Erasmus Experience in Barcelona, Spain by Helena Lamy

Why did you choose to go to Barcelona, Spain?

Well... It wasn't my first option to do my Erasmus. And when I needed to choose again, because my first option wasn't available anymore, I saw the name "Barcelona" and something had a "click" inside of my heart. I just can't explain so well that feeling, but I was pretty sure that I needed to go there.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

Well, as a nursing student at my last year, I just could stay there for almost 3 months. I receive about 700 euros, but of course, I REALLY needed to spend much more than that.

What is the student lifestyle like in Barcelona?

As a big city, in Barcelona you have a lot of Universities and students from everywhere. If you want, and depending on the time that you'll be there, you can enjoy really well your student lifestyle. There's always Erasmus parties every week and weekends... and well, meetings!

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I was in an internship, I worked all week so sometimes I didn't spend a lot of my time to go to those parties and meetings, but the ones that I went where absolutely cool!

Would you recommend the city and the University of Barcelona to other students?

Siempre! It's a city that can bring you everything. You have the sea, the mountains and the city. The weather is fantastic, and the people there are really open minded! But if you don't speak Spanish, could be a little difficult, because most of Spanish people don't speak really well English or other languages.

What is the food like?

Tapas! Pinchos! Paellas! Cava! Cerveza!

You can eat really good there if you like meat, cheese and that stuff. In Barcelona, you'll find a lot of Restaurants and Bars that have that kind of food (the typical). But if you don't have that, you have a lot of others restaurants. I think that "food" isn't a problem in Barcelona. Well.. it wasn't for me.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Barcelona?

Yes! A lot!

Because I just could be there for 3 months, most of the landlords didn't rent me a flat or a room. The one that I found, was a little bit "lejos" (far away) from the centre, but I had the metro really close (L3) that could bring me to the city centre and to other lines. I worked in "Las Ramblas - Barrio Gòtic", and I spent about 15 min to get there by metro.

I paid 450€ per month with all bills included, but if you'll stay more time and if you are going alone, you can find something cheaper and more central.

How much does it cost to live in Barcelona?

Per month I spent around 650€, but I was in an expensive room. The food price was almost the same as in Portugal (I just went dinner out like 1/2 time per week/weekend). The most expensive could be the restaurants, and the nightlife (but depends! you got to be smart).

For the transport, I bought a Metro&Bus pass for 3 months, called "T-Joven Zona 1", and I payed for that 105€. It was the best thing that I did. Because the metro closes at 00h (except Friday and Saturday, that closes later), and to go home I could "catch" the NightBus, that you have almost to all zones of the city. In that pass, you don't need to pay those buses.

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Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

As I said, if you don't know Spanish, probably you'll notice that people there don't speak really well other languages. But that's ok! You can manage that. Most of the universities have available Spanish courses. And if you meet people that are learning (or speak already) Spanish, you can practice with them! It's the best way to learn any language.

For me, it was easy, because I already had Spanish classes when I was younger and for us (Portuguese) it's really easy to understand and speak Spanish.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Barcelona from your city?

Well, I'm from the south of Portugal, so I went until Sevilla Airport to go by plane to Barcelona. I just paid 35€ to go there (cheaper than where I study now until my hometown). I think by plane it's the best option.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Barcelona?

It really depends on your "type".

For a disco, you have Opium, Pacha, and Shoko. Those ones are really close to each other, and you have the dress code to go there. They do a lot of Erasmus parties there, and If you put our name on the GuestList and go there before 2 am, most of the times you don't need to pay anything. I went 2 times at Opium, and 1 at Shoko. It was nice!

But if you don't like that kind of "things", you've got a lot of places to go too:

- Razzmatazz: a really BIG club, that you can listen to a different kind of music as HipHop, Indie Rock, Electronic... and sometimes you have really good concerts there (search for it! );

- In PobleEspañol you can find by night really cool parties;

- Barrio "El Born" was my favorite. They have a lot of bars with jazz, indie, rock, Brazilian music...

- And its a city of a lot of events! In September you have the biggest festival of Barcelona "Festa de La Mercê", there's a lot of free concerts and events;

- CityHall Club, on Mondays always have an Erasmus party, its fancy too! (In Plaza Catalunya).

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Barcelona?

You have "100 Montaditos", the most cheaper; Tapa Tapa, and in the Arena ShoppingCenter, with and amazing view, you have a lot of good restaurants too!

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

I asked a lot to people that I meet, I don't have a specifical​ site to show you. But there's a lot of blogs, for sure.

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Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Barcelona in the future?

ENJOY! Enjoy all the time in Barcelona. Its an unforgettable city.

I'm in love, and probably I'll go back really soon.