€1,050–1,350 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇧🇪 Brussels
€1,000–1,300 / month
Best for
🇩🇪 Berlin
- Students looking for a creative, alternative city
- Those who want legendary nightlife
- People interested in modern history
Best for
🇧🇪 Brussels
- Students interested in EU politics or international careers
- Those who plan to travel widely across Europe
- People who enjoy multilingual environments
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Moderate
Cost of Living
Expensive
Very High
Nightlife
High
Fair
Weather
Fair
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Iconic
Student Life
Active
Tight
Housing
Manageable
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇩🇪 Berlin
- World-famous nightlife and music scene
- Very international and multicultural
- Strong universities and English-taught programmes
Student insights
🇧🇪 Brussels
- Extremely international
- Excellent rail connections to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne
- Strong professional and internship opportunities
Student voice — 🇩🇪 Berlin
“There's no city like Berlin for nightlife.”
Student voice — 🇧🇪 Brussels
“Brussels is amazing if you care about EU careers.”
🇩🇪 Berlin
Pros
- World-famous nightlife and music scene
- Very international and multicultural
- Strong universities and English-taught programmes
- Rich modern history and cultural offer
- Excellent rail and flight connections
Cons
- Housing market is increasingly difficult
- Long, grey winters
- Big-city logistics — long commutes possible
- Cost of living has risen sharply
- Iconic image creates high expectations
🇧🇪 Brussels
Pros
- Extremely international
- Excellent rail connections to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne
- Strong professional and internship opportunities
- Wide cultural offer
- Multilingual environment
Cons
- Grey, rainy climate
- Fragmented student community across neighbourhoods
- Cost of living relatively high
- Less iconic atmosphere than Ghent or Bruges
- Bureaucracy across language regions
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.