🇮🇹
Bologna
Italy
Oldest university in Europe and Italy's food capital.
🇮🇹
Rome
Italy
Ancient ruins, dolce vita and Italy's biggest capital.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Bologna
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Rome
€1,050–1,350 / 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
🇮🇹 Rome
- Students who want a major European capital
- Those passionate about history and classical culture
- People looking for top-tier universities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
🇮🇹 Bologna
🇮🇹 Rome
Moderate
Cost of Living
Expensive
Moderate
Nightlife
High
Good
Weather
Very Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Outstanding
Student Life
Very Active
Manageable
Housing
Tight
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Top-Tier
Student insights
🇮🇹 Bologna
- Exceptional university atmosphere
- Very high academic prestige
- Excellent location for travelling around Italy
Student insights
🇮🇹 Rome
- Extraordinary historical and cultural heritage
- Prestigious universities with many international programmes
- Excellent rail and flight connections
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Bologna
“University life in Bologna is unlike anything else.”
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Rome
“Rome is overwhelming at first, then you fall in love.”
🇮🇹 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
🇮🇹 Rome
Pros
- Extraordinary historical and cultural heritage
- Prestigious universities with many international programmes
- Excellent rail and flight connections
- Vibrant food and aperitivo culture
- Pleasant Mediterranean climate most of the year
Cons
- Very competitive and expensive housing
- Public transport can be slow and crowded
- Notoriously slow administrative processes
- Massive tourist crowds in central areas
- Erasmus community feels fragmented across the city
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.