Lecce dazzles with its ornate Baroque architecture carved from soft local stone, a lively centro storico and the University of Salento keeping it young. It is one of Italy's most affordable and sunniest student cities, wedged between the Adriatic and Ionian coasts. You get beaches, history and a relaxed pace for very little money.

• The Salento beaches of Gallipoli and Otranto are under an hour away.
• Living costs are among the lowest in Italy, so your budget goes a long way.

Student life fills the centro storico's piazzas and bars, especially around Piazza Sant'Oronzo and the university areas. Summer empties the city towards the coast, where beach clubs and seaside towns take over. It is an easy, sociable scene built on cheap spritzes and late, warm evenings outdoors.

• Do aperitivo in Piazza Sant'Oronzo and the bars off Via Palmieri.
• In summer, follow everyone to the beach clubs at Gallipoli and San Foca.
• Ask the Lecce group on Studcasa about student nights and shared beach trips.

Lecce is cheap even by southern standards, rents, food and drink all cost far less than northern Italy. Most students sit near the bottom of the Italian band, leaving room for travel and beach days. Fresh markets and street food like rustico and puccia keep daily spend tiny.

• A pasticciotto and a caffe make a breakfast for a couple of euros.
• Shared rooms in the centre or near campus keep you close to the 750 euro band floor.
• Eat rustico leccese and puccia sandwiches for cheap, filling lunches.

Students rent rooms in and around the centro storico and near the university campuses on the edges of town. The historic centre is atmospheric but can be noisy; the outer neighbourhoods are cheaper and quieter. Facebook groups, agencies and campus boards are the usual routes.

• Search Affitto stanze Lecce studenti on Facebook and check the Studcasa Lecce group for rooms.
• Living in or near the centro storico keeps you walkable to nightlife and lectures.
• Check that older stone flats have proper heating and screens against summer mosquitoes.

Lecce's centre is small and walkable, so you can largely go on foot. City buses (SGM) and the Ferrovie del Sud Est regional trains connect you to the coast and nearby towns, while Brindisi airport is about 40 minutes away. A bike handles the flat streets easily.

• Take Ferrovie del Sud Est trains to Otranto, Gallipoli and other Salento towns.
• Reach Brindisi airport in around 40 minutes by shuttle bus or train.
• Walk or cycle the compact centre, you rarely need a bus within town.

The University of Salento (Universita del Salento) is a mid-sized public university with strengths in cultural heritage, engineering, humanities and foreign languages, spread across campuses in and around Lecce. It welcomes Erasmus students and has an active ESN section running trips around Puglia and social nights.

• Faculties sit in different parts of town, check yours before choosing a flat.
• ESN Salento's coastal trips are an easy way to see the peninsula and meet people.

If you are an EU or EEA citizen you need nothing beyond registering your residence if you stay past 90 days. Non-EU students almost always need a national type D study visa arranged through the Italian consulate before arrival, plus proof of enrolment, funds and health insurance. Exactly what you need depends on your nationality, so check with your consulate early.

Once in Italy, non-EU students must apply for a permesso di soggiorno, the residence permit, within eight days of arrival, using a post office kit and a police questura appointment. It is slow and paperwork-heavy, so bring photocopies of everything and expect queues. Your university's international office will usually walk you through it.

• EU/EEA, no visa; register if staying 90+ days
• Non-EU, type D study visa from your consulate
• After arrival, permesso di soggiorno within 8 days

Salento food is rustic and delicious: pasticciotto (warm custard-filled pastry), rustico leccese, ciceri e tria (pasta and chickpeas), puccia sandwiches and friselle. The famous caffe leccese is espresso poured over ice with almond milk. Meals are cheap, generous and unhurried.

• Start the day with a pasticciotto from Bar Alvino on Piazza Sant'Oronzo.
• Cool off with a caffe leccese, espresso, ice and almond milk.
• Try ciceri e tria and a stuffed puccia for a proper Salento lunch.

The centro storico is the Baroque heart, walkable and full of bars and students. Areas around Porta Napoli and the university campuses are practical and cheaper, while the newer parts towards the station are more residential. Everything is close in this small city.

• Centro storico: beautiful, central and lively, best for atmosphere.
• Around Porta Napoli and the campuses: handy for lectures and a bit cheaper.
• Station side: more residential and affordable, still walkable to the centre.

Lecce is the gateway to Salento. Gallipoli and Otranto's beaches are under an hour by regional train, Santa Maria di Leuca marks the peninsula's tip, and Ostuni's white houses and Bari are a bit further north. Matera's cave city makes a spectacular day trip too.

• Train to Otranto for a swim and Italy's easternmost old town.
• Head to Gallipoli on the Ionian side for beaches and nightlife.
• Day-trip to Ostuni, the whitewashed citta bianca, or push on to Matera.

Embrace the slow southern rhythm, the long afternoon closure and late dinners are the norm, and English is less common than up north. Summers are fierce, so plan around the heat, and note that winter can be surprisingly damp in old stone flats. A little Italian opens doors here.

• Plan around the afternoon riposo when shops shut (roughly 1.30 to 5pm).
• Learn some basic Italian; English is patchy outside the university.
• Pack for humid winters indoors as well as scorching summers outside.