Salzburg.

ESN Salzburg, active at the university since 2015, runs a Buddy Network pairing you with a local student plus a full calendar of trips, film nights, language projects and international food festivals throughout the year. Its events are open to everyone, not just Erasmus students, which makes it an easy way to meet both exchange and Austrian students from day one. The International Relations Office also runs two orientation weeks before each semester, the first online and the second in person in Salzburg, covering enrolment, courses and life in the city before term starts.

• Join ESN Salzburg's Buddy Network to meet a local student before you arrive.
• Go to ESN's trips, food festivals and film nights, open to everyone.
• Attend both orientation weeks, online then in Salzburg, before your semester starts.

Public transport is one cost you can plan for precisely: the Klimaticket Salzburg Student runs 170 euros for a full semester, covering every SVV bus and train across the entire state of Salzburg, semester and holiday breaks included. A single ride into town from the airport on bus line 2 costs around 3 euros, or about 6 euros for an unlimited 24 hour ticket. Student dormitory rooms through OeAD typically run from about 360 to 600 euros a month depending on the building, with a deposit due on top when you sign.

• Buy the Klimaticket Salzburg Student for 170 euros a semester, statewide coverage.
• Budget about 3 euros for the airport bus into town on line 2.
• Expect 360 to 600 euros a month for an OeAD dormitory room.

The University of Salzburg does not provide housing itself, so most exchange students apply directly to OeAD's Salzburg dormitories, with rooms running roughly 360 to 600 euros a month plus a deposit, insurance and Erasmus network access often included. A popular option among exchange students is Salzburg Süd, a postwar district built specifically with student dormitories that keeps most incoming Erasmus students within reach of each other. Apply early and directly through OeAD's own site rather than waiting on the university, since places in the most convenient buildings fill up well before term starts.

• Apply directly to OeAD's Salzburg dormitories; the university does not offer housing.
• Budget for a deposit on top of the first month's rent.
• Consider Salzburg Süd, the postwar district built for student dormitories.

Salzburg Airport sits just a few kilometres from the centre, and bus line 2 covers the trip to the main train station in about 23 minutes, running every 15 to 20 minutes through the day. A single ticket costs around 3 euros, or pay about 6 euros for a 24 hour ticket if you are arriving with luggage and errands to run. Once you are settled, the Klimaticket Salzburg Student covers the O-Bus trolleybus network, city buses and regional trains across the whole state for 170 euros a semester, making it worth buying in your first week.

• Take bus line 2 from the airport to the station in about 23 minutes.
• Pay about 3 euros a ride, or 6 euros for a 24 hour ticket.
• Buy the Klimaticket Salzburg Student in week one for statewide bus and train access.

Almost all exchange students in Salzburg study at the University of Salzburg, spread across historic buildings in the old town plus the modern Unipark Nonntal campus, with six faculties covering everything from theology to natural sciences. Applications run through administrative and academic coordinators depending on your question, and while a CEFR B2 level is generally expected, plenty of courses run in English, so German is not required if your course list allows it. Term dates are fixed: winter runs October to January and summer runs March to June, each preceded by an online and then an in person orientation week.

• Check whether your courses run in English before committing to a full B2 level.
• Study across the old town and the Unipark Nonntal campus, not one site.
• Attend the online orientation week, then the in person one in Salzburg.

Das hängt komplett von deiner Nationalität ab. EU-/EWR- und Schweizer Studierende brauchen kein Visum, du meldest nur deine Adresse (den Meldezettel) beim örtlichen Magistrat innerhalb von drei Tagen nach Ankunft an, und wenn du länger als drei Monate bleibst, beantragst du eine Anmeldebescheinigung bei der MA 35, der Einwanderungsbehörde.

Nicht-EU-Studierende brauchen einen Aufenthaltstitel. Für ein Semester unter sechs Monaten ist das meist ein Visum D (nationales Visum); für ein volles Jahr ist es die Aufenthaltsbewilligung Studierende, die du normalerweise vor der Abreise bei einer österreichischen Botschaft beantragst. Rechne damit, Finanzmittel (etwa 600+ €/Monat), Krankenversicherung und dein Zulassungsschreiben nachzuweisen. Fang früh an, Termine und Bearbeitung dauern.

• EU/EWR/Schweiz, kein Visum; nur die Adresse anmelden (Meldezettel)
• Nicht-EU, unter 6 Monate, Visum D (nationales Visum)
• Nicht-EU, volles Jahr, Aufenthaltstitel (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Studierende)
• Mitbringen: Zulassungsschreiben, Finanznachweis (~600+ €/Monat), Krankenversicherung

Salzburger Nockerl, a warm soufflé of whipped egg whites shaped into three peaks representing the hills around the city, is the local dessert to try, dusted with powdered sugar and often served with berry sauce. Mozartkugel, the marzipan, nougat and dark chocolate sweet created in 1890 by confectioner Paul Fürst, is Salzburg's best known souvenir; the original handmade version is still sold at the Fürst confectionery in the old town. Away from the tourist centre, Elisabeth-Vorstadt near the main station has become the city's most international food scene, with lower rents drawing in cuisines the polished Altstadt rarely sees.

• Try Salzburger Nockerl, the warm three peaked soufflé named after the surrounding hills.
• Taste an original Mozartkugel at Fürst, the confectionery that created it in 1890.
• Explore Elisabeth-Vorstadt for the city's most varied, least touristy food scene.

Elisabeth-Vorstadt, the practical district around the main train station, mixes commuters, students and long-time residents in a mostly working-class setting, with lower rents pulling in the city's most varied, least touristy food scene. Nonntal, just south of the old town, splits into an older, pricier inner section and a more modern outer section with better access to parks, and stays popular with students for its short walk into the centre. Salzburg-Süd, a postwar district built specifically with student dormitories, is where a large share of exchange students end up living, well connected but away from the tourist core.

• Live in Elisabeth-Vorstadt for cheap rent and the city's most varied food.
• Try Nonntal's outer section for parks and a short walk to the centre.
• Expect Salzburg-Süd if you get OeAD housing, built for student dormitories.

Munich is about one and a half hours away by direct Railjet or EuroCity train, an easy day trip or weekend across the German border. Vienna takes about two hours twenty five minutes on the fastest Railjet, running roughly every half hour to hour throughout the day. For something slower, catch bus 840 from the main station to Berchtesgaden in about 50 minutes for around 11 euros return, or take an early train via Attnang-Puchheim and a lake ferry to reach the lakeside village of Hallstatt, a longer but classic day out.

• Take the direct train to Munich in about one and a half hours.
• Reach Vienna in about two hours twenty five minutes on the fastest Railjet.
• Catch bus 840 to Berchtesgaden in 50 minutes, or the train and ferry to Hallstatt.

Buy your Klimaticket Salzburg Student in your first week; at 170 euros a semester for the whole state, it beats paying per ride almost immediately. Apply for OeAD dormitory housing as early as your exchange is confirmed, since the university itself does not arrange accommodation and good rooms fill fast. Attend both orientation weeks, online and in person, and join ESN's Buddy Network before you arrive so you already know someone on day one. The rookie mistake is treating Salzburg as only a Mozart and Sound of Music backdrop; the surrounding lakes and mountains are just as central to student life here.

• Buy the Klimaticket Salzburg Student in week one; it pays off fast.
• Apply for OeAD housing the moment your exchange is confirmed, not later.
• Look past Mozart and the Sound of Music; the mountains matter too.