Details

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

1. Preparation

I think the application process was very straightforward: What matters is obviously your GPA and then again how well your interview goes. Try to find out a bit about the university, the city, and what classes you'd like to take (you might not get asked about any of this, but it still conveys your motivation for going on this exchange).Also, make sure you check the dates for when classes start and when exams are over, especially if you have an internship or other important business to take care of when you get back. I was asked about my motivation for going and my plans for meeting new people, as well as settling in once on the exchange, all of which are fairly easy questions to prepare for. For the travelling itself, I went by plane and booked about 2 months in advance, which for me worked out great. Once in Athens, I would highly recommend taking an Uber to where you're staying. Public transport (metro and/or bus) is easily accessible and cheap, but takes a longer time and is overall not really recommendable with a good amount of luggage.

2. Accommodation

I found my accommodation on StayInAthens, which is highly recommended in many of the other reports. I personally agree that they're probably the best and most reliable organization for Erasmus housing in Athens. I was very lucky to have gotten a room in Sporgilou 4, which again, is already being recommended a lot. Sporgilou 4 is a shared apartment for 5 people in total (all of which are ususally also Erasmus students). It's located in Kypseli, which is close to the university and overall just a great neighbourhood. Christina, my landlord, was also very nice and even invited us over for dinner once! So if there is one tip that I actually knew about beforehand and was glad I took seriously, it is definitely trying to get a room in Sporgilou 4. Try to book early (ideally 2-3 months in advance, the earlier the better), as I've been told they're always fully booked fairly early. Exarchia is also (in my opinion) a fun neighbourhood to live in and not far from campus either.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is smaller but spread out a bit more than in Vienna, with all university buildings being within walking distance of one another. The lecture rooms are decent, but most don't have outlets... Academic culture and teaching styles are, depending on the course, mostly similar to WU courses, except for the fact that all lectures are 3 hrs. long. The professors are all very friendly, helpful, and overall just want you to understand their course material and ultimately pass their class. A course I personally found to be very interesting was "Conflict Management and Negotiations". Although I didn't take these courses myself, I also heard good things about "Start-up and Entrepreneurship", as well as the Greek class.

5. Every day life in the host country

Athens has a metro system and a big bus network (Buses were never on time). A ticket costs €1.20, which you pay at the entry gate to the metro or on the bus (mobile pay/card payment). As a student, you can get a monthly public transport card at a reduced price. Make sure you're caught up on your tuition fees, as you can only have (and book) the mobility card for as long as your last payment is valid. Uber and Bolt are Both very cheap, and for Island travel use the ferries from Piräus which are very cheap as you'l find out ;). For me personally, Athens and especially Kypseli felt very safe. You might get a comment or two from an angry local in Exarchia about how you're not supposed to invade their neighbourhood, but besides that, nothing has made me feel unsafe at any time during my exchange. I've been told by other people that the Attiki neighbourhood isn't the nicest during the night. There are a few gyms and a park in Kypseli for social/leisure activities and sports. Besides that, you will also have a huge variety of cafés and bars to choose from, which are all worth visiting. During my stay, there was also a big street festival, which was made up of many different street parties during the month of May.

6. Testimonial

My time in Athens was a great experience. I really enjoyed being able to go to the beach during the week, visiting the islands on the weekends, and just meeting a lot of new people. A big factor for me was also the weather, which was great for pretty much the whole time I was there. I can really only recommend Athens to anyone!