Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The university's Buddy Program pairs incoming exchange students with a local mentor who helps with the campus, paperwork and finding a place to live from day one. The Language Centre also throws in free Spanish courses for Erasmus students, worth six ECTS credits once completed, a good way to meet people while you improve your Spanish. Nightlife concentrates around Las Canteras beach and the Triana shopping streets, and with a stable climate almost year round, plans made outdoors rarely get cancelled for rain.

• Sign up for the Buddy Program early to get a local mentor before you arrive.
• Take the free Spanish course for Erasmus students; it is worth six ECTS credits.
• Head to Las Canteras or Triana for the busiest nights out.

Numbeo pricing from July 2026 puts a one bedroom flat outside the centre at around 700 euros a month and an inexpensive restaurant meal at about 12 euros, both well below mainland Spanish cities like Madrid or Barcelona. Local buses take the city's subsidised BonoGuagua card, open to everyone, which cuts each ride to about 0.42 euros instead of 1.40 in cash. Groceries and eating out both come in cheaper than on mainland Spain, though flights and ferries add up if you island hop often.

• A one bedroom flat outside the centre runs around 700 euros a month.
• The subsidised BonoGuagua card, open to all, cuts each ride to about 0.42 euros.
• Cheap for mainland comparisons, but budget extra if you plan to island hop.

ULPGC runs its own residences rather than leaving everyone to the private market: one on Calle León y Castillo in the city centre, geared toward faculties such as health sciences, teacher training and philology that sit outside Tafira campus, and another directly on Tafira campus itself. The city centre residence is reachable from the airport on bus line 60 in about 25 minutes, or on foot from the main bus station. Applications go through the university's accommodation portal once you have your admission letter, and many exchange students instead find a shared flat nearby with help from their Buddy Program mentor.

• ULPGC has its own residences in the city centre and on Tafira campus.
• The city centre residence is about 25 minutes from the airport on bus line 60.
• Ask your Buddy Program mentor for help finding a shared flat off campus.

Guaguas Municipales runs the city bus network, and anyone can get the subsidised BonoGuagua card, cutting each ride to about 0.42 euros instead of 1.40 in cash. Line 60 connects Gran Canaria Airport directly to the city centre in about 25 minutes, running roughly hourly from early morning past ten at night. The city itself is very walkable along the coast, and cycling or walking the promenade beside Las Canteras beach is often faster than waiting for a bus at peak times.

• Get a BonoGuagua card fast to cut every bus ride down to 0.42 euros.
• Line 60 links the airport straight to the city centre in about 25 minutes.
• Walk or cycle the Las Canteras promenade instead of waiting for a bus.

ULPGC was founded in 1989 and is now the largest university in the Canary Islands, with more than 22,700 students across five campuses, four on Gran Canaria and one on Lanzarote. Tafira, the biggest campus, hosts most science, engineering and health degrees, while Obelisco in the city centre covers economics, law, humanities and translation. Some faculties cap what exchange students can take, Architecture drops final year projects and Translation and Interpreting asks for at least a B2 level of Spanish, so check your department's rules before building your learning agreement.

• ULPGC spreads its 22,700 students across five campuses, four on Gran Canaria.
• Tafira covers science and engineering; Obelisco downtown covers law and humanities.
• Check faculty specific limits, like the B2 Spanish rule for Translation and Interpreting.

Ce dont tu as besoin dépend entièrement de ta nationalité. Les étudiants UE, EEE et suisses n'ont besoin d'aucun visa ; tu t'inscris juste pour un NIE (numéro d'identification étranger) si ton séjour est assez long. Les étudiants hors UE restant plus de 90 jours ont généralement besoin d'un visa étudiant national à demander dans un consulat espagnol avant l'arrivée, puis d'une carte de résidence TIE une fois en Espagne.

Lance la procédure de visa tôt, elle est lente et demande beaucoup de documents : preuve d'inscription, de ressources, assurance santé privée, et souvent un extrait de casier judiciaire et un certificat médical. Une fois en Espagne, réserve ton rendez-vous NIE/TIE (cita previa) dès ton arrivée, car les créneaux disparaissent vite dans les grandes villes.

• UE/EEE/Suisse, pas de visa, juste s'inscrire pour un NIE
• Hors UE plus de 90 jours, visa étudiant avant l'arrivée
• Récupère ta carte TIE dans les 30 jours après l'atterrissage
• Réserve le rendez-vous cita previa immédiatement

Papas arrugadas, small unskinned potatoes boiled in salt water, are the island's signature dish, always served with mojo, a garlicky sauce that comes in a red version for meat and a green one for fish. Gofio, a flour ground from roasted grain, was the historical staple food of the islands and still turns up mixed into warm milk, kneaded into a dough called pella, or stirred into fish broth as gofio escaldado. Vegueta's old town streets, dating back to 1478, hold the Casa de Colón and the Museo Canario, while Triana next door has grown into the city's main shopping and tapas strip.

• Try papas arrugadas with mojo rojo for meat or mojo verde for fish.
• Look for gofio on menus, a roasted grain flour long a historical island staple.
• Wander Vegueta's streets from 1478, then cross to Triana for tapas and shopping.

Vegueta is the original city, founded in 1478, with cobbled streets, the Casa de Colón and the Museo Canario, and it stays lively with cafes and events year round. Triana, just across the old ravine, has become the main shopping and tapas district, busy from morning market to late dinner. Las Canteras, wrapped around the beach in the Guanarteme district, is one of the most sought after places to live, packed with restaurants facing the sand. Mesa y López anchors the newer business and shopping side of town around the main department store.

• Vegueta is the historic core, dating to 1478, quiet by day and lively by night.
• Las Canteras puts the beach on your doorstep, at a premium over other areas.
• Triana and Mesa y López cover shopping, tapas and everyday errands.

Fast ferries from Las Palmas reach Santa Cruz de Tenerife in about 1 hour 40 minutes, run several times a day by Naviera Armas and Baleária, making the neighbouring island an easy long weekend. Bus line 30 runs direct from Santa Catalina down to Maspalomas and its dunes, a protected 4 square kilometre nature reserve since 1994, in the south of Gran Canaria. Fuerteventura is reachable by ferry too, and with an airport handling flights across the archipelago, a weekend on La Palma, Lanzarote or Tenerife is realistic without much planning.

• Ferries reach Tenerife in about 1 hour 40 minutes, several times a day.
• Bus line 30 runs direct from Santa Catalina to the Maspalomas dunes reserve.
• Hop a flight or ferry to Fuerteventura, Lanzarote or Tenerife for the weekend.

Sign up for the Buddy Program and the free Erasmus Spanish course as soon as you can, both fill up and both make the first weeks far easier. The climate barely changes, warm and dry most of the year, so pack for sun rather than for a European autumn or winter. Local buses take the BonoGuagua card, not cash fumbling, so get one in your first days to avoid paying full price. Remember Gran Canaria is genuinely an island: ferries and flights, not trains, are how you reach anywhere beyond the city.

• Sign up for the Buddy Program and the Spanish course early; both fill up fast.
• Get a BonoGuagua card in your first week to stop overpaying on buses.
• Pack for sun year round and remember there are no trains, only buses, ferries and flights.