Zaragoza.

The University of Zaragoza lists ESN alongside AEGEE, AIESEC, IAESTE and other international associations as its main student networks, all offering a route into events, trips and volunteering. ESN's national programme in Spain runs under a Students Helping Students principle, pairing newcomers with local buddies and running activities across its sections. On campus, Erasmus students can also join faculty tutor programmes, where a local student helps a newcomer settle in during the first weeks. Between these associations, faculty welcome weeks and the general buzz of a city with tens of thousands of students, the social calendar rarely runs dry.

• Join ESN Zaragoza or AEGEE through the university's list of international student associations.
• Get an ESNcard for discounts and access to trips, parties and volunteering.
• Ask your faculty about a tutor programme pairing you with a local student.

Zaragoza's tram and bus network runs on a shared Lazo card system, with single rides at 1.70 euros or 0.55 euros per trip once loaded, and a young traveller discount cutting a 90 day pass from 76.35 to 47.95 euros. Bizi, the city's public bike share, charges a 60 euro annual fee or 10 euros a month, with the first 30 minutes of every ride free. University residence rooms run from about 250 to 680 euros a month depending on services, giving a lower baseline for rent, food and transport than Madrid or Barcelona.

• Load a Lazo card for tram and bus, with trips from 0.55 euros once loaded.
• Use Bizi bike share for 10 euros a month, with the first 30 minutes free.
• Expect lower rent and daily costs overall than in Madrid or Barcelona.

Two residences sit on the main campus: CMU Pedro Cerbuna with 250 rooms and the Residencia Juvenil Baltasar Gracián with 168 double rooms, both open to exchange students who apply directly. Private colegios mayores and residences across the city typically charge 500 to 650 euros a month, with a citywide average closer to 500 euros once meals and services are included. For independent rooms, the university's own housing service and the city's youth housing service both list private market options and point toward faculty noticeboards. Apply for university housing as soon as your exchange place is confirmed, since beds are limited.

• Apply directly to CMU Pedro Cerbuna or Baltasar Gracián for a room on campus.
• Budget 500 to 650 euros a month for a private residence or colegio mayor.
• Check the university's housing service and the city's youth housing service for private rooms.

Zaragoza's tram line runs the length of the city and connects with the bus network through the same Lazo card, with free transfers within an hour. From the airport, bus 505 covers the roughly thirty minute route into the centre for about 4.50 euros, stopping at the Delicias intermodal station, useful if you are also catching a train or long distance bus. Once you are settled, Bizi's public bikes cover the flat city well, with docking stations across the centre and university campuses. The old town and San Francisco campus areas are compact enough to cross on foot in well under half an hour.

• Take bus 505 from the airport to the centre and Delicias station in about thirty minutes.
• Load a Lazo card once for free transfers between tram and bus within the hour.
• Register for Bizi bike share to get around the flat city centre quickly.

Most exchange students enrol through one of the University of Zaragoza's faculties, each with its own international relations contact; the Faculty of Sciences, for instance, lists English friendly subjects and a dedicated coordinator for incoming students. The university counted about 27,800 degree and exchange students in 2024 to 2025 across 17 own faculties and schools, alongside a smaller Erasmus intake through faculties such as Social Work and Economics. Check your own faculty's calendar and English taught course list before you commit to modules, since language of instruction and semester dates vary between schools and between the Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel campuses.

• Contact your specific faculty's international relations office, not a single central one.
• Confirm which subjects are taught in English before choosing your modules.
• Check whether your programme runs from the Zaragoza, Huesca or Teruel campus.

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

El Tubo, the tangle of narrow streets between Libertad, Estébanes and Cuatro de Agosto, is where Zaragoza eats: dozens of small bars serve mushrooms grilled with garlic and parsley, migas, croquetas and cheap house wine, often standing at the counter. It is loud and unpretentious, mixing students, locals and older regulars at the same bar tops, so ordering one small plate at a time and moving on is the local rhythm rather than settling into a single table. Ternasco, the region's roast lamb, and wines from nearby Cariñena are worth trying beyond the tapas circuit. Supermarkets and the central market fill in the rest of the week.

• Hop between El Tubo's bars for mushrooms, migas and croquetas rather than one long meal.
• Try ternasco, Aragon's roast lamb, and a Cariñena wine at least once.
• Expect narrow, noisy streets rather than a sit down restaurant for a typical night out.

San Francisco centres on the University of Zaragoza's Plaza San Francisco campus and is one of the liveliest student areas, packed with bars and restaurants and close to the Parque Grande. Centro, the historic core, houses the Faculty of Economics and Business and stays busy with bars and museums, though it means living inside the old town's narrower streets. Actur, next to Campus Río Ebro, is more modern and relaxed, with parks along the Ebro and about twenty minutes from the centre by tram. Delicias is more residential, cheaper and sits right by the main train and bus station.

• Choose San Francisco to live inside the liveliest student area, next to Parque Grande.
• Pick Actur for a calmer, more modern base near Campus Río Ebro and the tram.
• Consider Delicias for cheaper, more residential rooms close to the main train station.

Zaragoza's AVE station at Delicias sits almost exactly halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, each around an hour and a half away by high speed train, with dozens of daily departures in both directions. That makes both Spanish capitals realistic day trips or easy weekend bases, without the price or crowds of living in either one. Closer to home, Aragon's own mountains and smaller towns are a shorter ride away for a change of pace between longer trips. Book AVE tickets a little ahead for the cheapest fares, since prices climb as departure gets closer.

• Reach Madrid or Barcelona by AVE in around an hour and a half from Delicias station.
• Book AVE tickets ahead of time, since fares rise fast as the date approaches.
• Use Zaragoza as a cheaper base for weekends in either Spanish capital.

Layer up against the cierzo, the cold, dry wind that funnels down the Ebro valley and makes Zaragoza one of the windiest cities in Spain, especially in winter and spring: a wind resistant coat and a scarf work better than one thick jumper. Plan around the Spanish schedule too, since lunch runs from about two to three in the afternoon, dinner rarely starts before nine, and many small shops close for a few hours around midday. Expect life to run later and slower than you are used to, and let your own timetable slide rather than fighting the local one.

• Pack a wind resistant coat and scarf for the cierzo, especially in winter and spring.
• Shift your meals later: lunch around two, dinner rarely before nine in the evening.
• Expect small shops to close for a few hours around midday most days.