Erasmus in Salamanca

Doing your Erasmus in Salamanca Expect to party!

I went on my Erasmus to Salamanca through pure coincidence. In truth, I had not even researched the city before going there so I had no clue what to expect. First of all, I'm from Peru, which is on the other side of the world. This was my first trip to Europe, I knew some people who had already gone to Salamanca four months previously and they highly recommended it!Source

I arrived in Madrid and stayed a few days there, getting to know the city. Then I took a bus straight to Salamanca where two Peruvian flat mates from my faculty, who had arrived a couple of weeks earlier, were waiting for me. After I arrived in the evening, we went out to walk around the city and I was pleasantly surprised. Salamanca is a beautiful town! So beautiful it takes your breath away. It has a plethora of old buildings and has been awarded world heritage status by UNESCO. It's a small city with around 80% of its population made up of students. The locals are really nice and as there are students from all over the world, it's very easy to socialise and make friends, because everyone wants to meet as many people as possible!

The night life in Salamanca is spectacular! I honestly don't know how there can be so much partying wherever you go? I even think there are more bars than shops. There are loads of different types of bars covering all kinds of tastes so no need to worry about that.

The two token days to go out are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The official Erasmus night on Tuesdays is held at the Irish Rover, where €5 gets you unlimited drinks for the whole night, including sangria, wine and coca cola or beers until 2:30am. Take advantage! The atmosphere is always fun, they host themed parties every week so arrive early because all Erasmus students congregate there and there can be large queues outside the entrance. After the free bar ends, everyone goes to Kandhavia (KDV), a really fun club where in exchange for some tokens given out by reps on the street, you can trade for a drink. Although the tokens only last until 4am! The music is very good and lasts until around 6 or 7am. If you still have energy to continue, then everybody goes to the main square to continue drinking. The party will normally go on until 10am, as you walk home you pass by people going to church, staring with worried expressions on their faces.

Thursdays are always super fun, they’re basically the main Erasmus party day. You start at the famous Chupitería (shot bar) where all shots are €1, then after there are lots of different bars to choose from including Cum Lavde, Music Factory, or Atahualpa where €5 also gets you access to a free bar until 2:30am. The atmosphere in each of those places is lively. If you are more into chilled, alternative music, some good options are El Pipers, Potemkim, El Famoso Submarino (electronic music), Cubic as well as in La Posada de las Animas which has the same system as KDV and Irish Rover. Source

Every Monday in Irish Rover and Wednesday in La Perla Negra they host a beer pong competition with the winner leaving with €50! In short, there are so many options to go out partying as everyday there is some kind of event. If you don't like drinking and big parties Salamanca is not the city for you! It's almost compulsory to go out, otherwise your Erasmus experience would not be complete there! Source

Toro street is the best for shopping! Zara, H&M, Blanco and Mango are all there. There are various Carrefour and Mercadona supermarkets and on Van Dyke Avenue is the best tapas bar in Salamanca with reasonable prices as well. In the main square people tend to enjoy the sun, sit down, smoke, talk and hang out together. It's a magical environment!

For everybody who cannot wait for their Erasmus to start, let me tell you that Salamanca is the best possible option, you will have a blast! I swear to you, a piece of your heart will always stay in Salamanca, just like what happened to me. Enjoy it!