Erasmus Experience in Strasbourg, France by Philip

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Why did you choose to go to Strasbourg, France?

It was the only option for me to study Computer Science in France.

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

I received the full Erasmus grant of £2500 plus my student finance maintenance loan.

What is the student lifestyle like in Strasbourg?

I stayed in the Paul Appell halls of residence, the cheapest option available. Not having an en-suite didn't bother me and it was really easy to sort out. However it was also pretty soulless, very little social interaction between others on the same corridor beyond briefly seeing each other in the kitchen (which had 2 hot plates between 30 people and no communal eating area or seats). The issue was that you could only really eat in your room and the rooms weren't enormous so it got quite lonely.

However, there is a great ESN society at Strasbourg who organise loads of events. So outside the halls of residence you'll have no trouble meeting people and making friends. They organise millions of trips, definitely join their Facebook group once you know you're going and there are loads of people who will be able to help you out with stuff.

I ended up taking the policy that since I was only paying 120€/month for accommodation I should just do everything on offer and not worry about the costs. The issue is that with having loads of work to do there wasn't really time to go away every weekend so I think it would have been better to pay more to live in a shared house - obviously a gamble with flatmates but it's just so nice having people around to talk to in the mornings/evenings, it makes life generally better.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure people in other university residences (or just the slightly better Paul Appell residences - whilst I didn't want an en suite, it would have been worth paying more to be in a more sociable area with other Erasmus students) had a better time of living in halls.

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

With the university I think it entirely depends on your course. The 'Informatique' department was pretty good in many aspects but a long way off the level of interest of the course I do in Bristol. It was more like school really, I think because most people do a masters. However my levels of French were pretty basic so maybe it would have been more interesting if I understood what was going on!

I did meet loads of great people of course! Which was the best part of the whole year...

What is the food like?

As a vegetarian, France isn't great really. If you want food after 23. 00 the only places open are kebab shops, which close at 1.

Supermarkets are probably slightly more expensive than the UK plus since a baguette only lasts 24hours even bread has an impact.

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Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Strasbourg?

No, I applied early for university accommodation.

How much does it cost to live in Strasbourg?

I paid 150€ a month on rent - the cheapest but extremely basic. I got 30€/month back from CAF which made it even cheaper. 10€/month for a pretty rubbish internet connection (fine for most purposes but good luck skyping at peak time! )

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

There are lots of language courses available, Strasbourg is great for this.

If you want to be lazy, you can easily end up speaking English the whole time. Not advisable though!

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

I would say the Eurostar is the easiest - if you buy the ticket from London to Strasbourg in one go on Eurostar.com you get a really great deal. It's much more expensive to just buy your ticket London-Paris then Paris-Strasbourg though.

Ryanair have since opened flights to Strasbourg from Stanstead I think, it's really cheap but terrible for the environment and you have to pay a lot more for baggage (and end up in Stanstead which, depending where you are going next, is a lot less convenient than King's Cross).

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

The night clubs in Strasbourg aren't particularly great. There aren't that many of them either though so you'll probably visit them all! Lots of my friends went on the free bus to Kehl to a night club there which they said was more fun but also a commitment - the first bus back at 4 am!

There's a pub called Zanzibar which is something a bit different, expensive but there's a happy hour before 9pm. Every now and then they have a party in the 'cave' below the bar with massive speakers and lots of dubstep if you like that kind of thing. I was surprised there weren't more people on drugs, just lots of people that really liked the music!

The Laiterie is really good - you can often get in for 5€ with the carte culture, just be prepared for a longish walk back if you stay out late! They do a wide range of music and gigs too.

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

The cheapest place is probably Au Brasseur during the happy hour - 3€ for the local speciality - tarte flambee.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Loads, and if you're prepared to travel a bit loads more. And it's really cheap with the carte culture - it gives you free entry to every museum, 5€ gigs (I saw Jake Bugg and Angus Stone for 5€) at the Laiterie (go to lots of these! ).

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

Email me - 13phil13 _at_ gmail dot com with any questions!