Erasmus Experience in Madrid, Spain by Nina

Why did you choose to go to Madrid, Spain?

I'm a big fan of Spain, its' people and culture and after my first visit I fell in love with Madrid, so it was more or less an easy decision :)

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

10 months
~400€ / month

What is the student lifestyle like in Madrid?

There are a lot of students, among them of course a big number of exchange students. People are very communicative and outgoing.

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

Definitely

What is the food like?

What a lot of people tend to eat on the streets are tapas, etc. Anyway there is huge variety and you definitely won't stay hungry or unsatisfied.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Madrid?

No, a friend of mine went to work abroad and left me her room in a cool flat in Argüelles.

How much does it cost to live in Madrid?

Depends on how do you live. I suppose that you can find a decent accommodation for about 300-400€. The food is not that expensive, maybe even cheaper in comparison to other EU capitals. You can find different parties - more or less expensive but there are still a lot of affordable parties.

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

Spanish doesn't really count to a difficult languages although of course it depends on your own capacities of learning new languages.
At my university (UPM), there was a language course, even though I didn't need it.

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

Flying.
The Spanish company Iberia has pretty cool offer for Erasmus students to get cheaper tickets, you're allowed to carry 2 suitcases (20 kg each) and change dates of your flights once without extra fees.
You can get the same cheap tickets for your friends and family.

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

A famous students' quarter is Malasaña, in the central part of the city, with a lot of different interesting bars, pubs, clubs, etc.

In the zone of Huertas, close to Sol, there are also a lot of different bars where you mainly have commercial music, cheaper drinks and there are offen packed with tourists.

In the norhtern zone of Madrid there are also a lot of clubs, where especially locals tend to go out. One of my favourite once was "Nells" where they have a pretty cool mix of Indie, electro, etc.
Btw, if you go to clubs in Madrid, never go before 2 am since there will be nobody. Everything takes place later - dinner, predrinks and partying (usually)

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

If you want to have a reeeaally good Paella, you can make a reservation weekends at Arroceria Mediterraneo so you can get 50% off. There are few restaurants in Madrid.

An old, traditional restaurant (although bit more expensive) is La Bola where you can try the typical Cocido madrileño.

For churros with chocolate go to San Ginés.

A lot of modern, cool restaurants you can find in the above mentioned Malasaña and also some more traditional once in the zone of Huertas.

If you like sushi, at the very beginning of the Gran Via, there is a place called "Sushi store" where you can make online reservations via "atrapalo" and have 50% off.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Due to its' enormous cultural and historical value, you have a lot of typical sightseeing spots, the 3 very important museums Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofia.
A cool exhibiton area/cultural centre is the Matadero at the river Manzanares, which used to be a slaughterhouse. Nowadays it hosts a big number of concerts, expositions, etc.

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

Stay as long as you can and enjoy as much as possible. You won't regret it ;-)