Details

• Portugal
• BBE-18
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

Inform yourself about the university, read past exchange reports, talk to possible peers that were already there, and do research about the city. For instance, I looked at Tiktok from past exchange students. Book your flight ticket in advance (most convenient) for Lisbon, I used google flights to give me the best options and prices. For apartments I recommend idealista and OLX or if you are lucky Instagram and Facebook.

2. Accommodation

I mostly looked for apartments on idealista. I feel like I was really lucky, because I only spent 450€ on rent. I had a shared flat with my boyfriend and another German master's student that also moved in there long-term. The total rent was 1500€ for a 2-bedroom apartment, but since we shared a room it was cheaper for me. Our apartment was located in Misericordia/Principe Real next to Praca de Flores, which is an amazing location for going out. However, it is not super loud and chaotic like Bairro Alto. It was a very safe neigbourhood and about 20 minutes away with uber and 35 with metro (yellow line). Tips: I do not recommend student housing, I have heard a lot of horror stories and I feel like they are still quite expensive for what you get. If you can go together with others exchange students from WU and try to find something together. Also do not expect Vienna prices in rent, it is more expensive.

3. Academic life at host university

The Catolica campus is nice and has a nice lawn, where you can sit when it is sunny. Academic culture was less ambitious than at WU: many exchange students only had to pass/fail, and the Portuguese were difficult to get a hang of. Group works are quite challenging with them, so I would advise working with exchange students. The teaching styles were similar, and the professors had very interesting insights about their field. Especially, my negotiation professor, Vinicius, who worked in the field before, was amazing. I would not recommend to do mandatory courses, as I have heard they are quite tough there. I only picked free electives and was happy with most of them. The course registration was quite stressful, as you have to be really fast, like at WU, and you might not get into all courses that you like. I was only able to do 17 ECTS because the rest were full.

5. Every day life in the host country

For public transport I did not get the navigante card, because I didn't get a NIF which is mandatory for it and because I am 23 it wasnt free anymore. However, the metro is really cheap it costs €1.85 for a single ride, and since I didn't have uni everyday, that was okay. I never had any issues with safety, just be careful at night in Bairro Alto. For leisure I recommend any miradouro of the city, you can either bring your own drink or buy one there, since most of them have little kiosks. Prace de Flores is also a must go. It is full of people starting from Wednesday evening. There are alot of Bars and Restaurant around it. For sports, I can definitely recommend paddle tennis at CNN or under the bridge, and I had a class pass membership for Pilates. Sometimes I drove out to Carcavelos or Costa de Caparica to play volleyball at the beach. There are a lot of amazing events in the warm months: YARD, DHB, After 8, and many more. I would advise to look at shotgun. Some cities i recommend to visit from Lisbon: Sintra, Praia da Urca (for hiking), Comporta, Setubal, Porto, Madeira, Marrakesh, Seville, Cadiz.

6. Testimonial

It was very intensive and I met some amazing people for life. Lisbon is great for erasmus because it is a vibrant, warm and sunny city. I would definetly recommend :)