🇵🇹
Porto
Portugal
Riverside charm, port wine and welcoming locals.
🇦🇹
Vienna
Austria
Imperial elegance, coffee houses and unbeatable quality of life.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇹 Porto
€850–1,100 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇦🇹 Vienna
€1,000–1,300 / 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
🇦🇹 Vienna
- Students who value culture and classical music
- Those who want a high quality of life
- People interested in prestigious universities
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Moderate
Cost of Living
Expensive
High
Nightlife
High
Good
Weather
Good
High
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Active
Student Life
Very Active
Manageable
Housing
Comfortable
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
🇦🇹 Vienna
- Consistently ranked among the most liveable cities in the world
- Excellent public transport
- Strategic Central European location
Student voice — 🇵🇹 Porto
“Porto was the best choice ever.”
Student voice — 🇦🇹 Vienna
“Quality of life in Vienna is on another level.”
🇵🇹 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
🇦🇹 Vienna
Pros
- Consistently ranked among the most liveable cities in the world
- Excellent public transport
- Strategic Central European location
- Rich cultural and academic environment
- Safe and very well organised
Cons
- Higher cost of living than Eastern European capitals
- Locals can feel reserved
- Long, grey winters
- Less spontaneous nightlife than Berlin or Budapest
- Housing market competitive in popular neighbourhoods
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.