🇧🇪
Brussels
Belgium
Multilingual capital of Europe with great rail connections.
🇦🇹
Vienna
Austria
Imperial elegance, coffee houses and unbeatable quality of life.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇧🇪 Brussels
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇦🇹 Vienna
€1,000–1,300 / 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
🇦🇹 Vienna
- Students who value culture and classical music
- Those who want a high quality of life
- People interested in prestigious universities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Expensive
Cost of Living
Expensive
High
Nightlife
High
Fair
Weather
Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Active
Student Life
Very Active
Manageable
Housing
Comfortable
Strong
University Reputation
Top-Tier
Student insights
🇧🇪 Brussels
- Extremely international
- Excellent rail connections to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne
- Strong professional and internship opportunities
Student insights
🇦🇹 Vienna
- Consistently ranked among the most liveable cities in the world
- Excellent public transport
- Strategic Central European location
Student voice — 🇧🇪 Brussels
“Brussels is amazing if you care about EU careers.”
Student voice — 🇦🇹 Vienna
“Quality of life in Vienna is on another level.”
🇧🇪 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
🇦🇹 Vienna
Pros
- Consistently ranked among the most liveable cities in the world
- Excellent public transport
- Strategic Central European location
- Rich cultural and academic environment
- Safe and very well organised
Cons
- Higher cost of living than Eastern European capitals
- Locals can feel reserved
- Long, grey winters
- Less spontaneous nightlife than Berlin or Budapest
- Housing market competitive in popular neighbourhoods
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.