Erasmus Experience in Coimbra, Portugal by Jose Luis

Why did you choose to go to Coimbra, Portugal?

It is one of the biggest cities in Portugal, because of the language, and there is one of the top universities in the country.

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

I stayed during, 2 complete semesters, 69 ECTS credits. About 10 months.

I had a grant of 600€ per month, because my university and region add an extra to the basic Erasmus grant (that I think is only 150 €).

What is the student lifestyle like in Coimbra?

It has a lot of parties, most of all include getting high and drunk as fuck. They use to dress like in a Harry Potter movie (no kidding) with the traditional student dresses.

They have some big parties. One of the most impressive things are the student associations, where you can find lot of activities to do, and they make some big parties and music festivals to finance themselves.

Also there are some houses called "republicas" where you can live for a very low rent, they use to give food and drinks (when parties are down) for free, they are like the USA college asociations, but very underground.

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

If you are looking for a party lifestyle and easy exams is your town. Most of teachers, at least in my faculty, speak English, and all Portuguese understand Spanish.

I have to say I enjoyed a lot, and passed all my test with good grades, but the academic level is lower than in my home institution.

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What is the food like?

It is very good, meat, fish, vegetables and fruits.

They have their traditional food, and due to the immigrants from their old colonies, Brazil and Angola mostly, they also have some foreign dishes that are also good.

Most important, prices of drinks and beers in Coimbra are very low, that is good, but the mixed drinks are also cheap (but bad as fucking hell), for an Spanish standard.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Coimbra?

No, it is a student town, and it is common to change accomodation during the year a few times without problems.

How much does it cost to live in Coimbra?

Depends from the bills are included in the rent or not. If not, between 150 to 200 for a good room, even more, but the IVA of electricity, gas and water is fucking high, so if you can choose, take a room that includes all the bills, it might seem to be more expensive, but is not.

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

I am Spanish, so I can understand mostly all what Portuguese people say and they understand Spanish as well.

The faculty of languages, "Faculade de lenguas" have special courses for Erasmus students divided in different levels, what last only a semester, and in the low levels only teach you the basics of the language, ah, they are free and places are limited.

Portuguese is not difficult for latin speakers (French, Italian, Romanian and of course Spanish), but the grammar is a bit difficult. For people from other countries it might be near impossible to learn from 0 (to achieve a good level for tests) only in a semester and without previous knowledge.

You should study Portuguese before you travel to Portugal, or at least have a good level of English (some teachers will allow you to do the tests in English, but only if you have talked with them).

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What's the most economical way to travel to Coimbra from your city?

Oh boy, one of the biggest problems traveling to Portugal, from Spain is that they do not have a good connected train transport (with Spain, their national train system is not bad, could be better). So I had to take a bus from Seville to Coimbra, that last more than 12 hours.

If you are from other country, try to take a plane to Oporto, and then a train directly to Coimbra (there are only 80km, I guess).

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

Baixa, is the old part of the town near the campus.

I have to say if you like clubbing Coimbra is not the tipycal city, it is most a city of bars, pubs and underground nightlife, so if you like dirty bars and cheap beers, it is your city. It has also some after clubs and discos, they are quite big.

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

Bacalao, they can eat that fish with everything. Cheese are good, chicken, etc. Food is very similar to the Spanish.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

University campus is the most important place to visit. And the campus library.

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

• Party hard pals, and enjoy your time in Coimbra, nightlife is 24/7,
• People are cool.
• City is cheap.
• There are some burocratic movements you will have to do in the "Loja do cidadao" including paying bills, and a lot of stuff.
• Also ask in the AAC (academic asociation) for the foreign students advisor.
• And the university have a system that allows you to request the help of a Portuguese student during your first days in Coimbra, it could help a lot. But I advise girls, most boys sign up only to try to meet you.
• Try to travel and discover Portugal, and Spain is very near.
• For northern people, you might think the weather would be warm, but it is only during summertime, it is cold as fuck during winter, because of the high humidity, so take that into account.