🇧🇪
Brussels
Belgium
Multilingual capital of Europe with great rail connections.
🇵🇹
Lisbon
Portugal
Hills, ocean views and a buzzing creative capital.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇧🇪 Brussels
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Lisbon
€950–1,250 / month
Best for
🇧🇪 Brussels
- Students interested in EU politics or international careers
- Those who plan to travel widely across Europe
- People who enjoy multilingual environments
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.
🇧🇪 Brussels
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Expensive
Cost of Living
Moderate
High
Nightlife
Very High
Fair
Weather
Excellent
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Active
Student Life
Outstanding
Manageable
Housing
Tight
Strong
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇧🇪 Brussels
- Extremely international
- Excellent rail connections to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne
- Strong professional and internship opportunities
Student insights
🇵🇹 Lisbon
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Exceptional climate most of the year
- Excellent international connectivity
Student voice — 🇧🇪 Brussels
“Brussels is amazing if you care about EU careers.”
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Lisbon
“I will always say Lisbon.”
🇧🇪 Brussels
Pros
- Extremely international
- Excellent rail connections to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne
- Strong professional and internship opportunities
- Wide cultural offer
- Multilingual environment
Cons
- Grey, rainy climate
- Fragmented student community across neighbourhoods
- Cost of living relatively high
- Less iconic atmosphere than Ghent or Bruges
- Bureaucracy across language regions
🇵🇹 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.