🇮🇹
Rome
Italy
Ancient ruins, dolce vita and Italy's biggest capital.
🇭🇷
Zagreb
Croatia
Compact Croatian capital with friendly locals and a strong café culture.
Estimated monthly student budget
🇮🇹 Rome
€1,050–1,350 / month
Estimated monthly student budget
🇭🇷 Zagreb
€700–1,000 / 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
🇭🇷 Zagreb
- Students looking for a friendly, underrated destination
- Those with a mid-range budget
- People who want an authentic Central/Southeastern European experience
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
Moderate
Very Good
Weather
Good
Excellent
Travel Opportunities
High
Very Active
Student Life
Very Active
Tight
Housing
Comfortable
Top-Tier
University Reputation
Well-Regarded
Student insights
🇮🇹 Rome
- Extraordinary historical and cultural heritage
- Prestigious universities with many international programmes
- Excellent rail and flight connections
Student insights
🇭🇷 Zagreb
- Friendly, welcoming locals
- Reasonable cost of living
- Compact, easy-to-navigate centre
Student voice — 🇮🇹 Rome
“Rome is overwhelming at first, then you fall in love.”
Student voice — 🇭🇷 Zagreb
“Zagreb is the most welcoming city I've lived in.”
🇮🇹 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
🇭🇷 Zagreb
Pros
- Friendly, welcoming locals
- Reasonable cost of living
- Compact, easy-to-navigate centre
- Strong café and outdoor culture
- Easy access to the Croatian coast
Cons
- Smaller Erasmus community
- Less famous than other European capitals
- Cold winters
- Fewer international flight connections
- Croatian language barrier outside university
Have you studied in one of these cities?
Share your experience and help future students make better Erasmus decisions.