Linz is Austria's third city on the Danube, 1h15 to 1h40 from Vienna and about an hour from Salzburg. JKU is a young university of over 20,000 students with four faculties, well regarded for AI and computer science, and with only 10 to 20 French speakers among 120 to 400 international students, the immersion is properly anglophone.

• JKU sits on the Danube, 1h15 to 1h40 from Vienna and about an hour from Salzburg, a genuinely central base for exploring Austria.
• The university is well regarded for AI and computer science, with a demanding master's level security course and a wide range of IT modules.
• Only 10 to 20 French speakers among 120 to 400 international students means real English-speaking immersion, not a French bubble.

The big weekly event is Mensa Fest every Thursday night on campus, open to all 20,000 students for 5 to 8 euros entry. Social life otherwise centres on the Julius Raab Heim dorm, with mentors, welcome dinners and WhatsApp groups for skiing, hiking, running, football and volleyball organising most of the fun since JKU no longer runs an ESN chapter.

• Join the Studcasa Linz group before you arrive, it's where dorm life, WhatsApp groups and Mensa Fest plans get shared first.
• Go to Mensa Fest every Thursday, 5 to 8 euros gets you the biggest student night on campus.
• Sign up for USI sport fast, spots in popular classes and the climbing gym two minutes from JRH disappear within hours.

Overall cost of living is close to France, though food runs a bit pricier and transport is noticeably cheaper. Budget 400 to 500 euros a month for JRH rent (up to 498 euros for a studio), 7 to 8 euros for a Mensa meal, and about 4 euros for a bar beer. Public transport with the Aktivpass runs 16.70 to 16.80 euros a month.

• Budget 400 to 500 euros a month for JRH rent, plus a 500 euro deposit.
• Get the Aktivpass immediately, it drops your monthly tram and bus pass to about 16.70 to 16.80 euros.
• Carry cash: ATM withdrawal fees run about 4 euros, though the STUWO residence machine is free.

Housing is Linz's strongest point: you apply directly through JKU's own enrolment process and a room is close to guaranteed. Julius Raab Heim (JRH), with 900 to 1,200 rooms across 12 floors and 24/7 reception, is the international students' dorm, 10 to 15 minutes from campus and 5 minutes from the tram.

• Apply for JRH straight through JKU's enrolment, no separate housing hunt needed like in most Erasmus cities.
• Choose a room without a kitchenette if you want to live in the shared kitchens, the Studcasa Linz group says that's where the real friendships happen.
• Buy a secondhand kitchen kit from departing students for under 10 euros, JRH provides none.

Get the Aktivpass through your city hall registration (the university helps), it covers your monthly tram and bus pass at 16.70 to 16.80 euros plus museum discounts. Four tram lines share one central trunk, JRH to the centre takes 15 to 20 minutes. The best way in is flying to Vienna then taking the direct train, about 23 euros with the Vorteilscard.

• Buy the Vorteilscard Jugend for 19 euros as soon as you arrive, it pays for itself on a single Vienna trip.
• Fly into Vienna rather than Linz airport, which is out of the way and poorly served, then take the direct train.
• Trams run all night on Fridays and Saturdays, handy for getting back from the centre after Mensa Fest or the clubs.

Courses run through the KUSSS platform in 45 minute blocks. The local trick is to concentrate all your classes Monday to Wednesday for four-day travel weekends, though it means dense exam sessions of 6 to 8 exams since most subjects cap at 3 credits. Free credits come from a pre-semester German course and a Cultural Sensitivity Training.

• Stack classes Monday to Wednesday for long weekends, but pick courses graded by ongoing homework to avoid a brutal exam week.
• Take the pre-semester German course and Cultural Sensitivity Training, easy credits worth up to 8 ECTS combined.

This depends entirely on your nationality. EU/EEA and Swiss students don't need a visa, you just register your address (the Meldezettel) at the local Magistrat within three days of arriving, and if you stay over three months you file an Anmeldebescheinigung (registration certificate) at the MA 35 immigration office.

Non-EU students need a residence permit. For a semester under six months it's usually a Visa D (national visa); for a full year it's the Aufenthaltsbewilligung Studierende (student residence permit), which you generally apply for at an Austrian embassy before you travel. Expect to prove funds (roughly €600+/month), health insurance and your acceptance letter. Start early, appointments and processing are slow.

• EU/EEA/Swiss, no visa; just register your address (Meldezettel)
• Non-EU, under 6 months, Visa D (national visa)
• Non-EU, full year, student residence permit (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Studierende)
• Bring: acceptance letter, proof of funds (~€600+/mo), health insurance

Hofer is the cheapest supermarket, five minutes from the dorm, with Billa and the pricier Winkler Markt nearby; only the station Spar opens on Sundays. At restaurants, water is never free, even in a carafe, and there's no bread, though tipping stays optional. Don't miss the Linzer Torte, the city's signature fruit and cinnamon tart.

• Shop at Hofer for the cheapest groceries, and stock up on Saturday since almost everything closes on Sunday except the station Spar.
• Try the Linzer Torte, Linz's own tart, alongside Schnitzel, Käsekrainer and Kaiserschmarrn.
• Knock on the table to thank a professor at the end of class, it's the local custom, not a joke.

Linz doesn't really have arrondissements, just three student poles. The JKU campus and dorms sit in the calm, green north-east on the edge of the countryside, with a swimming lake 15 minutes away. The centre around Hauptplatz has the bars, clubs and Ars Electronica, 15 to 20 minutes away by tram, with the station a bit further out.

• Base yourself at JRH near campus for the calm, green side of Linz, with a swimming lake a 15 minute walk away.
• Head to Hauptplatz and the centre, 15 to 20 minutes by tram, for bars, clubs from Thursday onward and Ars Electronica.
• Feel safe walking anywhere at night, Linz's sense of security is close to total, even around the station late.

Linz sits almost at the centre of Europe, making weekend trips easy: Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz, Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut lakes are all reachable, with Munich, Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Zagreb and Ljubljana within reach too. Budapest round trips run under 20 euros by train, and Flixbus or Ryanair combos keep most European city breaks under 100 euros.

• Take the train to Budapest for under 20 euros round trip, one of the best value weekend trips out of Linz.
• Use Vienna as your reference Ryanair airport for cheap city breaks across Europe.
• Visit the Salzkammergut lakes (Gmunden, Traunkirchen, Sankt Wolfgang) beyond the more touristy Hallstatt.

Apply for the Aktivpass at your city hall registration and buy the 19 euro Vorteilscard Jugend the moment you arrive. Carry cash for the roughly 4 euro ATM fees, and check your French phone plan, most cut off around the four month mark. Shop on Saturday since Sunday shuts almost everything down, and register the double city hall paperwork on arrival and departure.

• Get the Aktivpass and Vorteilscard Jugend in your first week, both pay for themselves fast.
• Watch your French phone plan, some providers cut roaming around the four month mark.
• Remember both city hall registrations, on arrival and before you leave, JRH's reception handles both for you.