🇵🇹
Lisbon
Portugal
Hills, ocean views and a buzzing creative capital.
🇵🇱
Warsaw
Poland
Reinvented capital with cheap nights and easy travel.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Lisbon
€950–1,250 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇱 Warsaw
€750–1,050 / 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
🇵🇱 Warsaw
- Students who want a major European capital on a budget
- Those who plan to travel widely around Central Europe
- People interested in modern history and culture
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Moderate
Cost of Living
Affordable
Very High
Nightlife
High
Excellent
Weather
Fair
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Iconic
Student Life
Very Active
Tight
Housing
Comfortable
Strong
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇵🇹 Lisbon
- One of the best nightlife scenes in Europe
- Exceptional climate most of the year
- Excellent international connectivity
Student insights
🇵🇱 Warsaw
- Very affordable for a European capital
- Strong nightlife and modern club scene
- Excellent flight and rail connections
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Lisbon
“I will always say Lisbon.”
Student voice — 🇵🇱 Warsaw
“Warsaw is way more fun than people think.”
🇵🇹 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
🇵🇱 Warsaw
Pros
- Very affordable for a European capital
- Strong nightlife and modern club scene
- Excellent flight and rail connections
- Wide academic offer with English-taught programmes
- Housing market more accessible than Western Europe
Cons
- Long, cold winters with limited daylight
- City feels spread out and less walkable
- Less iconic atmosphere than Kraków
- Smaller Erasmus community than Prague or Budapest
- Language barrier outside the centre
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.