🇮🇹
Bologna
Italy
Oldest university in Europe and Italy's food capital.
🇭🇺
Budapest
Hungary
Thermal baths, ruin bars and the Danube at sunset.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Bologna
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇭🇺 Budapest
€800–1,050 / 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
🇭🇺 Budapest
- Students with a tight or mid-range budget
- Those looking for a very active social life
- People who want to travel frequently around Europe
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
🇮🇹 Bologna
🇭🇺 Budapest
Moderate
Cost of Living
Very Affordable
Moderate
Nightlife
Very High
Good
Weather
Fair
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Outstanding
Student Life
Outstanding
Manageable
Housing
Plentiful
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Well-Regarded
Student insights
🇮🇹 Bologna
- Exceptional university atmosphere
- Very high academic prestige
- Excellent location for travelling around Italy
Student insights
🇭🇺 Budapest
- Excellent value for money
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Large Erasmus community
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Bologna
“University life in Bologna is unlike anything else.”
Student voice — 🇭🇺 Budapest
“Budapest is a brilliant city for Erasmus.”
🇮🇹 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
🇭🇺 Budapest
Pros
- Excellent value for money
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Large Erasmus community
- Ideal location for travelling
- Relatively accessible accommodation
Cons
- Long, cold winters
- University prestige lower than major Western capitals
- Local language difficult for many students
- Fewer international professional opportunities
- Some infrastructure can feel less modern than Western Europe
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.