🇮🇹
Rome
Italy
Ancient ruins, dolce vita and Italy's biggest capital.
🇵🇱
Warsaw
Poland
Reinvented capital with cheap nights and easy travel.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Rome
€1,050–1,350 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇵🇱 Warsaw
€750–1,050 / month
Best for
🇮🇹 Rome
- Students who want a major European capital
- Those passionate about history and classical culture
- People looking for top-tier universities
Best for
🇵🇱 Warsaw
- Students who want a major European capital on a budget
- Those who plan to travel widely around Central Europe
- People interested in modern history and culture
Category profile
How each city tends to feel across the things students care about — different, not better or worse.
Expensive
Cost of Living
Affordable
High
Nightlife
High
Very Good
Weather
Fair
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
Excellent
Very Active
Student Life
Very Active
Tight
Housing
Comfortable
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Strong
Student insights
🇮🇹 Rome
- Extraordinary historical and cultural heritage
- Prestigious universities with many international programmes
- Excellent rail and flight connections
Student insights
🇵🇱 Warsaw
- Very affordable for a European capital
- Strong nightlife and modern club scene
- Excellent flight and rail connections
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Rome
“Rome is overwhelming at first, then you fall in love.”
Student voice — 🇵🇱 Warsaw
“Warsaw is way more fun than people think.”
🇮🇹 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
🇵🇱 Warsaw
Pros
- Very affordable for a European capital
- Strong nightlife and modern club scene
- Excellent flight and rail connections
- Wide academic offer with English-taught programmes
- Housing market more accessible than Western Europe
Cons
- Long, cold winters with limited daylight
- City feels spread out and less walkable
- Less iconic atmosphere than Kraków
- Smaller Erasmus community than Prague or Budapest
- Language barrier outside the centre
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.