Details

• Spain
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

- Read your email carefully and don’t miss any deadlines. - Follow Erasmus Salamanca on Instagram to get an initial insight into opportunities to meet people. - Learn Spanish (if you don’t already), as almost no one here speaks English.

2. Accommodation

To look for accommodation, Idealista can be used. I decided to live in a student residence because I wanted to make connections quickly while still having my own “safe space.” I had also heard many negative stories about shared flats (although, of course, there are also some good ones). I chose MicasaInn, which is close to the faculty and about a 15-minute walk from the city center. It is a bit more expensive than shared flats in Salamanca, but that was fine for me. Through the residence, I was able to make connections very quickly. There were many international students living there, as well as Spanish students, so it was a good mix. Overall, I can recommend the accommodation. However, everyone should decide for themselves whether the 15-minute walk to the city center is acceptable or if they would prefer something more centrally located.

3. Academic life at host university

The University of Salamanca appealed to me very much overall. However, it should be taken into account that only a limited number of courses are offered in English. Classes are usually held in smaller groups of around 30–40 students, and a strong emphasis is placed on attendance. The workload was manageable: you did have to do homework from time to time, but compared to the WU, I definitely felt less stressed when studying for exams.

5. Every day life in the host country

Life in Salamanca was exactly how you imagine everyday life in Spain. Shops don’t open before 9 a.m., the siesta from 2–5 p.m. is guaranteed, and the most active time of day takes place in the evening. Salamanca has many great bars and clubs, you can go out for drinks cheaply and stay out all night. Salamanca is also very safe. I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe in any situation. Even walking home in the evening felt very safe. If necessary, you can always take a taxi, which is very cheap here (we never paid more than €10 for a ride) Public transport is available in the form of buses, but I used them rather rarely and walked most distances instead. There are many options for activities, for example through ESN Salamanca, which offers many trips and events. However, you can also easily organize things yourself. Like we did, you can simply rent a car with a small group and explore the surrounding countryside (highly recommended!). Sports opportunities are also offered by the university (although I didn’t personally make use of them). In general, I can recommend trying padel tennis. There are many courts that you can rent to play a match.

6. Testimonial

Overall, I am very grateful for the experience I had. Salamanca is a beautiful city that I probably would never have discovered otherwise. During my time there, I was able to improve my Spanish and gain many new insights that contributed to my personal development. Through my travels, I also discovered many other beautiful facets of Spain, which was very important to me. Even though I often enjoyed the advantages of a small city—such as always seeing familiar faces, very low prices, and few tourists—I sometimes missed the feeling of a big city. All in all, I can Salamanca recommend as an Erasmus destination, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.