🇪🇸
Madrid
Spain
Spain's capital — museums, parks and endless nights.
🇫🇷
Toulouse
France
The pink city — French southwest with a major student population.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇪🇸 Madrid
€1,050–1,400 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇫🇷 Toulouse
€900–1,200 / month
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
Best for
🇫🇷 Toulouse
- Students who want to improve their French
- Those looking for a warm southern French city
- People interested in aerospace or engineering
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Expensive
Cost of Living
Moderate
Very High
Nightlife
High
Very Good
Weather
Very Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
High
Very Active
Student Life
Iconic
Tight
Housing
Manageable
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇪🇸 Madrid
- Exceptional nightlife
- Outstanding national and international connections
- Highly prestigious universities
Student insights
🇫🇷 Toulouse
- Warm southern French climate
- Huge student population
- Strong universities, especially in engineering
Student voice — 🇪🇸 Madrid
“Madrid is a city that never sleeps.”
Student voice — 🇫🇷 Toulouse
“Toulouse made me actually use my French.”
🇪🇸 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
🇫🇷 Toulouse
Pros
- Warm southern French climate
- Huge student population
- Strong universities, especially in engineering
- Lively bar and music scene
- Beautiful pink-brick architecture
Cons
- French language barrier in daily life
- Housing tightens at the start of the year
- Hot summers
- Smaller international community than Paris
- Public transport less extensive than larger metros
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.