🇮🇹
Bologna
Italy
Oldest university in Europe and Italy's food capital.
🇵🇹
Lisbon
Portugal
Hills, ocean views and a buzzing creative capital.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Bologna
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Lisbon
€950–1,250 / 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
🇵🇹 Lisbon
- Students looking for a very active social life
- Those who value good weather all year round
- 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
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Moderate
Cost of Living
Moderate
Moderate
Nightlife
Very High
Good
Weather
Excellent
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Outstanding
Student Life
Outstanding
Manageable
Housing
Tight
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇮🇹 Bologna
- Exceptional university atmosphere
- Very high academic prestige
- Excellent location for travelling around Italy
Student insights
🇵🇹 Lisbon
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Exceptional climate most of the year
- Excellent international connectivity
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Bologna
“University life in Bologna is unlike anything else.”
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Lisbon
“I will always say Lisbon.”
🇮🇹 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
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Pros
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Exceptional climate most of the year
- Excellent international connectivity
- Large Erasmus and international community
- Great balance between studies, leisure and quality of life
Cons
- Difficult and expensive rental market
- Cost of living higher than many southern European destinations
- Strong tourist pressure in some areas
- City with many hills and demanding commutes
- Less feeling of a traditional university city than Granada or Bologna
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.