Erasmus Experience in Cáceres, Spain by Ben

Why did you choose to go to Cáceres, Spain?

I wanted to go to 'real' Spain. Not a massive city where you are inevitably exposed to a more metropolitan/international scene. I wanted to experience living and studying like a real Spaniard - which is the whole point of Erasmus of course. I knew that in Cáceres I would not be able to speak English to the locals, because as it is a small city in the middle of nowhere, they simply do not speak it.

The size of Cáceres also appealed to me. It is a small city and I wanted to live somewhere that I could really get to know. Going to Madrid for example, you may know the area around where you live and study, but there are parts of the city where you would never have the time to go. In Cáceres, everything is compact, you can walk from one side to the other in 30-40 minutes, and that attracted me. Not just living somewhere, but also knowing it.

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I also had travelled to Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia before, so wanted to go somewhere new.

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

I was there for the whole year. I organised an internship for myself in Madrid for July and moved to Cáceres in August. I was there until July the year after when I did another internship in Madrid before moving to Catalonia for the rest of summer. In total I was in Spain for around 14 months. The grant I received was the standard Erasmus grant.

What is the student lifestyle like in Cáceres?

Cáceres is a good student city. With the city not being so big (around 90, 000) the students were easily identifiable and there was a strong student community. The general lifestyle is not so different to that of a student elsewhere, plenty of free time to pursue other interests as well as studies.

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

100%. The city is amazing, its old part is stunningly beautiful and regularly hosts music concerts that are free if you happen to be in the vicinity. The new part has everything that you would want and expect of a modern city - shopping, leisure etc.

What is the food like?

The food is very good, like most Spanish food it is quite simple and of very high quality. Pork is quite popular - normally cured in some way. Seafood is maybe not so common as a city on the coast, but this is inevitable and you can still easily find it. There are plenty of tapas bars as you would expect and the standard of the food is so far superior than what you would get in England for the same price it almost seems unfair.

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Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Cáceres?

No, I happened to meet a private landlord only a few days after arriving in Cáceres. Before that I stayed in a cheap hotel for a few days so if you count that cost it was about 70 euro.

How much does it cost to live in Cáceres?

Much, much cheaper than England. My rent was 120 euro a month, here I pay more than that in a week. General standard of living I would say is maybe not so high, but as a student I guess that isn't so much of a concern. And of course it isn't to say that it is terrible.

Food and things to do are cheap, transport is normally by bus around town and that costs around a euro a journey is I remember correctly. Certainly cheaper than England again, and much cheaper than bigger cities like Madrid too.

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

There is a strong regional accent in Extremadura that can be very difficult to understand if you do not try and engage with it. There are courses at the university, but I felt the best way was to just go and make Spanish friends and spend your time with them. I actively avoided most of the English people in Cáceres. Sure they were nice people, but I tended to find that if people from the same country stayed in a group together, they would inevitably speak their native language. Also, being English, I tended to find that a lot of other Erasmus students would study English as well as Spanish, and would use the English students to keep their English up to scratch, so be aware of that happening too.

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

This was perhaps the most problematic thing. The easiest (and cheapest) way is to fly to Madrid, taxi across town (or metro if you aren't carrying big cases) and then a train from Cercanías to Cáceres.

It is also possible to fly to Badajoz and then get a train to Cáceres from there.

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

La Divina Comedia (8 shots -of anything - for 5 euro! ), La Habana, La Madrila (if still open, residents were threatening to get it closed due to noise) and Corral de las Cigüeñas is a great bar.

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

Anywhere, the food is good. The best one for me was a tiny tapas bar up by la Cruz called El Fogón. The food there was the best I have had in Spain. We also used to always go to El Colón which is in the middle of La Avenida de España to watch football and get the beers in.

Avoid 100 montaditos - good once but the food is nowhere near as good and it is more expensive unless you get there for Wednesday lunchtime. Which you won't, because it will always be full.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Cáceres' old town is amazing, there is also la Virgen de la Montaña which is a bit of a walk but the view is worth it. Cáceres is a world heritage site, just explore.

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

Enjoy!