🇭🇺
Budapest
Hungary
Thermal baths, ruin bars and the Danube at sunset.
🇪🇸
Valencia
Spain
Beach, paella and a relaxed Mediterranean pace.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇭🇺 Budapest
€800–1,050 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇪🇸 Valencia
€850–1,100 / month
Best for
🇭🇺 Budapest
- Students with a tight or mid-range budget
- Those looking for a very active social life
- People who want to travel frequently around Europe
Best for
🇪🇸 Valencia
- Students who want to live near the sea
- Those looking for balance between studies and social life
- People who enjoy outdoor activities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Very Affordable
Cost of Living
Moderate
Very High
Nightlife
High
Fair
Weather
Very Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
High
Iconic
Student Life
Very Active
Plentiful
Housing
Manageable
Well-Regarded
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇭🇺 Budapest
- Excellent value for money
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Large Erasmus community
Student insights
🇪🇸 Valencia
- Excellent balance between leisure, studies and quality of life
- Access to an urban beach
- Good climate during most of the year
Student voice — 🇭🇺 Budapest
“Budapest is a brilliant city for Erasmus.”
Student voice — 🇪🇸 Valencia
“Living and studying here has been great. I wouldn't choose any other city.”
🇭🇺 Budapest
Pros
- Excellent value for money
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Large Erasmus community
- Ideal location for travelling
- Relatively accessible accommodation
Cons
- Long, cold winters
- University prestige lower than major Western capitals
- Local language difficult for many students
- Fewer international professional opportunities
- Some infrastructure can feel less modern than Western Europe
🇪🇸 Valencia
Pros
- Excellent balance between leisure, studies and quality of life
- Access to an urban beach
- Good climate during most of the year
- Large international community
- Good national and international connections
Cons
- Increasingly high rental prices
- Less intense Erasmus vibe than Seville or Granada
- Some areas can feel quite touristy
- Cost of living higher than many Spanish student destinations
- Less sense of a traditional university city
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.