🇵🇹
Lisbon
Portugal
Hills, ocean views and a buzzing creative capital.
🇪🇸
Madrid
Spain
Spain's capital — museums, parks and endless nights.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Lisbon
€950–1,250 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇪🇸 Madrid
€1,050–1,400 / month
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
Best for
🇪🇸 Madrid
- Students looking for a large international city
- Those who want to travel frequently around Europe
- People interested in academic and professional opportunities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
🇵🇹 Lisbon
🇪🇸 Madrid
Moderate
Cost of Living
Expensive
Very High
Nightlife
Very High
Excellent
Weather
Very Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Outstanding
Student Life
Very Active
Tight
Housing
Tight
Strong
University Reputation
Top-Tier
Student insights
🇵🇹 Lisbon
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Exceptional climate most of the year
- Excellent international connectivity
Student insights
🇪🇸 Madrid
- Exceptional nightlife
- Outstanding national and international connections
- Highly prestigious universities
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Lisbon
“I will always say Lisbon.”
Student voice — 🇪🇸 Madrid
“Madrid is a city that never sleeps.”
🇵🇹 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
🇪🇸 Madrid
Pros
- Exceptional nightlife
- Outstanding national and international connections
- Highly prestigious universities
- Wide cultural and leisure offer
- Great networking and career opportunities
Cons
- Very expensive rent
- High cost of living by Spanish standards
- Large, sometimes overwhelming city
- Longer daily commutes than in mid-sized cities
- Less sense of student community than in more compact destinations
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.