🇮🇹
Padova
Italy
Historic university town, just 30 minutes from Venice.
🇵🇹
Porto
Portugal
Riverside charm, port wine and welcoming locals.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Padova
€800–1,100 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Porto
€850–1,100 / month
Best for
🇮🇹 Padova
- Students who want a real university-town atmosphere
- Those who plan to travel around northern Italy frequently
- People who value academic prestige
Best for
🇵🇹 Porto
- Students looking for a mid-sized city
- Those who prefer a more authentic, less touristy experience
- People interested in Portuguese culture
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Moderate
Cost of Living
Moderate
Moderate
Nightlife
High
Good
Weather
Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
High
Iconic
Student Life
Active
Manageable
Housing
Manageable
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇮🇹 Padova
- One of Italy's oldest and most prestigious universities
- Just 30 minutes by train to Venice
- Strong sense of student community
Student insights
🇵🇹 Porto
- City with great personality and authenticity
- Good university reputation
- More moderate cost of living than many European capitals
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Padova
“Padova surprised me — I'd choose it again over Milan.”
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Porto
“Porto was the best choice ever.”
🇮🇹 Padova
Pros
- One of Italy's oldest and most prestigious universities
- Just 30 minutes by train to Venice
- Strong sense of student community
- Compact, walkable historic centre
- Reasonable cost of living for northern Italy
Cons
- Smaller international community than Bologna
- Less famous than Florence or Rome
- Cold and foggy winters
- Limited big-city nightlife
- Housing tightens up at the start of the academic year
🇵🇹 Porto
Pros
- City with great personality and authenticity
- Good university reputation
- More moderate cost of living than many European capitals
- Good balance between leisure and calm
- Good international connections
Cons
- Rainier climate than other southern European destinations
- Increasingly expensive rental market
- Smaller Erasmus community than Lisbon or Seville
- Less cultural and leisure offer than major capitals
- Fewer international and professional opportunities
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.