If you ever get the opportunity to go study abroad, you should definitely do it. If you’re going to study abroad in Salamanca, I have some good news for you. It’s the perfect city for Erasmus students. Why, you ask me? Here’s why.
Latest update: 23 June 2019
Why should you study abroad?
Studying abroad a life-changing opportunity. You get a chance to learn a new language. You make dozens of new international friends.
There will be a lot of stories you can tell your grandchildren when you’re old and you’re chilling in your rocking chair.
You become more independent. You get a thorough insight into a foreign culture.
Going on Erasmus is an adventure if there ever was one.
Are those enough reasons?
If yes, good. Continue reading.
If no, you might as well close this page right now.
1. The number of students on Erasmus in Salamanca
Salamanca is a true Erasmus city. Obviously, in order for a city to be qualified as an Erasmus city, it must be a university city first. Out of its 230,000 inhabitants, 30,000 are students, making them one of the primary sources of income for the city.
Out of these 30,000 students, you’ll find that around 9,000 students are on Erasmus in Salamanca.
That means that one in every four students is studying abroad there.
Let that sink in for a minute.
This, in turn, means that there are tons of things to do for these people. In other words: as an Erasmus student in Salamanca, you’ll never be bored.
There are two main Erasmus-oriented organisations in Salamanca: ESN and Nuve Erasmus. Both offer a great variety of things to do and trips.
On top of that, there’s this event called “Nochevieja universitaria”, which translates to “Academic New Year’s Eve”.
The concept of this event is that a lot – and I mean A LOT – of students, from all over Spain, gather in Salamanca to celebrate New Year’s, at the beginning of December.
If you have other friends who are studying elsewhere in Spain, this event is a fun way to see them again after a few months apart.
It’s surprisingly easy to be an Erasmus student in Spain. You’ll meet new people, make awesome friends and have the time of your life.
2. Salamanca is a small city
Like I said before, Salamanca has about 230,000 inhabitants. Now, for some people, that might be a lot, but compared to other major cities in Spain (or in Europe, for that matter), Salamanca is relatively small.
This can be both a positive and a negative aspect of life in Salamanca. On the one hand, you’ll get to come across people you know in the streets, you’ll basically know everyone and you’ll get more personal assistance in classes.
On the other hand, however, you might feel like you don’t have any privacy and you’ll want some time for yourself.
In the end, it all comes down to what kind of city you prefer.
3. The Salmantinos don’t have an accent
In Spain, it’s a well-known fact that the inhabitants of Castilla y León are generally considered to speak the standard variety of Spanish. In other words, they don’t have a specific location-based accent.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
If you’re going on Erasmus, you’re probably looking to learn a new language (or at least enhance your knowledge of a language you already know).
In that case, I highly recommend going to a city located in Castilla y León. And, what do you know, that’s exactly where you can find Salamanca.
Another plus is that it’s relatively easy for a foreigner to understand what someone from Salamanca is saying, because they don’t really have any specific vocabulary or pronunciations.
As for me, improving my Spanish knowledge was more or less the only objective of my studying in Spain. And look how that turned out. 😉
4. Salamanca’s old city centre
Basically the entirety of Salamanca is made of the same kind of stone.
Most, if not all, of the buildings in the city centre consist of the same blond sandstone. There’s a reason why people call Salamanca the “Golden City” (La Dorada).
Despite – or maybe even because of – the recent oxidation and deterioration of the stone, Salamanca is still more than worth visiting. Or living in, for that matter.
In 1988, the Old City was proclaimed UNESCO World Heritage for “retaining its key attributes of authenticity in terms of form, design, materials, and substance”.
(Tip: Check out the Roman bridge at the south of the city, stretching over the river Tormes!)
5. Cleanliness
Coming from a city where the authorities don’t really go out of their way to keep the city clean, it’s safe to say I was impressed at how clean Salamanca really is.
Every night, city workers set out with the mission to clean the streets – and they do a terrific job every single day.
It’s kind of funny to see these cleaning cars do their thing while you’re still going out at 3 am.
When I – and the other people who were on Erasmus in Salamanca – got my orientation at the beginning of the semester, we were told over and over again that Salamanca was a clean city.
I thought they were exaggerating, but as it turns out, they were more than justified to do so.
6. Safety
In those same orientation sessions, the chief of the police corps was also there to tell us all about how Salamanca worked.
In his five-minute speech, he must have said “Salamanca is a very safe city” at least ten times. It was a bit much, but he did get his message across.
During my four-month stay, I didn’t find out about any big crime once. That might be a coincidence, but I do believe Salamanca is generally a very safe and secure city.
My female friends told me they didn’t feel nearly as oppressed and viewed when they were walking home alone at night as they did at home.
7. Varillas
If you’re a healthy mom looking into Erasmus destinations for your dear child, you might want to look away now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Everyone who has spent some time in Salamanca knows about Varillas. It’s a restaurant that is pretty much only opened at night, where you can get French fries, kebab and hamburgers.
Located in Calle Varillas, right in the centre of the Salamanca nightlife, its main clientele is made up of drunk students who want to eat something greasy before they head home and wake up with a hangover.
I must admit, every single time I found myself in this restaurant, I was in that situation exactly. And I have no shame or regrets. Getting number 24 (fries, meat and sauce) here was often the best part of a night out.
Sitting at a table, engaged in drunk conversations with my friends while munching on some greasy food? Those are the things I’ll remember.
Studying abroad in Salamanca
Looking into a place to study abroad in Spain, where people know each other, you can have a LOT of fun and your Spanish will increase drastically?
Go to Salamanca.
If I haven’t managed to convince you in this blog post, I’m afraid nothing will.
If you do go on Erasmus to Salamanca, feel free to send me a message or leave a comment for specific tips and tricks.
And as always, thanks for reading!
-S
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Ketsia
September 14, 2019 at 9:18 amHi Sander!
Thank you sharing this with story about Salamanca!
I am a student from Belgium and I am now in Salamanca for my Erasmus. It is my third day here and I am a bit out of my element at this moment.
I know it takes time to find new friends and stuff but do you have any tips to where I can find Erasmus students in the city (preferably English-speaking) around here?
Sander
September 16, 2019 at 9:31 pmHey Ketsia!
First of all, you did a great job choosing Salamanca as your home for the next semester. But I realise that it can be a bit overwhelming at first.
Finding Erasmus students shouldn’t be too difficult. One thing I did is attend as many ESN events as possible. They’re great to meet new people, because everyone who is there is just as scared as you are and just as keen to make new friends. Also take advantage of the ESN trips to explore the area around you and meet new people while you’re at it.
If you like going out, there’s a bar called the Irish Theatre where most foreign students hang out at nighttime. This is usually the place where ESN parties are hosted as well.
Lastly, I also found it easy to find other Erasmus students in my classes. Just take a look around and see who is sitting alone, and go talk to them. Ask them a question about the class or about something else, and before you know it, you’re talking to them.
I sincerely hope this helps a little bit and I hope you get used to life as a foreign student. I know it can seem overwhelming, but it’ll probably end up being the best semester of your student life.
Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with! 🙂
Nazrul Islam
November 23, 2019 at 5:46 amThis is very useful information for those of you who have studied abroad, let us know in the comments if you can think of any more good reasons to study abroad and whether you agree with the list so far! Thanks again for the post.
Faraja Brown
June 23, 2020 at 1:45 pmHey. Just wanted to know if salamanca city is safe for a black/ african person to go for studying and leisure.
Sander
June 25, 2020 at 8:09 pmHey Faraja! Thanks for your comment. As a white man, I, unfortunately, can’t tell you much about the Black experience as a student abroad in Salamanca. What I can tell you, however, is that I personally never came across any racist/discriminatory situation in my five months there. Salamanca is one of Spain’s most Catholic cities, but as far as my experience is concerned, everybody is welcomed. I hope that answers your question. 🙂
Ruchita Shukla
December 24, 2021 at 6:21 pmNice work . Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us.
Lottie
May 11, 2023 at 8:59 amWhere is the best area to live as an Erasmus student? And how good was your Spanish before and after going? I’m scared mine isn’t good enough to form any real connections with people …
Sander
May 12, 2023 at 12:22 pmHi Lottie! In my experience, any address within the city’s perimeter (Paseo de Canalejas and N-630) is great. If you want to be a bit further away from the action, find a place to stay just across the Puente Romano.
As far as my Spanish is concerned: I had been studying the language at university for two years before coming here, so I already had a decent chunk of knowledge. That said, I knew plenty of people who had very limited knowledge of Spanish before coming here, and they did just fine. If you’re trying to connect with other international students or expats, you’ll use English more than any other language, so try not to worry about this too much.
Evelyn
July 17, 2023 at 5:49 pmHi Lottie,
I just came across your message. We are currently looking for a place to stay as well. Would you consider sharing a location? Maybe we can contact each other?
Kind regards, Evelyn