Cadiz.

The scene is intimate and local: tapas crawls through La Viña, international-student pubs like Nahu and M2, and sunset drinks at La Caleta beach between the two castles. ESN Cadiz organises the exchange crowd from the old town. Then February arrives and everything changes: the Carnaval, ten days of chirigotas singing satire in the streets, one of Spain's great parties.

• Start at Nahu and M2, the pubs where the international crowd concentrates, then let La Vina's bars take over.
• Watch sunset from La Caleta at least weekly; the beach between the castles is the city's golden hour.
• Build your February around the Carnaval; ten days of singing street satire unlike anything else in Spain.

Cádiz lives on 650 to 850 euros a month. Rooms run 235 to 475 euros with La Viña around 250 to 400, a seafood lunch costs 14, and urban buses charge well under a euro a ride. The catamaran across the bay runs a few euros, and the free entertainment, beaches, sunsets and Carnaval rehearsals, is Andalusia's best.

• Rooms run 235 to 475 euros a month; La Vina keeps its character and prices in decent balance at 250 to 400.
• Urban bus rides cost about 0.70 euros, and the rechargeable transport card cuts the interurban hops too.
• Cross the bay by catamaran to El Puerto for a few euros; commuting by boat never stops feeling special.

Check your campus first: of the four, Cádiz old town takes most exchange students, Puerto Real sits across the bay, and Jerez and Algeciras are separate cities. In the old town, La Viña puts you in the carnival heart, El Mentidero balances university life with quieter streets, and Cortadura trades distance for cheaper rooms by the long beach.

• Confirm which of the four UCA campuses actually hosts your faculty before hunting a room anywhere at all.
• Pick La Vina or El Mentidero when attending the old-town campus; Cortadura saves real money by the beach.
• If you study at Puerto Real, live there or along the Cercanias line rather than deep inside the old town.

The old town crosses on foot in minutes, cars barely fit anyway. The Cercanías train links the peninsula to the bay towns, with a 'Cádiz Universidad' stop an 11-minute walk from the Puerto Real campus, and buses from Plaza Asdrúbal cover the same run hourly. The catamaran crosses to El Puerto and Rota, and the nearest airport is Jerez.

• Walk the old town by default; the peninsula is small, flat and built long before cars were a consideration.
• Use the Cercanias train for Puerto Real; the Cadiz Universidad stop leaves an 11-minute walk to campus.
• Fly from Jerez airport, one direct Cercanias ride away, or route through Seville's bigger hub when needed.

The Universidad de Cádiz anchors Europe's SEA-EU coastal alliance and spreads across Cádiz old town, Puerto Real, Jerez and Algeciras. The old-town campus hosts the humanities in a former royal hospital; sciences and engineering cluster at Puerto Real across the bay. Teaching runs in Spanish almost throughout, so treat English-taught promises with scepticism and check course by course.

• Map your faculty to its campus before arranging anything at all; the four UCA sites are truly separate.
• Expect Spanish-language teaching and plan accordingly; English options thin out fast outside masters.

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

Cádiz eats from the ocean: pescaíto frito by the paper cone from freidurías, tortillitas de camarones fried lacy and hot, and seafood lunches that stretch the afternoon. The Levante wind is the city's moody roommate, blowing hard for days and rearranging beach plans. Life happens outdoors, between plazas, beaches and the sea wall.

• Order pescaito frito by weight from a neighbourhood freiduria and eat it out of the paper on the sea wall.
• Try tortillitas de camarones anywhere La Vina fries them; crisp shrimp lace that only works eaten hot.
• Learn to read the Levante wind forecast; when it blows hard, swap beach plans for the interior streets.

La Viña is the carnival barrio by the ocean, all fishing-quarter lanes and bars, and the classic student pick. El Mentidero holds the old town's northern half with intense university life and calmer nights. Beyond the gates, the blocks along Playa Victoria offer modern flats and a superb urban beach, and Cortadura stretches cheaper down the sandbar.

• La Vina for the full gaditano experience, carnival roots, fried fish and the sea at the street's end.
• El Mentidero for living among the old-town faculties while keeping a touch more sleep at the weekend.
• Playa Victoria's newer blocks for modern comfort right on the beach at fair prices, a bus ride from the lanes.

Morocco is the headline: ferries cross from Tarifa in about 75 minutes, or direct from Cádiz to Tangier from around 38 euros, making Africa a real weekend. Seville sits about 1h40 up the rails, Jerez's sherry bodegas 40 minutes, and the white villages and Tarifa's kite beaches fill the rest. Fly from Jerez or through Seville for the wider map.

• Take the ferry to Tangier, direct from Cadiz or via Tarifa; few exchanges offer Africa for a weekend.
• Train to Seville in about 1h40 for the big-city fix, or just 40 minutes to Jerez for the sherry bodegas.
• Bus the white villages and Tarifa; the wind that bothers your beach towel powers Europe's kite capital.

The campus mix-up is the classic error, students renting in Cádiz old town then discovering their faculty sits in Puerto Real or Jerez; verify before signing. Book anything Carnaval-adjacent months ahead, the city fills up. And respect the Levante: when the hot east wind settles in, plans and terraces surrender, and locals simply adjust.

• Verify your campus before renting anything; Puerto Real and Jerez are commutes, Algeciras is another life.
• Reserve February housing and any visitor beds months in advance; the Carnaval books the entire city solid.
• When the Levante blows, copy the locals: interior streets, long lunches and zero ambition at the beach.