Valencia for Erasmus students

Spain is one of the main destiny in the world for students. It is a reference for Latin-Americans and Americans. Furthermore, Spain is the country which gets more students thought European exchange programs. Some of the most attractive cities are Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca, and Granada. Probably they are the most famous around the world for Erasmus students, however, we are forgetting one of the most important city in Spain, Valencia. Valencia is known internationally because of the beaches, chiringuitos (beach bars), paella or the privileged weather. However, this city can offer you much more. There are recognized public and private Universities, good research centers, rigorous postgraduate studies and Hight academic lever, great entertainment environment and a prosperous international community.

If you want to decide where you want to study for a while, it is important to know some information about the city and the Universities which you can study, what can offer you and what you can find there. Let’s start the tour. Valencia has 800.000 population, it is the third biggest city in Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona. It is in the south-east, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a very touristic place because of the weather (between other reasons), warm in summer, but also in winter, not getting less than 10 degrees in December and January. Sun is always shining, there are more than 300 sunny days in a year.

What about the quality of the University? In 2012-2013, University of Valencia (UV) had 63.940 students. Furthermore, UV is among the fourth most outstanding in I+D, 18 University Research Institutes. In 2012 UV got the prize as the best Erasmus Institution in Spain. Currently, from the total of student’s degree, 8.15% is Erasmus. In master the rate is higher, 15.45% are foreigner’s students. But it is even higher in Doctorate, 20.49% of the total come from another country. In total, there are more than 2000 students incoming in International Mobility Programs.

There are four Universities in Valencia, two public and two private: Universidad de Valencia, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Universidad Católica San Vicente Martir, and Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera. Universidad de Valencia, de public main one, is running for 500 years, having a recognized international prestige. This University can offer you any type of study you are interested. It is divided into four campus: Blasco Ibañez (letters studies and social area as psychology, pedagogy, philosophy, history, geography, languages, medicine…), Tarongers (law, criminology, economy, international relations, human resources…), Burjasot (physics, chemistry, astronomy, computer science, biology, mathematics ...), Ontinyent (economics, teaching, sciences of physical activity and sports…). All engineering belongs to another University, also public one, the Polytechnic University of Valencia. In this link you can find all the studies which the university can offer you, exactly 54 degrees. https://www.uv.es/uvweb/universidad/es/estudios-grado/oferta-grados/oferta-grados-1285846094474.html. With the new European plan (Bolonia) all studies have a duration of 4 years (instead 3 or 5 as time ago), except Medicine and double-degrees. Further, there are 117 masters in total, you can find them in the following link: https://www.uv.es/uvweb/universidad/es/estudios-postgrado/masteres-oficiales/oferta-masteres-oficiales/masteres-ramas-conocimiento-1285848941532.html. If you are interested in a doctor’s degree there are choices for you as well, 64 doctorates are waiting for you: https://www.uv.es/uvweb/universidad/es/oferta-programas-doctorado-/doctorados-orden-alfabetico-1285888753863.html .

But not everything in life is related to studies. As we know, nightlife is very important for students. Valencia is a famous city for the amazing nightlife. There are many areas and places to go for all tastes and styles where you can eat, dance, drink and have fun. You can see how the tables of the bars come out on the streets when the sun is shining. Everyone eat and drink outside. Valencia is a Mediterranean city, so people go out very late, the night is long until next day when the sun is rising at 7 am or 8 am. People have dinner at 9 pm or 10 pm, even later during the weekends, that’s why the restaurants close around 1.30am. After dinner, mostly young people go to the bars to have a drink. The discos open when the bars close, about 2.30-3pm. Nightlife in Valencia is very intense as you can see. The most famous area where you can go out is ¨El barrio del Carmen¨, the main street is called ¨Caballeros¨. Here is exactly where is located the Old town. The city has more than 2150 years of history, that’s why it is reflected in its Old Town, one of the most extensive in Spain. It is awesome when you get lost in the narrow streets of the neighborhood. You can always discover new corners full of emblematic buildings and rich historical-monumental heritage. There are many alternative-modern bars and pubs (bar-disco) in these old streets. There are also a couple of squares where you can find the most famous bars like ¨Plaza del negrito¨ or ¨Bolseria. Other areas like Rufaza, Canovas or city’s university are very popular as well for youth. The two first are close to the center, but not the third one which is the most requested for students because most of them live in this area. It is important to highlight the last famous place in the city, the Port. During the winter you will not find many places to go out here, but in summer Port becomes another place completely different, a lot of fancy bars are available for locals and tourists.

Gastronomy is also important. Valencia has an extensive variety of food. The main famous dish is Paella, as almost everyone knows, but there are many more. The Mediterranean diet is one of the most famous and healthy around the world. People eat meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, beans, fruits, pasta, rice, everything you can imagine always cooked with olive oil. You will not repeat any dish in several weeks if you want to try all recipes. Some of the most popular dishes are Seafood Paella, Paella Valenciana (chicken and rabbit), Fideua with alioli (seafood noodles with a mayonnaise-garlic sauce), gazpacho (tomato soup), Arroz Negro (squid rice), Cocido (meat and vegetable soup). And of course, we cannot forget the Tapas, small dishes to share on the table. People usually have dinner sharing the dishes, this is what tapas means. All dishes are in the middle, so you can taste many delicious recipes as Croquetas (fried balls of different flavors), Pulpo a la gallega (Octopus with potatoes and paprika), Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes with two sauces), Squid, Cuttlefish, Jamón Serrano, Manchego old cheese, Iberian sausages, Morro- Chicharron, Ensaladilla Rusa, Tortilla de patatas, etc.

I hope you have now enough reasons to consider Valencia as a good alternative where to carry out your studies, or at least, to visit it for a few days and enjoy all this city can offer you.