Experience in Zaragoza, Spain by Juan

What is it like to live in Zaragoza? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

It is said among Spaniards that Zaragoza is a very "comfortable" city. The city is big enough to have anything you might need (whichever your interest is: music, fashion, gastronomy, sports... ) without being too big to make going from one place to another annoying. It is also well communicated with other Spanish big cities such as Madrid or Barcelona and with the best Spanish ski resorts. It is also really easy to move within the city. Since it barely has slopes, biking makes going between any two points of the city a less-than-40-minute ride. And the city centre is just beautiful, full of small streets, squares, old buildings and street art.

So yes, I would definitely recommend Zaragoza as a city to live in. One thing: Zaragoza is known for being really windy, which makes the city colder than you would think!

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What is the student lifestyle like in Zaragoza?

There are plenty of students in Zaragoza, and more than a thousand Erasmus students. The bars around the University are always full of students having beers and food at cheap prices. There are also many activities for students, like film screenings, workshops, travels, etc. The student associations AEGEE and ESN are very active and take good care of the students, both local and exchange.

How much does it cost to live in Zaragoza?

It depends a lot on where and how you live, but for example you can find a very decent room in a shared apartment (with 2 roommates) in the city centre for 200€/month. So for 600-700€/month you should not have any problems in Zaragoza.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Zaragoza? Is there any advice you can give?

Since there are many students, there is a lot of movement in the housing market. There are plenty of websites where you can look for a room and the different faculties are full of ads, which are published in several facebook pages as well.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Food is something not to worry about. Fruit and vegetables are fresh and there are plenty of places to eat out. Croquetas, tortilla, ensaladilla rusa or patatas bravas are typical tapas that can be found in any bar in Spain. But there is much much more, so I would recommend to just go out and try different things, or go to the markets, buy fresh products and ask around what to do with them.

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What places would you recommend visiting in Zaragoza?

Apart from El Pilar and La Seo, the two cathedrals in the city centre, there are many things to see in Zaragoza. Many tourists miss the Aljafería Palace, but those who don't always love it. I personally love to walk around the Magdalena and El Gancho (San Pablo) areas, they are both very charming and full of nice places to have a beer or a coffee. In El Gancho there is a square, Plaza Las Armas, with a lot of small shops (a bookshop, a printshop, an antiquary, a design studio) and the streets around it are really nice. Some Sundays a vintage market with dj's takes place there.

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Is it good to eat out in Zaragoza? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

While many students go to one of the 100 Montaditos (where beer and food is really cheap), there are some really nice tapas bars in Zaragoza. Close to the University area, Cervecería London prepares really good sandwiches, Montesol is a must for students and in J-85 you can order pretty much everything. El Tubo is THE tapas area, I wouldn't miss Taberna Doña Casta, El Champi and La Republicana. There is a Tapas contest every year where most of the bars offer a beer and a tapa for 2€, and in La Magdalena several vegetarian tapas routes are organised every year.

Is the nightlife good in Zaragoza? Where is good to go?

There are plenty of clubs and depending on the year, the place to go is different (the two biggest clubs are Oasis and El Plata, that doesn't change). But the most important thing is that the offer is really wide. The Face Down Ass Up collective organises monthly parties with electronic music that are a lot of fun. Explosivo Club has concerts at least two days a week, mostly funk and black music but they are not narrow at all and usually everything they bring to the city is good. La Lata de Bombillas has live indie music as well and, with Super8, is the place to go if you like that kind of music. Every Thursday there is a funk/rock jam at El Zorro and after the bar closes many people go to Posturas, where the atmosphere is kind of alternative, hard to describe but really welcoming and really fun.

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What advice would you give future students heading to Zaragoza?

To keep exploring, I've lived most of my life here and every year I discover new activities, groups of people and things to do! Approach the student associations, but also the rest of the locals, and use the social networks to find activities that fit your interests.