🇵🇹
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.
🇵🇹 Porto
🇦🇹 Vienna
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.