Castelló de la Plana.

ESN Castellón, run by UJI student volunteers, is the first stop for exchange students: it sells the ESNcard for discounts across Europe and organises the meetups and trips that turn a semester into a friend group. The city's own calendar peaks with the Magdalena festival each February or March, nine days built around illuminated monuments called gaiatas and a dawn pilgrimage that the whole city turns out for. In July, the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, one of Spain's biggest music festivals, runs a short train ride up the coast, drawing well over 100,000 people over four nights.

• Get the ESNcard from ESN Castellón for discounts and a ready made friend group.
• Join the Magdalena festival in February or March for the gaiatas and the romería.
• Catch the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim in July, a short train ride up the coast.

Renting is where Castelló earns its reputation as an affordable option. Flats averaged about 8.7 euros a square metre in 2025, so a 70 square metre apartment runs close to 609 euros a month and a 90 square metre one about 783, both far below Valencia, and splitting a flat with roommates cuts that further. Eating out stays cheap too: a full menú del día, three courses plus a drink and dessert, can be found for around 12.50 euros. Groceries, coffees and nights out follow the same pattern of Spanish provincial pricing rather than capital city rates.

• Expect a full 70 square metre flat to run about 609 euros a month.
• Look for a menú del día around 12.50 euros for a full lunch.
• Split a flat with roommates, since per room costs drop well below the whole rent.

Residencia Campus, the residence hall on the university campus itself, is the simplest option for exchange students: private rooms with a kitchenette and bathroom from about 540 euros a month including utilities, plus a two month deposit and a signed contract. It sits a one minute walk from Jaume I University's buildings, with a gym, laundry and study rooms on site. Students who prefer a flat in town instead work with UJI's international relations office, which helps with accommodation questions once your exchange place is confirmed, alongside a private rental market centred on the university area and the centre.

• Book Residencia Campus early for a private room a minute from campus.
• Budget about 540 euros a month for on campus housing, utilities included.
• Contact UJI's international relations office for help once your exchange is confirmed.

The TRAM light rail links the university, the city centre and the beach at El Grao on one line, running every 12 to 16 minutes for 1.05 euros a ticket or about 30 euros for a 30 day pass. The city centre itself is compact and flat enough to walk or cycle across in well under half an hour. For trips further afield, Renfe Cercanías trains run to Valencia up to 45 times a day, taking as little as 46 minutes on the fastest services, which makes a day in the regional capital an easy add on to any week.

• Ride the TRAM between UJI, the centre and El Grao beach for 1.05 euros.
• Get a 30 day TRAM pass for about 30 euros if you ride often.
• Take a Cercanías train to Valencia, as fast as 46 minutes, dozens of times daily.

Jaume I University, founded in 1991, teaches around 14,000 students across four faculties on a single 176,000 square metre campus built around a central garden, the Jardí dels Sentits. Courses run in Valencian, Spanish and English depending on the subject, and the university has exchange agreements with more than 300 partner institutions worldwide, taking in around 600 incoming exchange students a year. Your home university nominates you first, after which you complete an online pre registration with UJI's International Relations Office, and a Buddy Programme pairs you with a current student before you arrive.

• Check whether your courses run in Valencian, Spanish or English before choosing them.
• Complete UJI's online pre registration only after your home university nominates you.
• Sign up for the Buddy Programme to get a student contact before arrival.

Lo que necesitas depende totalmente de tu nacionalidad. Los estudiantes de la UE, el EEE y Suiza no necesitan visado; solo te registras para conseguir el NIE (número de identificación de extranjero) si te quedas el tiempo suficiente. Los estudiantes no comunitarios que se quedan más de 90 días generalmente necesitan un visado nacional de estudiante tramitado en un consulado español antes de llegar, y luego una tarjeta TIE de residencia una vez en España.

Empieza el proceso del visado pronto, es lento y con mucho papeleo: prueba de matrícula, de fondos, seguro médico privado y a menudo un certificado de antecedentes penales y un certificado médico. Una vez en España, reserva tu cita previa para el NIE/TIE en cuanto llegues, porque las citas vuelan en las grandes ciudades.

• UE/EEE/Suiza: sin visado, solo hay que registrarse para el NIE
• No comunitarios más de 90 días: visado de estudiante antes de llegar
• Consigue tu tarjeta TIE en los 30 días siguientes a tu llegada
• Reserva la cita previa inmediatamente

Castelló sits in the region that gave the world paella, and rice dishes, often made with local seafood, are the default Sunday lunch rather than a tourist plate. Orxata, the cold tiger nut drink native to this coast, is the go to refreshment through the hot months, sold from horchaterías across the centre. The Magdalena festival doubles as a food moment too: the romería tradition sees residents picnic along the pilgrimage route with typical pa amb oli and local wine. Restaurants lean toward generous fixed price lunches, and the daily market culture around the centre keeps fresh produce cheap and central to everyday cooking.

• Try orxata, the local tiger nut drink, from a horchatería in the centre.
• Order a rice dish on a Sunday, the region's classic weekly lunch.
• Picnic along the Magdalena romería route for the local pa amb oli tradition.

El Grao, the detached maritime district, keeps its own beaches, restaurants and a relaxed pace while still connecting to the rest of the city by TRAM. Around the university, the Raval Universitari area has grown into the default student postcode, with newer buildings built specifically for the rental demand a campus of 14,000 students creates. The historic centre, clustered around Plaça Major and El Fadrí bell tower, suits anyone who wants shops, bars and the market within walking distance. Quieter residential streets in Ensanche neighbourhoods like Blasco Ibáñez sit further from the nightlife but close to Parc Ribalta's green space.

• Live in Raval Universitari, the area purpose built for students near campus.
• Choose El Grao for beach access with a TRAM ride into the centre.
• Pick the historic centre around Plaça Major for walkable bars and shops.

Valencia is the easiest trip out, a Cercanías ride away that can take as little as 46 minutes, enough for a full day of the city's beaches and museums. Up the coast, Benicàssim is only about 20 minutes by train, home each July to the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, one of Spain's largest music festivals. The walled seaside town of Peñíscola, its castle rising straight out of the Mediterranean, takes around an hour and twenty minutes combining train and bus. For something inland, the medieval hill town of Morella is reachable by direct bus in a little over two hours.

• Spend a day in Valencia, reachable by train in as little as 46 minutes.
• Take the 20 minute train to Benicàssim, home to the FIB music festival in July.
• Visit walled, castle topped Peñíscola, about an hour and twenty minutes by train and bus.

Apply and request accommodation as soon as your exchange place is confirmed. University residence rooms and the best flats near the Raval Universitari fill up long before the semester starts, and Residencia Campus asks for a signed contract plus a two month deposit, so budget for that upfront cost separately from monthly rent. Get an ESNcard from ESN Castellón in your first week, since the discounts and events start paying off immediately. Expect the city to be genuinely loud and busy during the Magdalena festival in February or March, when accommodation and transport both get tighter than usual.

• Request housing the moment your exchange place is confirmed, rooms fill up fast.
• Save for a two month deposit on top of the first month's rent.
• Book transport and plans early around the Magdalena festival in February or March.