Cordoba.

Cordoba is small and student life is intimate and cheap, centred on the tabernas of the old town and the bars near the university faculties. Spring is the big season, when the Patios festival, the May Crosses and the Feria fill the city with flowers, wine and flamenco. It is less of an Erasmus party hub than Seville, but that means faster immersion into Spanish.

• Base your nights around the tabernas of the old town and the student bars near Ciudad Jardin.
• Do not miss the May calendar: the Patios festival, the Cruces de Mayo and the Feria de Cordoba are the year's highlights.
• Ask the Cordoba group on Studcasa where the Erasmus crowd meets, since the scene is small and runs on word of mouth.

Cordoba is one of the most affordable university cities in Spain: budget 650 to 900 euros a month and you will live comfortably. Rooms are cheap, the city is small enough to walk or cycle everywhere for free, and Andalusian tabernas serve generous, low-cost food. The local Montilla-Moriles wines are inexpensive too.

• A shared-flat room runs 250 to 400 euros a month, among the cheapest of any Spanish university city.
• Walk or cycle; the flat, compact centre means you can skip a transport pass most of the time.
• Eat and drink in tabernas where a glass of local Montilla wine and a tapa cost just a couple of euros.

Finding a room in Cordoba is relatively easy and cheap. Look on Idealista and local Facebook groups for a piso compartido in or near the centro historico or around Ciudad Jardin, which is close to several faculties. Because it is a small market, a quick trip to view places in person on arrival often works better than booking blind from abroad.

• Search Idealista and 'Pisos Cordoba' groups for a piso compartido; Ciudad Jardin is handy for the university.
• If you can, arrive a few days early and view rooms in person, as the market is small and moves on word of mouth.
• Avoid ground-floor rooms without air conditioning; Cordoba's summer heat is no joke.

Cordoba is flat, compact and walkable, and you can cross the historic centre in twenty minutes on foot. Aucorsa city buses cover the wider city and the campus at Rabanales out of town, and the network of cycle lanes makes a bike the smart choice. The AVE station connects you to the rest of Andalusia and Madrid in under two hours.

• Walk or cycle the flat centre; buy a bono card for Aucorsa buses if you study at the Rabanales science campus.
• Aucorsa's line to Rabanales is the one science students rely on, so check the timetable, as it is less frequent.
• The AVE and Media Distancia trains from Cordoba station reach Seville, Malaga and Madrid fast.

The University of Cordoba (UCO) is mid-sized and research-focused, particularly strong in agronomy, veterinary science, biosciences and the humanities. Its faculties are split between the historic centre, with the Menendez Pidal medicine campus and the letters faculty, and the out-of-town Rabanales science campus. Enrolment and coursework run through the UCO's online portal, and class sizes are more personal than at the big-city universities.

• Check which campus your faculty sits on; the sciences are out at Rabanales, humanities and medicine in town.
• The Biblioteca Universitaria and the faculty libraries offer air-conditioned study space, a real bonus in summer.

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

Cordoba's signature dish is salmorejo, a thick, chilled tomato-and-bread cream topped with jamon and egg, richer than gazpacho and perfect for the heat. Add rabo de toro, slow-cooked oxtail, flamenquin, rolled breaded pork, and berenjenas con miel, fried aubergines drizzled with cane honey, all washed down with the local Montilla-Moriles wines. The gourmet Mercado Victoria is a fun place to graze.

• Order salmorejo cordobes and berenjenas con miel at a taberna, with a chilled fino from Montilla-Moriles.
• Graze the stalls of the Mercado Victoria or the Plaza de la Corredera for a relaxed, varied dinner.
• Try rabo de toro, the city's hearty oxtail signature, when the weather cools.

The Juderia, the whitewashed old Jewish quarter around the Mezquita, is the historic heart, beautiful but touristy. San Basilio nearby is famous for its flower-filled patios; the wider Centro has the markets and everyday life; and Ciudad Jardin is a leafy, practical residential area close to the university and good value for students. El Brillante on the hill is the upscale option.

• Ciudad Jardin for affordable rooms near the university and everyday amenities.
• The Centro and around the Plaza de la Corredera to be walkable to nightlife and markets.
• The Juderia and San Basilio for beauty and history, though rooms are pricier and busier with tourists.

Cordoba's high-speed station is its secret weapon. Seville is just 45 minutes away, Malaga and its beaches an hour, and Madrid under two hours, making even a spontaneous weekend easy. Closer by, the Renaissance towns of Ubeda and Baeza, the Moorish palace ruins of Medina Azahara and the Subbetica villages make great day-trips.

• Ride the AVE to Seville (45 min), Malaga (1h) for the coast, or Madrid (under 2h) for a bigger weekend.
• Day-trip to Medina Azahara, the ruined caliphal city just outside town, by bus or a short taxi.
• Explore the whitewashed Subbetica villages like Zuheros, or the Renaissance UNESCO towns of Ubeda and Baeza.

The defining fact of Cordoba life is the summer heat: 40 degrees and beyond is normal from June, so adopt the local rhythm of shuttered afternoons and late evenings out. Book accommodation with air conditioning, carry water, and plan sightseeing for early morning. Spring, especially the patio season in May, is the loveliest and busiest time.

• Insist on air conditioning in any summer let, and shift your day around the heat: siesta the afternoon, socialise late.
• Book any May visit or accommodation well ahead, as the Patios festival packs the city out.
• Carry a refillable water bottle; there are public fountains around the old town.