🇮🇹
Padova
Italy
Historic university town, just 30 minutes from Venice.
🇫🇷
Toulouse
France
The pink city — French southwest with a major student population.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Padova
€800–1,100 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇫🇷 Toulouse
€900–1,200 / 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
🇫🇷 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.
Moderate
Cost of Living
Moderate
Moderate
Nightlife
High
Good
Weather
Very Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
High
Iconic
Student Life
Iconic
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
🇫🇷 Toulouse
- Warm southern French climate
- Huge student population
- Strong universities, especially in engineering
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Padova
“Padova surprised me — I'd choose it again over Milan.”
Student voice — 🇫🇷 Toulouse
“Toulouse made me actually use my French.”
🇮🇹 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
🇫🇷 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.