🇵🇹
Porto
Portugal
Riverside charm, port wine and welcoming locals.
🇮🇹
Rome
Italy
Ancient ruins, dolce vita and Italy's biggest capital.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Porto
€850–1,100 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Rome
€1,050–1,350 / month
Best for
🇵🇹 Porto
- Students looking for a mid-sized city
- Those who prefer a more authentic, less touristy experience
- People interested in Portuguese culture
Best for
🇮🇹 Rome
- Students who want a major European capital
- Those passionate about history and classical culture
- People looking for top-tier universities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
🇵🇹 Porto
🇮🇹 Rome
Moderate
Cost of Living
Expensive
High
Nightlife
High
Good
Weather
Very Good
High
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Active
Student Life
Very Active
Manageable
Housing
Tight
Strong
University Reputation
Top-Tier
Student insights
🇵🇹 Porto
- City with great personality and authenticity
- Good university reputation
- More moderate cost of living than many European capitals
Student insights
🇮🇹 Rome
- Extraordinary historical and cultural heritage
- Prestigious universities with many international programmes
- Excellent rail and flight connections
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Porto
“Porto was the best choice ever.”
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Rome
“Rome is overwhelming at first, then you fall in love.”
🇵🇹 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
🇮🇹 Rome
Pros
- Extraordinary historical and cultural heritage
- Prestigious universities with many international programmes
- Excellent rail and flight connections
- Vibrant food and aperitivo culture
- Pleasant Mediterranean climate most of the year
Cons
- Very competitive and expensive housing
- Public transport can be slow and crowded
- Notoriously slow administrative processes
- Massive tourist crowds in central areas
- Erasmus community feels fragmented across the city
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.