Europe is that unique combination of rich culture, old-world colonial wealth, future-looking technological aptitude and a vibrant youth culture. When looking beyond the English-speaking countries, you will find multiple options for English-taught courses in some of the most exciting cities in the world.

Europe offers access to world, as it is quite literally in the heart of the world, almost equidistant from the far east (Tokyo) and the far west (San Francisco). The accessibility of Europe for Africans allows for large migration up from Africa. This gives students in Europe a wider exposure to people from all continents, as compared to students in other continents.

In this article, Alum-n-i takes you on a whirlwind tour of Europe to give you a feel of the most student-friendly cities in the continent.

Munich, Germany

Perhaps not an obvious choice, but Munich was ranked in the Top 10 student cities in 2018 by QS. It’s the Bavarian counterpart to Berlin, with a famous annual Christmas market, which draws thousands of visitors. Students enjoy the affordability, delicious cuisine and welcoming vibe of Munich. With beautiful historical buildings, museums, churches, parks and a large modern art collection housed at the Neue Pinakothek, you will have plenty of options to fill your free time. Bavaria is also the home to some of Germany’s finest engineering companies, giving it a culture of high performance and cutting-edge technology. The basis of this reputation lies in its institutions like, Technical University of Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.

Berlin, Germany

Berlin has an extremely interesting history, with the fall of the Berlin Wall dating back to 1989. It is hip, modern and historical all at once and students love it. It is also surprisingly affordable, and actually more so than Munich, which for a European capital city is definitely a large plus point. Berlin is extremely cosmopolitan and is therefore very accessible for people that speak only English. It offers an extremely rich art scene, as well as some fine technology schools. On the top of the lists in this vibrant city is Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin.

Milan, Italy

Fashion students flock to Milan for the annual Fashion Week, but don’t let this put you off if you aren’t a fashionista yourself. Beyond the Istituto Europeo di Design are the Università degli Studi di Milano and the Politecnico di Milano. With beautiful monuments and art-filled museums, plenty of green space and easy public transport, Milan is a student’s dream. Located in a strategic place in the centre of Europe, weekends away are made easy and cheap with inter-European flights to Greece, the UK, and France all around 2 hours by flight!

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is consistently loved by students - a beautiful, vibrant city with a strong Catalan culture, this might be your chance to live the Spanish lifestyle. Featuring a beach, beautiful monuments for sightseeing and a strong outdoor evening culture, Barcelona is not as expensive as other European cities. It is also easy to get around by bike, making it a healthy and affordable place to live, a favourite of international students. The University of Barcelona is often the highest ranked institute in this city.

London, United Kingdom

London is vast, with endless gigs, comedy nights, plays and delicious restaurants popping up across the city. A historic and beautiful place, this city can easily feel like the capital of Europe, as a financial capital, museums with a global presence, and populace representations from all over Europe and the world. Each neighbourhood brings something new - choose hip East London, the slower South or Notting Hill vibes in the West - you’ll find your kind of people somewhere in this city of 7 million.. Boasting a myriad of world class institutions to study in, London is a great option for international students not too constrained by budget looking to make it big in a big city. This city, like New York (featured in our Friendliest Cities in North America article) is a networking goldmine, that will serve you well, no matter where in the world you end up working. There is no dearth of top colleges here, with names like the London Business School, London School of Economics and Imperial College of London.

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Perhaps not the obvious choice for those looking to study in the UK, Edinburgh is a surprisingly vibrant city. With Edinburgh castle in your skyline and rolling landscapes just a short ride away, it is a picturesque place to study. With a compact centre of town, walking or cycling anywhere is doable and this helps to keep costs down with relatively high rents. Each summer, Edinburgh Fringe will bring the best comedians, music and theatre shows to your city from all over the world - what could be better? The top ranked institute in the city is the University of Edinburgh.

Lyon, France

The EMLYON Business School and Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon are noteworthy names in this city. Once named the most popular city in France for students, with over 100,000 at any one time, Lyon has a wonderful welcoming reputation. Famous for the annual ‘Festival of Lights’ in December, it also scored highly in cultural attractions and employment opportunities. With delicious cuisine, interesting and beautiful historical attractions, and universities specialising in science and engineering, Lyon could be the student city for you.

Leuven, Belgium

Close to Brussels, Leuven could be overlooked. However, with a large student population and within throwing distance of the European Parliament, Leuven is a great choice for politics buffs. Plenty of international students and many courses led in English with easy to access language programmes make thriving here extremely easy. KU Leuven is the top ranking university in the country and ranked sixth in the world for its research facilities. Low student fees also make this city an attractive option, and easy access to other parts of Europe on weekends another big plus point for potential Leuven-ites.