My Erasmus experience in Bologna, Italy by Sébastien

Why did you choose to go to Bologna, Italy?

Bologna is considered to be the best university in Italy with regard to the teaching in the various faculties, but I also want to go for it's wonderful student life. The students are free spirited and very welcoming - there are around 100, 000 of them in total and a lot of them come from different countries.

How long did you stay in Bologna? How much funding did you receive?

I stayed there for 5 months - from February till June. At the end of my stay, I received a total of around 1600€ between the Erasmus grant and regional grant (Nouvelle-Acquitaine).

What is student life like in Bologna?

It's a great atmosphere. Given that 1/4 of the population in Bologna is made up of students, there are a lot of events organised every evening in the bars and around town.

Would you recommend the city and university of Bologna to other students?

Yes, definitely - purely based on the many many memories I made in only 2 months.

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What is the food like?

If you like Italian food (pasta, pizza, coffee) you'll be in your element with the number of dishes you can try. They also cost a lot less than they would in France.

was it difficult to find accommodation?

So this is the biggest problem in Bologna...it's really difficult to find accommodation because demand is so high. It's even harder if you're looking for a fixed-term contract, a single room (instead of a double) and are on Erasmus... but the University of Bologna has created Sais accommodation as well as Bussola Bologna to help students find accommodation.

What is the cost of living like in Bologna?

For the reasons I mentioned above, the cost of rent is quite high. The travel card for the bus is also quite high but student fares are lower. Compared to France, the cost of food is a bit lower depending on the products (particularly fruit and vegetables).

How did you find learning the language? Did you take classes organised by the university?

I already had level B2 Italian before I arrived in Bologna so my opinion on learning the language is a bit tainted. I did take a CLA Bologna course which counted towards my credits, though. The course helped me with spoken and written in specific situations and also focused on the basic grammar rules.

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What is the cheapest way of getting to Bologna?

I'm from Poitiers. I chose to travel by car and managed to stay with people I knew to break up the journey. But when I did some research on other options, I realised that taking the train to Paris then plane from there to Bologna would have been the cheapest option.

Where would you recommend going out in Bologna?

For pubs, there is one called "English Empire" on Via Zamboni, there is also "Cortile Cafè" in the city centre and there are lots of other places and events with live music where you can have a drink.

For nightclubs, I'd suggest "Soda Pops" or "Qubo" in the city centre where the atmosphere is ok, but I'm not really into nightclubs.

Finally, you could also try "Cafè Paris", "Moulin Rouge" and "Habanero".

And for food? Where are your favourite places?

For pizza at lunchtime or in the evening (or even after a night out), I would always head to "2 torri".

To eat in a really good pizzeria, go to "Space Napoli".

And if you're looking for somewhere with drinks and an all you can eat buffet, try "Lab 16" or "Caffè Zamboni" (both on Via Zamboni).

If you want to eat in a typical Italian restaurant, you should go to "Lortica" where you'll find lots of typical Calabrian specialities.

Finally, to get really good Italian food, head to "Golem".

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What cultural visits would you recommend?

Firstly, you should walk to Sanctuaire Madonna di San Luca which has a spectacular view of Bologna. Then, I'd suggest you go to the centre of town where you'll find 43km worth of shopping arcades. You could also visit the two main towers in the city - la piazza Maggiore with la basilica San Petronio and le Palazzo Comunale - la fontaine de Neptune, and also Via Zamboni which is the heart of all student life in the city.

Any advice for future students in Bologna?

It's not essential, but in my opinion it's easier if you speak Italian so that you are well understood and that you understand everything. It would also be more difficult to integrate with the Italian students and go out with the other Erasmus students to discover the local cultures and get a real sense of Bologna (as well as the many different cultures in Italy) if you don't speak Italian.