Erasmus Experience in Porto, Portugal by Argia

Why did you choose to go to Porto, Portugal?

Because it´s near from Spain and I wanted to learn more about it

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

5 months in my case

What is the student lifestyle like in Porto?

It´s very funny, you can met people from all the world and have a lot of erasmus parties.
People from Porto are very welcoming, and also you can met a lot of people who explains and shows the real lifestyle in Porto.

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

Yes of course.

What is the food like?

you can eat a very good meat and fish. Francesinha and Bifana are highly recomended.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Porto?

no, there are a lot of offers, and also groups of students looking for acomodation with other erasmus students

How much does it cost to live in Porto?

regardless rental costs (200+-), I used 300/month

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

Yes, and very useful. Portuguese people also speak very well english (and spanish of course).

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

train

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

Near to "reitoria" you have a lot of party, in piolho many young people come together, galerias de paris... there mets a lot of people.
If you prefer smoller (places with more portuguese people) there are many bars in diferents areas: near to cedofeita street, in Poveiros...
If you like discos I know about Gare (techno), Porto Rio (diferents styles:trance, hardcore, techno..)
Also you can search information about: Hard Club, Armazén do chá, V5

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

You can find very easy good and cheap food. On the part of ribeira there are good restaurants, and also more expensive, if you move in no touristical streets you´ll find cheaper food and with good prices.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

there are a lot of museums (serralves has good gardens), buildings, asociations...

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

try to know the language (portuguese) and people from here. Also I recomend to travel to more places in portugal, it´s very economic and nice!