A Coruña is the Spain most exchanges miss: a glass-balconied Atlantic port where the Tower of Hercules, the world's oldest working lighthouse, guards the headland, urban beaches curl inside the city, and student life costs Galician prices, bus rides at 15 cents included. The weather is honest, real rain from October, and the tapas culture and tight ESN scene more than compensate.

ESN Coruña runs the international side from Casa do Lagar on the Elviña campus, with a buddy programme joined to the university and group trips to the Costa da Morte, the Cíes islands and Porto. Nights concentrate in the Orzán quarter's bar streets behind the beach, with Pelícano as the big classic club, and the old town handles the tapas rounds. Everyone urges the same thing: join early.

• Sign up with ESN Coruna and its buddy scheme before arrival; returners say early joiners win the semester.
• Learn the Orzan quarter's bar grid for the nights out and finish at Pelicano, the city's landmark club.
• Book the ESN trips fast: Costa da Morte, the Cies islands and Porto all fill their buses every single time.

A Coruña runs on 600 to 800 euros a month, helped by some of Spain's lowest student fares: with the Millennium card, university students pay 0.15 euros a bus ride, with a monthly cap under 20 euros. The cheapest rooms list from around 130 to 220 euros, coliving setups reach 400 to 450, and tapas portions lean Galician, meaning generous.

• Load a Millennium card immediately on arrival; every student bus ride then drops to a flat 0.15 euros.
• The cheapest rooms list from around 130 to 220 euros a month, with full coliving setups at 400 to 450.
• Count on Galician portions whenever you eat out; a few tapas rounds genuinely replace a full dinner here.

The UDC points incomers to pisocompartido.com and similar boards, and the market stays kind by Spanish standards. Living near Elviña or A Zapateira puts lectures in walking range with bus 1A as backup, while the centre and beach quarters trade a commute for the city's life. The university runs the Elvira Bao residence and lists partners with Erasmus rates.

• Start on the UDC's own recommended boards like pisocompartido.com; local landlords post their rooms there first.
• Choose Elvina or A Zapateira for campus walking distance, the centre for life between beaches and bars.
• Ask the international office about Elvira Bao and partner residences if you prefer a managed landing.

Buses do everything, and at student rates they cost almost nothing: 0.15 euros a ride with the Millennium card against 1.30 in cash. Line 1A serves the campus directly and lines 24 and 5 tie it to the centre. The peninsula city walks well, seafront promenade included, and fast trains reach Santiago in about half an hour.

• Get the Millennium card in week one; paying 1.30 in cash when student rides cost 0.15 is the tourist tax.
• Bus 1A is your direct line to campus, while lines 24 and 5 tie the Elvina hillside back to the city centre.
• Walk the seafront promenade often; it strings the beaches, the port and the lighthouse into one long route.

The Universidade da Coruña (UDC) hosts exchanges across two hillside campuses: Elviña carries most faculties, A Zapateira takes architecture, sciences and philology. Teaching mixes Castilian and Galician, and the university runs a free 30-hour Spanish course for incomers at semester start, worth it as much for the classmates as the grammar. The international office sits at Casa do Estudantado.

• Check whether your courses run in Castilian or Galician and plan the free 30-hour Spanish course in.
• Base your housing search on your campus, Elvina or A Zapateira; they share a hillside but not a schedule.

What you need depends entirely on your nationality. EU, EEA, and Swiss students need no visa; you just register for a NIE (foreigner ID number) if you stay long enough. Non-EU students staying over 90 days generally need a national student visa arranged at a Spanish consulate before arrival, then a TIE residency card once in Spain.

Start the visa process early, it's slow and document-heavy: proof of enrolment, funds, private health insurance, and often a criminal record check and medical certificate. Once in Spain, book your NIE/TIE appointment (cita previa) the moment you arrive, as slots vanish fast in big cities.

• EU/EEA/Swiss, no visa, just register for a NIE
• Non-EU over 90 days, student visa before arrival
• Get your TIE card within 30 days of landing
• Book the cita previa appointment immediately

Galicia feeds you properly: pulpo á feira, pimientos de padrón in season, and Estrella Galicia on every tap, brewed in this very city. The glass-galleried facades along the Marina earned the 'city of crystal' name, María Pita square hosts the civic life, and the Paseo Marítimo delivers the daily Atlantic. Sunday means long lunches, rain or shine, mostly rain.

• Eat pulpo a feira at a proper pulperia at least once; it is Galicia's dish and the city does it justice.
• Drink Estrella Galicia at the source; its hometown brewery status is a point of genuine local pride here.
• Walk the Paseo Maritimo out to the Tower of Hercules, nearly 2,000 years old and still lighting ships home.

The centre around Plaza de Lugo and the Ensanche keeps you between the beaches, the tapas streets and the shops, the classic exchange base. Monte Alto, the old fishermen's quarter by the lighthouse, is bohemian and affordable, while Elviña and A Zapateira serve the campuses with quieter streets. Flats facing the open sea trade views for winter wind.

• The centre or Ensanche for the standard student setup, minutes from both the beaches and the tapas streets.
• Monte Alto for real neighbourhood character and fair rents up on the headland by the Tower of Hercules.
• Mind the exposure: ocean-facing flats sound romantic until the winter wind starts testing the windows.

Santiago de Compostela sits about half an hour away by fast train, the whole pilgrim finale for the price of a sandwich. ESN fills buses to the Costa da Morte's wild cliffs and the Cíes islands' beaches, Porto works as the international weekend, and the airport flies direct to Madrid, Barcelona and London. Galicia rewards staying regional.

• Train to Santiago de Compostela in about half an hour; go once for the cathedral and again for the food.
• Take the ESN buses to the Costa da Morte and the Cies; Galicia's coast is the semester's real luxury.
• Weekend in Porto when you want a change of country; the airport covers Madrid, Barcelona and London direct.

Arrive equipped for weather that means it: from October the rain settles in and the beachfront wind earns respect, so bring a real waterproof, not an umbrella-shaped hope. Sort the Millennium card and the ESN signup in week one, both compound all semester. And if a bank demands an NIE you lack, the app-based accounts bridge the gap.

• Pack proper rain gear before October arrives; the Galician winter rain is a season, not a passing event.
• Handle the Millennium card and the ESN buddy signup in your very first days; both keep paying off weekly.
• If a traditional bank stalls waiting on your NIE, an app-based bank bridges the gap while paperwork grinds.