Erasmus Experience in Liège, Belgium by Sofia

Why did you choose to go to Liège, Belgium?

First of all, I preferred a country where people speak French to improve the language. French language is very important to me. Moreover, Liège is situated in the centre of Europe so it would be a great opportunity for me to travel to a lot of places and different countries. In addition, it was easier to get information about Liège as I had a lot of classmates who had chosen this city for their Erasmus and so Liège was a safe choice for me.

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

My scholarship is 5 months (I am leaving this place the moment that I get used to it). I receive 450 euros per month but I have received only the 80% as I can receive the rest 20% if I succeed in certain subjects and take the equivalent credits. According to the living costs I think that most of the money is given to the accomodation. The accomodation here is a little bit expensive compared to Greece and so there is no enough money if you want to travel a lot. But it is sufficient if you do not want to make a lot of expenses.

What is the student lifestyle like in Liège?

Liège has a lot of students as it has a great university with a variety of faculties, which is also very organized and provides the students great facilities – such as laboratories full of useful equipment, libraries, the university restaurant or the university sport center. I should declare that the university program is quite difficult and the Belgian students study a lot during their daily life. They have many hours of classes almost every day and they have to prepare their courses for the next day. They often have tests during the semester and their exams are a kind of tough.

Liège University

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On the other hand, Liège is also a very lively city with a lot of coffee shops and bars visited by numerous students that take a break from their studies.

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

I really love Liège and I do recommend it as the university (at least in my faculty ) provides a great quality of studies and the level of students is really high. The university society is friendly especially when you speak French; otherwise you may have problems with the communication. In this point I should inform that Belgians in Liège do not like speak in English, actually they find it difficult. However, I think that this could be an important opportunity to learn French.

What is the food like?

Belgians love eating 'frites' (French fries) and they have 'friteries' everywhere. They eat also a lot of meat, for example the 'boulettes' that is a local kind of meatball, and they have great 'gauffres' and chocolates as a sweet. I did not have the best diet here as it was impossible for me to follow the Mediterranean diet like in Greece. However, in the university restaurant you can find a great variety of food even if you are also vegeterian.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Liège?

It did not cost me as I chose to live in the university residence which is located in Sart Tilman when I studied. I made my application online, I sent it and I was accepted. Actually, I think that it is not that difficult to find an accomodation in Liège both in the center or in other regions as there are a lot of flats (named kots), appropriate for students.

How much does it cost to live in Liège?

Liège is not that much expensive for students if you can handle your money properly. First of all, I paid for my residence a little bit less than 300 euros (all included). For food I was having lunch either in the university restaurant ( 3, 5-5 euros) either in my facultie's cafeteria (the same price approximately). Restaurants in the centre are very expensive but the students do not visit them that often. For the transport students use the bus card which is 15 euros per month.

If you want to visit a different city in Belgium, it is also cheap for students as it is 6 euros / trip (you can also buy the Go Pass which provides 10 trips in BELGIUM only with 50euros-5euros /trip). Night life is also cheap cause the bars have very economical beers and in general drinks.

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

Actually I already learnt French before but things are totally different for a foreigner that comes for the first time to Liège. Native people speak really fast with different accents and idioms and at the beginning, at least, it is very difficult to communicate. However, day by day I was trying to improve my French as my courses were in French too and I was obliged to speak with my classmates in this language. It was tough but in the end I learnt a lot of new things. In addition, I had free French courses provided by the university for foreigners and for erasmus students twice a week but I think they are insufficient as you need more personnal practice for improvement.

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

I live in Greece so the most economical and easiest way to travel is by airplane, it is three hours away. In fact, I booked tickets from Ryanair company.

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

Liège has a lot of bars in the centre of the town. Very well known is the Pot au lait that is visited by numerous Erasmus students because it is quite cheap and it is opened up to late at night. It plays mainly rock music and it has a different and special style. Other bars are the Beerlovers (very friendly environment), La maison du Peket (that offers the local drink called Peket ), Celtic and Shamrock. The latter is one of my favorite Irish pubs, it has an alternative style and is situated in the road of Saint Gilles. I should also recommend Le café Brasil with its special cocktails in Outremeuse, a very picturesque area next to the centre of Liège (actually at the other side of the river ''Meuse'').

If you want to party till the first hours of the morning, Belgian people prefer Le Carré which is a complex of narrow streets in the pedestrian road in the centre, full of clubs with loud music for dancing and drinking. In the Carré I recommend the Cuba Bar. As the place is really crowded, it is not the best place for me.

Le Carré

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

In Liège there are also a lot of restaurants but they are a bit expensive. I really suggest you visiting Huggy's bar which is a burger restaurant with a great quality of food and friendly staff. I also suggest the Chinese restaurant Shanghai next to the cathedral that may be expensive. Me, personally I was eating very often some local dishes at Chez Victor that works both as ''take away'' and restaurant but with different prices. Actually, I did not eat so much out in restaurants as it was expensive so I prefered eating in the university restaurant which was cheaper or to cook with my friends in the residence I used to live.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Even if Liège is a small city there are a lot of sites that you can visit. First of all, Liège has a great cathedral church with a good architecture, you can understand it if you enter the building-it is really impressive. You can also get on the top of the stairs of Liège, called Montagne de Bueren (374 stairs) or visit the Coteaux de la Citadelle. You can easily see the Perron de Liège which is a monument next to the Saint Lambert square.

Perron de Liège

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Liège has also certain museums as the Musée de la vie Wallonne, the Musée Tchantchès, the Maison de la Science and the Aquarium but it also has a very impressive train station, designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Liège has also many parcs for jogging or walking as for example the Botanical garden and the Parc de la Boverie which is next to the river.

Guillemins train station

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

Enjoy Liège, I think it is a nice place to have Erasmus as it is a small city where you can easily adapt in and orientate. It is a very lively city with the best night life all over Belgium. And you should always remember that it is not about the place but it is about the people you meet, the people that make the place more beautiful. Take care and you will never regret this choice. Take advantage of any opportunity is given to you, make as many trips as you can, meet people from different countries to open your mind, try to speak in French and go out in order to discover. Once Erasmus, always Erasmus !