Experience in Bragança, Portugal by Andre

Source

What is it like to live in Bragança? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Bragança is a small and friendly city. Slowly is becoming more international and is considered the 3rd Best city for Erasmus students in Portugal. You can walk by foot every where making it easy to meet your friends.

People are very friendly and welcoming. Housing and daily life expenses are very cheap compared with Oporto or Lisbon.

The city is very safe any time of the day.

What is the student lifestyle like in Bragança?

Being a small and cosy city makes student life fun and enjoyable.

You will be able to meet your friends for a drink or for lunch/dinner everyday, you will know everyone as students frequently go to the same places which allow people to build up friendships.

For the foodies Bragança is known to have good food and restaurants are affordable. For the ones who wish to party all the time, the city has a lot of pubs and some night clubs, and drinks are very cheap.

The historical neighbourhood around the castle has been refurbished and started to be touristic, with more pubs and restaurants.

How much does it cost to live in Bragança?

Bragança is very cheap which makes the city attractive for students.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Bragança? Is there any advice you can give?

No, there is plenty of accommodation in the city and usually is cheap, usually students share accommodation and in average they pay 100 euros per room.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Bragança is known to have good meat. Also dishes cooked with vegetables will be tasty as the city has a good weather to grow vegetables.

The fruit is also very good and there are small pubs selling very cheap and good wine as there are plenty of wine producers in small villages near by the city.

What places would you recommend visiting in Bragança?

The Castle, the museums and the theatre all located in the city.

Half an hour driving from the city there are two beautiful lakes where you can swim if the weather is good, Sanabria lake and Azibo lake.

There are also beautiful villages near from the city like Gimonde (15 m drive), food is amazing and I recommend Abel restaurant. The other village is Rio de Onor, is a beautiful village in the boarder with Spain and is just 10-15 minutes before the Sanabria lake.

For the ones who love nature there are a beautiful natural park, Montesinho.

Is it good to eat out in Bragança? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Yes, eating out is affordable. You can eat well for less than 10 euros.

"O Abel" restaurant to eat meet, "Tasca do Ze tuga", " Gondola"...

Bragança also has places where you can have a good Francesinha dish typically from Oporto and I recommend " Traquina".

Is the nightlife good in Bragança? Where is good to go?

The nightlife is good as you can easily walk from one pub to another and also to the night clubs and every one knows every one so you never walk alone!

There plenty of pubs and some night clubs.

What advice would you give future students heading to Bragança?

Try to learn a bit of Portuguese as communicating in English is not going to be easy.

Try to make Portuguese friends as they are the best people to show you around.

Don't be afraid to move to this small city as people are very friendly and surely you will enjoy your time in Bragança.