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I studied abroad in Rome at 20. It is the trip I measure everything else against, not because Rome is perfect, but because living somewhere completely unfamiliar for a semester does something to you that no other kind of travel quite replicates. You figure out who you are when the usual context is stripped away. You make friends from places you would not have otherwise overlapped with. You eat things you cannot find at home. You get a little bit lost and then you stop minding.
Europe is the most popular study abroad destination in the world and the options are genuinely overwhelming. So here are 23 of the best places to study abroad in Europe, what makes each city worth considering, who it actually suits, and the one specific thing about each place that tends to seal the deal.
If you want the deep-dive city-by-city breakdown with student profiles and exactly who each city suits, the best places to study abroad in Europe guide covers every major city in detail. But if you’re still figuring out the shortlist, start here.
Rome is the obvious choice and it earns every cliché thrown at it. There is genuinely no city in Europe where the history is more physically present, the Colosseum is at the end of a street, the Pantheon is in the middle of a neighbourhood, and you walk past things daily that most people see once in a lifetime. For students studying art history, architecture, humanities, or Italian, it is essentially a living classroom.
The city is enormous and a little chaotic, which is part of what makes a semester there so formative. You figure things out. You learn to navigate the metro, find the neighbourhood bars where locals eat rather than tourists, and do day trips on weekends to places like the Amalfi Coast or Cinque Terre. Speaking of which, if you are based in Rome, the Cinque Terre day trip guide is essential reading before your first month is up.
Best for: art history, architecture, humanities, first-time Europe students
Florence is smaller than Rome, more manageable, and beautiful in a way that is almost unreasonably concentrated. It is considered the birth place of the Renaissance and was once the center of medieval European trade and finance. The Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Boboli Gardens are all within a 40-minute walk of each other. Art and design students in particular find it almost too good, the city is essentially a living portfolio of the Renaissance.
What most people do not realise until they get there is how walkable and genuinely liveable Florence is as a city. It has a strong aperitivo culture, excellent markets, and a pace that suits the student who wants to actually spend time in a place rather than move through it. Pair a semester here with a long weekend in Bologna and you will understand Italian food in a way no restaurant outside the country can replicate.
Best for: art, design, architecture, fashion, Italian language students
If you’ve never traveled outside your home country, choosing London as your study abroad destination may be a good call. There is no language barrier, making the city easy to navigate. London is a melting pot of lots of different cultures, nationalities and languages making it a very special study abroad city in Europe.
London is one of the most international cities in the world and a semester here is less like going abroad and more like moving temporarily to a city that operates at a higher frequency than most places you have lived. The museums (the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate Modern, the V&A) are free and world-class.
The honest reality: London is expensive. Accommodation costs are high and eating out adds up faster than it does anywhere else on this list. Students who thrive here come with a plan.
Best for: business, finance, theatre, law, journalism, fashion, career-minded students
Dublin is one of the most immediately social study abroad cities in Europe. The Irish pub culture is not a tourist performance, it is a genuine social institution, the place where people of all ages go to talk, and the fact that there is no language barrier means you can actually be part of conversations rather than performing a version of integration. Trinity College is one of the most beautiful university campuses in Europe.
The literary history here is extraordinary, Beckett, Wilde, Joyce, Yeats, Heaney, and the city takes it seriously in a way that is not just museum-ified. The Irish diaspora means a familiar warmth toward American students in particular.
Best for: literature, theatre, history, students who want European immersion without a language barrier
Barcelona has been ranked one of the top best cities to study abroad in Europe and continues to be a popular destination for students looking to study abroad in Europe! Gaudi’s architecture alone gives the city a visual quality that photographs cannot fully prepare you for. The Gothic Quarter is one of the most atmospheric neighbourhoods in Europe. The beach is genuinely accessible.
The honest note: Barcelona has such a large international student population that it can feel like a bubble if you are not deliberate about stepping outside of it. Push yourself to go to parts of the city where Catalan is the default.
Best for: business, architecture, art, Spanish language, students who want beach plus city
Madrid is the capital of Spain and is known for its blend of modern and historical culture. It’s the most cosmopolitan city, a proper world city with world-class museums (the Prado, the Reina Sofia), a thriving arts and music scene, and a nightlife culture that runs later than almost anywhere else in Europe. Dinner before 9pm is genuinely unusual here, and clubs routinely stay open until dawn.
Madrid suits students who want urban energy and cultural weight in equal measure. It is less immediately postcard-pretty than Barcelona or Seville, but it has more depth, the kind of city that reveals itself slowly and rewards students who spend a full semester rather than a summer program.
Paris is the most aspirational city on this list and one of the genuinely great cities in the world. The art museums are free for EU residents under 26 and very cheap for everyone else, which means the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay become regular Tuesday afternoon options. The food at every price point is excellent. The architecture is extraordinary. And the feeling of being in Paris — actually living there rather than visiting — is one that students consistently describe as life-changing in a way that is hard to articulate until you have done it.
It requires some French, genuine curiosity about French culture rather than just the aesthetic of it, and the independence to navigate a large and complicated city. Students who arrive with those three things tend to have the best time of their lives. Students who arrive expecting it to feel like an Instagram reel tend to find it exhausting.
Best for: art, fashion, film, literature, French language, students with some existing independence
Lisbon is one of the best value study abroad cities in Western Europe and one of the most beautiful. The hills, the trams, the azulejo tile facades, the miradouros overlooking the city at sunset — it is visually extraordinary in a way that does not wear off. The Atlantic surf coast is accessible for day trips, the nightlife runs late and feels safe, and the Portuguese are genuinely warm toward visitors in a way that makes finding a foothold in the city fast.
Lisbon has a growing creative and entrepreneurial energy layered onto its older cultural foundations, which makes it an interesting city to be in right now. English is widely spoken, the cost of living is lower than any comparable Western European capital, and students who go there consistently say it was the city that surprised them most.Best for: creative industries, business, international students on a budget, warm-weather seekers
Berlin is unlike any other city in Europe and describing it accurately is genuinely difficult — it resists tidy descriptions in the way that only cities with complicated histories do. The physical evidence of the Wall, the division, the reunification is still present in the city in a way that goes beyond museums. And the creative culture that grew in the spaces left by that history — the arts scene, the music scene, the experimental nightlife — is still very much alive and draws students who are interested in culture as much as coursework.
It is also cheap by European capital standards, politically engaged, and actively welcoming of international students and creative people. Students in arts, political science, history, and architecture find Berlin particularly transformative. If you want the city that will make you think differently rather than just feel differently, Berlin is probably it.Best for: arts, history, political science, architecture, film, music students
Milan is Italy’s fashion and finance capital, and a semester here looks nothing like a semester in Rome or Florence. It’s polished, fast-moving, and genuinely international, the kind of city where the fashion district isn’t a tourist attraction, it’s just Tuesday. The Duomo is one of the most striking cathedrals in Europe and La Scala remains one of the best opera houses in the world.
Milan is also the best base in Italy for weekend trips that don’t involve Italy at all: Lake Como is under an hour away, and the Alps and Switzerland are a short train ride further. The Navigli canal district is where the student nightlife actually happens, aperitivo here comes with a full spread of free food, which does a lot of heavy lifting on a student budget.
Best for: fashion, business, design, finance students, anyone who wants a faster-paced Italy than Rome or Florence
Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and one of the most affordable for students, the cost of living is significantly lower than Western European capitals, and the city’s medieval architecture, castle district, and riverside setting make the daily experience of being there feel consistently remarkable. Czech language is not required in most international programs, though a few words go a long way with locals.
Best for: history, architecture, arts, students who want Western European quality of life at Central European prices
Amsterdam is one of the most visually distinctive cities in the world, the canal houses, the bikes, the bridges, the museums arranged along the water, and living there for a semester rather than visiting it for a weekend is a completely different experience. The city is deeply international, English is the default in academic settings.
One practical note: Amsterdam has a serious student housing shortage. Book accommodation as early as possible, earlier than feels necessary.
Best for: international business, liberal arts, design, film, art history students
Munich is the other Germany, clean, efficient, and with a relationship to outdoor life that sets it apart from most European study abroad cities. The Alps are 90 minutes away, which means skiing in winter and hiking in summer as normal weekend activities rather than expensive expeditions.
Engineering, technology, and business students find Munich particularly well-matched, the city has a strong technical university tradition and significant industry connections.
Best for: engineering, technology, business, environmental science, outdoor-oriented students
Strasbourg sits right on the French-German border, and the city feels like both countries at once, half-timbered Alsatian houses, French bureaucracy, German-influenced food and beer. It’s the seat of the European Parliament, which gives it an unusually international, policy-minded student population for a city this size.
The old town (La Petite France) is one of the most photogenic in Europe, canals and timber-frame houses that look more Bavarian than Parisian. It’s also one of the more affordable French cities for students, and its location means Germany and Switzerland are both a short train ride away for weekend trips.
Best for: European studies, political science, French or German language students, anyone who wants France without a big-city price tag
Copenhagen consistently ranks among the most livable cities in the world, and a semester there makes it obvious why. The bike culture isn’t a novelty, it’s how the entire city actually moves, and the design sensibility (clean lines, function over decoration) shows up in everything from the architecture to the furniture in your student housing. Nyhavn’s colorful harbor houses are the postcard shot, but the real appeal is quieter: hygge, the Danish concept of cozy contentment, is a genuine cultural value here, not a marketing term.
The honest note: Copenhagen is expensive, among the priciest cities on this list. Malmö, Sweden is a short train ride across the bridge for an easy weekend trip to a second country.
Best for: design, architecture, sustainability studies, students who want a high quality of life and don’t mind paying for it
Brussels doesn’t get the romantic reputation of Paris or the design reputation of Copenhagen, and that’s exactly why it’s underrated. As the de facto capital of the EU, it’s genuinely one of the most international cities in Europe, students here end up with classmates from a dozen countries without even trying. The Grand Place is one of the most ornate squares in Europe, and the city’s art nouveau architecture and comic strip murals give it a personality that’s easy to overlook from the outside.
Brussels is also one of the best-located cities on this entire list for weekend travel: Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne, and Bruges are all under two hours away by train. And yes, the food reputation (waffles, chocolate, beer, fries) is entirely earned.
Best for: European studies, international relations, students who want to be based centrally and travel constantly on weekends
Oslo is the pick for students who want nature to be part of the actual curriculum of studying abroad, not just a weekend add-on. Fjords, forests, and hiking trails start at the edge of the city, and it’s genuinely normal for a semester here to include cross-country skiing in winter and swimming in a fjord in summer. The city itself is compact, clean, and safe in a way that makes it easy for first-time international students to settle in fast.
The honest note: Oslo is expensive, arguably the most expensive city on this list, and the winters are long and dark. What you get in exchange is one of the best work-life balance cultures in the world.
Best for: environmental studies, outdoor-oriented students, anyone who wants nature access built into daily life
Lyon is France’s second city by reputation and arguably its best by quality of life. It has the best food scene in the country, Paul Bocuse established it as the capital of French gastronomy and that reputation has only grown. The old city (Vieux Lyon) is a UNESCO-listed Renaissance district with the famous traboules, hidden passageways through buildings that have been used by locals for centuries.
Lyon is significantly more welcoming to students who are still learning French than Paris tends to be, which makes it a better first France option for most students.
Best for: French language, gastronomy, students who want real French life without Paris prices or attitude
Edinburgh is one of the most dramatic cities in Europe — a medieval Old Town built around a volcanic rock with a castle on top, a Georgian New Town laid out below it with wide streets and elegant townhouses, and the Scottish Highlands within driving distance for weekends. The city has a literary and intellectual tradition that runs deep (Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Walter Scott all walked those streets) and an annual Festival season in August that briefly turns it into the most exciting city on the continent.
It is significantly more affordable than London, more manageable in size, and has a warmth to it that belies the weather reputation. The weather is real — cold, grey, and wet for a substantial part of the year — but students who lean into it rather than fighting it consistently describe Edinburgh as one of the most formative study abroad experiences they could have had.
Best for: literature, history, philosophy, medicine, architecture, students who love the outdoors and dramatic landscapes
Vienna is the most civilised city on this list in a very specific way, it has the coffee house culture, the concert halls, the opera, the museums, the grand boulevards, and it takes all of it seriously in a way that is not stuffy but deeply lived-in. Music students in particular find it almost unreasonably good.
Best for: music, art history, international relations, architecture, students who want European high culture
Krakow is one of the most historically significant and most affordable cities on this entire list. The medieval old town and Wawel Castle survived World War II largely intact, which makes the city center feel genuinely medieval rather than reconstructed. It’s also home to one of Europe’s oldest universities, and the surrounding student population keeps the city young and active despite its old-world look.
The proximity to Auschwitz-Birkenau makes this a place where history isn’t abstract, many programs build a visit into the semester, and it tends to be one of the most formative experiences students have abroad. Krakow is also one of the cheapest cities on this list day to day.
Best for: history, students on a tight budget, anyone who wants Central Europe without the Western European price tag
Istanbul is the only city on this list that’s genuinely split between two continents, and that in-between quality defines everything about studying here. The Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque sit within walking distance of each other, the Grand Bazaar is still a functioning market and not just a tourist attraction, and the Bosphorus strait gives the whole city a sense of scale most European capitals don’t have.
Istanbul asks a bit more independence and cultural flexibility of students than most of the other cities here, it’s a genuinely different cultural context than Western or Central Europe, worth researching your specific program’s support system before committing.
Best for: history, international relations, students who want a genuinely different cultural experience than the rest of this list
Zurich is Switzerland’s financial capital and one of the most expensive cities on this entire list, worth saying upfront so it doesn’t catch anyone off guard. What that cost buys you: exceptional public transport, a genuinely clean and safe city, and the Alps within an hour for weekend skiing or hiking. Lake Zurich sits right at the edge of downtown, which makes summer weekends feel more like a holiday than a study semester.
Switzerland’s multilingual culture (German, French, Italian, and English all in regular use depending on the region) makes Zurich specifically an easier landing than students expect.
Best for: finance, business, economics students, anyone who wants Alpine access and doesn’t mind paying for it
And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this list of the best cities to study abroad in Europe. I know how difficult the decision to study abroad can be, so I hope this list was useful to you.
I’m so excited for you to embark on your journey and have the time of your life on all your study abroad adventures!
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Hey there, I'm Angelique!
I'm a Filipina-American, Chicago native living abroad and running my online design agency from Chiang Mai, Thailand. Over a decade of traveling in, and yes, I still pinch myself. With family split between the US, UK, and SE Asia, travel has always been part of my story. This blog is where I share the honest side of living and traveling abroad, the places I explore, my best study abroad tips from personal experience, and the little hacks that make this life actually work. Glad you're here, friend!
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