🇮🇹
Florence
Italy
Renaissance art, Tuscan light and a walkable historic core.
🇵🇹
Lisbon
Portugal
Hills, ocean views and a buzzing creative capital.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Florence
€1,000–1,300 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Lisbon
€950–1,250 / month
Best for
🇮🇹 Florence
- Students passionate about art, architecture and culture
- Those who want an authentic Italian experience
- People looking for a walkable, compact historic city
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.
🇮🇹 Florence
🇵🇹 Lisbon
Expensive
Cost of Living
Moderate
Moderate
Nightlife
Very High
Very Good
Weather
Excellent
High
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Very Active
Student Life
Outstanding
Tight
Housing
Tight
Strong
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇮🇹 Florence
- Unmatched cultural and artistic environment
- Compact, walkable historic centre
- Pleasant Tuscan climate most of the year
Student insights
🇵🇹 Lisbon
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Exceptional climate most of the year
- Excellent international connectivity
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Florence
“Florence feels like living inside a museum, in the best way.”
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Lisbon
“I will always say Lisbon.”
🇮🇹 Florence
Pros
- Unmatched cultural and artistic environment
- Compact, walkable historic centre
- Pleasant Tuscan climate most of the year
- Excellent rail connections across Italy
- Strong international student community
Cons
- Expensive and competitive housing market
- Heavy tourist pressure in the centre
- Limited nightlife compared to larger capitals
- Cost of living higher than many Erasmus destinations
- Smaller local student community than Bologna or Padova
🇵🇹 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.