🇮🇹
Bologna
Italy
Oldest university in Europe and Italy's food capital.
🇵🇱
Warsaw
Poland
Reinvented capital with cheap nights and easy travel.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Bologna
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇱 Warsaw
€750–1,050 / 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
🇵🇱 Warsaw
- Students who want a major European capital on a budget
- Those who plan to travel widely around Central Europe
- People interested in modern history and culture
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Moderate
Cost of Living
Affordable
Moderate
Nightlife
High
Good
Weather
Fair
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Iconic
Student Life
Very Active
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
🇵🇱 Warsaw
- Very affordable for a European capital
- Strong nightlife and modern club scene
- Excellent flight and rail connections
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Bologna
“University life in Bologna is unlike anything else.”
Student voice — 🇵🇱 Warsaw
“Warsaw is way more fun than people think.”
🇮🇹 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
🇵🇱 Warsaw
Pros
- Very affordable for a European capital
- Strong nightlife and modern club scene
- Excellent flight and rail connections
- Wide academic offer with English-taught programmes
- Housing market more accessible than Western Europe
Cons
- Long, cold winters with limited daylight
- City feels spread out and less walkable
- Less iconic atmosphere than Kraków
- Smaller Erasmus community than Prague or Budapest
- Language barrier outside the centre
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.