🇮🇹
Bologna
Italy
Oldest university in Europe and Italy's food capital.
🇨🇿
Brno
Czech Republic
Affordable Czech student capital with a strong community.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Bologna
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇨🇿 Brno
€650–950 / month
Best for
🇮🇹 Bologna
- Students looking for a true university city
- Those who want an authentic Italian experience
- People interested in combining studies and social life
Best for
🇨🇿 Brno
- Students with a tight budget
- Those who want a strong student community
- People who enjoy travelling around Central Europe
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Moderate
Cost of Living
Very Affordable
Moderate
Nightlife
High
Good
Weather
Fair
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Iconic
Student Life
Iconic
Manageable
Housing
Comfortable
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇮🇹 Bologna
- Exceptional university atmosphere
- Very high academic prestige
- Excellent location for travelling around Italy
Student insights
🇨🇿 Brno
- Very low cost of living
- Strong, tightly-knit Erasmus community
- Multiple universities concentrated in one city
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Bologna
“University life in Bologna is unlike anything else.”
Student voice — 🇨🇿 Brno
“Brno is Prague's chill little sibling.”
🇮🇹 Bologna
Pros
- Exceptional university atmosphere
- Very high academic prestige
- Excellent location for travelling around Italy
- Strong student identity
- Compact and walkable city
Cons
- Increasingly expensive accommodation
- Cost of living higher than Central Europe
- Less favourable climate than southern Europe
- Smaller international community than Barcelona or Lisbon
- Less leisure offer than major European capitals
🇨🇿 Brno
Pros
- Very low cost of living
- Strong, tightly-knit Erasmus community
- Multiple universities concentrated in one city
- Great Central European travel base
- Friendly, welcoming atmosphere
Cons
- Cold winters
- Smaller than Prague — fewer flights and tourists
- Czech language barrier outside university
- Less famous globally as an Erasmus destination
- Limited beach or Mediterranean lifestyle
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.