Details

• Spain
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

For the preparation for the exchange semester I would recommend to learn a few basic Spanish phrases/words, just to be able to communicate in everyday situations because not everyone speaks English. It is also important to keep track of all the to-dos during the application process, the application for the Erasmus grant and the course registration at the university. For the courses I would recommend to select a few of them beforehand and to double check if there are courses available that you are interested in. And lastly it makes life a lot easier when you look for an accommodation early enough. For example, Spotahome and HousingAnywhere are good platforms where you can find flats or rooms and are safer than idealista.

2. Accommodation

I connected with two other people from WU going to Valencia, so we looked for a 3-bedroom apartment together. In the end we booked our apartment through Spotahome, which is a platform that I would definitely recommend, as it is quite easy to apply for a flat/room and you do not have to negotiate a lot with the landlord itself. I would highly recommend the area of Ayora, which is located near the campus for economics and in between the city and the sea. You can find metro and bus stations nearby so you are well connected. Generally, I felt very safe almost everywhere in Valencia, even at night. However, I would not choose to live in Cabanyal or too close to the sea or harbour as these areas can be a little bit scary at night and the public transport connection is not the best there.

3. Academic life at host university

In comparison to WU, the campus is not that modern but still it is quite a good location and easy to reach. Most of the classes take place in the same building and after a few days it's easy to find your way around. The cafeteria was also quite good and very affordable. The courses are mostly divided into a practical and theoretical part and you have to attend almost all of the lessons. However, this depends on your professor as well. Most of the final grades were also based on continuous assessment and the exam. In comparison to WU, the grading and the expectations are not that transparent and often you do not get any feedback/grades on the continuous assessment during the semester. Also, it is not always that easy to get very good grades, as for continuous assessment almost no one gets the full points. In my case in every course only 1 person out of 40 was able to get more than 9 points ( = sehr gut) in the end. Furthermore, the teaching style differs slightly and professors sometimes struggle with their English. I would recommend the course operational management. I would not recommend the course Company Establishment and Entrepreneurship, because it includes mostly team work, and a lot of assignments during the semester.

5. Every day life in the host country

In my opinion, Valencia is a great city to live in. It offers a wide variety of leisure activities. There are a lot of sports opportunities : if you like jogging, the Turia park is perfect for you. Padel and other sports options are a lot cheaper than in Vienna and you can even use padel courts from the university for free. If you enjoy hiking or spending time in nature in general, there are a lot of places around Valencia that you can visit, e.g. Montenejos or Albufera. Furthermore, Valencia has a lot of nice cafés, bars and restaurants and every district has its unique character. Exploring these is even more enjoyable because going to a restaurant or grabbing a coffee is a lot cheaper. As Valencia is very popular for Erasmus, there are a lot of offers from organizations such as Happy Eramus and Erasmus Life, which organize day trips around Spain as well as longer trips for example to Morocco, they offer events, parties and provide cheap entry into most of the clubs. I joined Happy Erasmus for a lot of events during the first week, because you can easily meet other exchange students. I would also highly recommend the Morocco trip and a few day trips to get to know the area around Valencia. In addition, there are also a lot of traditional festivities that you can experience during your stay. Especially in the summer semester, there are the Fallas - a traditional festivity from Valencia, a Paella night and many other traditional Valencian events. Regarding public transport, it is really easy to get around Valencia. The metro/bus card is quite cheap. I would recommend buying the Suma 10 card (10 rides for around 5.50 EUR) which you can use for metro and busses and you can recharge it when it is empty. If you do not mind cycling, I would highly recommend getting a Valenbisi subscription, which is similar to bike sharing systems offered by nextbike or WienMobil. It only costs 30 EUR for the whole semester and you can use a bike for 30 min straight without paying extra as often as you like, even multiple times a day. The bike lanes as well as the whole system (App/Bike stations) are well-developed. Overall, Valencia has a lot to offer for everyone!

6. Testimonial

My exchange semester in Valencia was one of the best experiences in my life and truly unforgettable. I fell in love with the Spanish culture, the city itself, made great friends and created amazing memories while traveling to Madrid, Morocco and Mallorca with them. Valencia is an amazing city as it has a lot to offer while still being the perfect size to really get to know the city during your exchange.