Cristina's Erasmus Experience in Strasbourg, France

Why did you choose to go to Strasbourg, France?

I chose Strasbourg mainly for the language, as I wanted to continue improving my level of French, and for its location, with it being in the centre of Europe; ultimately, enabling me to go on trips that were either much cheaper or had shorter travelling times.

How long does your grant last for? How much money do you receive as financial support?

I have been in Strasbourg for 10 months, and my grant has covered seven of those, although I am not 100% sure of the exact amount as I am waiting to receive one more part. But, in total, it's around 1, 800€.

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What is student life like in Strasbourg?

There are lots and lots of young people and students from all over the world: both many French people as well as many Erasmus students. This really grabbed my attention, especially because I have met super interesting people from Réunion Island and Mauritius. Student life here is not as much of drunk, crazy partying until 6am as it is more cultured. In other words, lots of events are organised for young people in Strasbourg, like little concerts, jam sessions, days with free entry to museums, and really cheap theatre tickets, just to name a few... Here, life is much more about evenings spent drinking wine or beer with friends in a chilled setting.

Obviously, if you want the full nightlife experience, you are going to find it, and you can go out every single day of the week if you fancy it. Legendary places include: Barco Latino (this is great for when you miss South American music a bit), Café des Anges, Jimmys, and Salamandre...

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

The city has won my heart: I have never lived in such a beautiful city nor one with so much charm! I keep walking around and it keeps surprising me.

It's a city with some kind of magic - you will want to become a photographer or a painter just so you can depict it yourself.

I haven't had as good of an experience at the university, however. I study Psychology and the department there isn't used to seeing many Erasmus students; in fact, it was just us two Spanish girls. We weren't on any class or examination registers, many of our professors' emails never arrived in our mailboxes, nor ways to access information and documents posted on Moodle. However, something that I found amazing (especially for Erasmus students like you and me) is that they have a Dropbox saved full of notes from every single module from years gone by, as well as exam past papers and practice exercises. It's such an incredible source of help because, although you know and understand French, the ability to take understandable notes in a lecture hall full of people will be really testing in the beginning.

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What is the food like in France?

First of all, the most typical food is tarte flambée, and then there are more things like Munster cheese, and 'choucroute'... In short, everything that contains cheese we say fits the archetype of French cheese.

Aside from these, there is also a lot of beer and wine.

Was it difficult for you to find accommodation in Strasbourg?

Personally, I didn't have any difficulties at all finding accommodation because I did it through the Crous de Strasbourg (civil service) where you set out a list of preferences for well-priced university residences. They allocated me the Alfred Weiss residence in Neudorf and it's very good. It's true that it's not super centrally located, but by bike it doesn't take long to get anywhere. The rooms are good - you have a private bathroom and shared kitchen. In general, I am happy with the residence: it's quiet, and it has a washing machine and a little TV room (although it's more often than not used as a study room).

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How much does it cost to live in Strasbourg?

Prices are similar to those of Spain. It's a bit more expensive when it comes to the beer, and you will really miss the 1 euro pitchers from 100 Montaditos while you're away. Mind you, the quality of the French beer is in a league of its own, meaning it's much stronger, so sometimes this makes up for the difference in price.

What is the language like? Did you go to any language classes at the university?

I was not a huge expert in French: I had studied it at school, having reached B1/B2 level, but then spent two years not having practised it. So, when I arrived here, it's true that I found it harder to pick the language back up that I had originally thought, but I understood almost everything. In the space of one month, I was capable of expressing myself and communicating with others with no difficulties.

I signed myself up to a course that the MUI (Maison Universitaire International) offered that cost 50€, but I don't particularly recommend it. I mean it's good because they do a variety of activities like speaking and listening exercises with headphones, songs and films, but it's nothing out of this world. Upon arrival, they will also offer you free FLE (French as a Foreign Language) courses. I am sure that you will sign up with just as much excitement and anticipation as my friends and I did, but it's not so much of a taught course as it is self-taught. In other words, you have a series of grammar, verbs and phrase books at your disposition and you do the exercises at your own pace. So, in the end, I went like twice to look at some of the books and that's it.

It's a language that's really similar to Spanish, and even if you arrive in Strasbourg with zero experience with the language, you can still reach a good level.

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What is the cheapest way of getting from Strasbourg from your city?

It depends on the time of the year. Basically, the good thing about being in such a central place within Europe is that you have several airports close by and you have the luxury of being able to compare prices. I have flown from: Strasbourg Airport (very small and generally expensive flights); Basel Mulhouse Freiburg Euroairport (I think this is the best option - it's about an hour and a half to two hours from Strasbourg by Flixbus, SCNF train or BlaBlaCar - and it also has lots of flights to many other cities all over Europe); Frankfurt Main Airport, which is also highly recommendable; and, Frankfurt Hahn Airport, which is 3 hours from Strasbourg by Flixbus and has well-priced flights to/from Madrid with AirEuropa. However, the downside of Frankfurt Hahn is that it's actually 2 hours away from Frankfurt itself. This is the airport that benefits from the extremely low cost Ryanair flights, but you have to bear in mind that getting to and from there means catching two buses (costing you around 30€), so you will spend the entire day travelling.

I also have friends who have travelled to Strasbourg from Baden-Baden, Stuttgart, and Paris. The latter is really a last ditch option for flights at Christmas when the prices increase exponentially, as they are generally much cheaper from there. However, the journey is a drag - an 8 hour bus journey to get to Paris costing 15€ - and it's not even the main airport in the city. In short, it really does depend on both the time of year and each airline's offers at the time... there are lots of options.

Which places would you recommend for nightlife in Strasbourg?

For nightlife, I am personally a huge fan of Barco Latino for its music (which makes me almost feel like I am back home), but as I already mentioned, there is also Jimmy's, Café des Anges, and Salamandre...

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And eating out in Strasbourg? Can you mention your favourite places?

My favourite place to go to is Au brasseur (it's mine and everyone else's favourite thanks to its reasonable prices); during happy hour, both the beer and the typical Alsatian dish, 'tarte flambée', are very cheap.

Another favourite place of mine is the crêperie in Saint-Etienne Square: it has a very welcoming Breton atmosphere, and, although the crepes are a little bit expensive, they are worth it when accompanied by a delicious pint of cider.

There is also L'Epicerie, which sells delicious toasties that change every so often, as well as the highly recommendable pear and chocolate dessert (although it seems like a strange combination of ingredients, it's really tasty).

A place that, yes, is expensive, that I have personally not been to, but everyone who has been tells me wonderful things about it, is La clôche à frommage. There, you will be able to stuff yourself with all the types of cheese that you could ever imagine!

For beer, I recommend going to La lanterne, Au brasseur (again), or one of the numerous bars found on Grand Rue.

And cultural hotspots?

I personally recommend climbing up to the top of the cathedral, and, of course, going into the cathedral itself (it's always free). The Museum of Modern Art is the place that I have liked the most in Strasbourg. All of the cultural hotspots are free on the first Sunday of every month.

I don't really recommend the Alsatian Museum, the History Museum, nor the Fine Arts Museum in the Rohan Palace.

However, I still have some things left on my list of things to see: the wine cellars at the civil hospital, where they keep some of the oldest wines in the region.

Is there any advice that you want to give to future students in Strasbourg?

It's a city that really welcomes culture. If you pay attention, you will find out about: free Balkan music concerts (they will surprise you more than you think); jazz or Gospel concerts in bars or small concert spaces; art galleries in Popartiserie; free museum nights; open door days at Parliament; international evenings; documentaries; light shows at the cathedral; free yoga classes at a park; healthy breakfasts at the university... it's all free.

In short, there is an absolutely huge variety of things to do, and being a small city, you will be able to do almost all of it - you just have to be alert and take advantage of everything. You will find yourself doing a million things you would never have thought that you'd do, trying new and incredible things; just let yourself be surprised and be open to adventure.

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