What's the best city to study abroad in Spain? Seville or Granada?

Show all answers

Chelsea

It depends on what you are looking for. I studied in Caceres for 4 months and loved the fact their were few American students.
Granada and Sevilla both have many advantages and disadvantages:
Granada is a lot smaller than Sevilla and is incredibly beautiful with the mountains and the Alhambra. Though, I don't know if I would want to study there because there is not a lot to do or see. On the other hand, a bus to the beach would not take long.
Sevilla is a much larger city with a TON of history. It is well connected to many cities by trains and buses (check out the websites below). Sevilla has the catedral, with the giralda, the alcazar, toro de oro, plaza de espana (used in one of the newer star wars movies) and many other landmarks. Sevillian night life is pretty amazing in its own right. Sevilla is home to many smaller colleges and universities and has a wealth of Spanish, American and European students - creating quite the night life. I experienced it one weekend with a 'Spanish sister' that I stayed with in high school, it was a pretty crazy night.
Depending on the time of year you go, the weather is either going to be HOT, or warm. Sevilla is pretty nice all year around, but HOT in the summer. Granada is up in the mountains and the weather is cooler.

Overall I truly believe that you would have a better experience in Sevilla but if you wanted a smaller city experience, go with Granada.

Also, take in to account your living situation. If you have the opportunity to stay with a host family - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. It is the best and most efficient way to learn the language AND the culture!

One other thing, check out the ryanair website for cheap airfare to other european cities from the airport in either Granada or Sevilla.

Enjoy the beauty of the country and have fun!!

bcn_mimosa

If you want to study Spanish and want the best beaches near by I would stick to Malaga.. Its great ( or you can just hop on a train and be in Malaga within an hour and a half).. They have great weather, The winter is mild and so many things to do there... Its great...

I would pick Malaga...!

Take care..

Bcn_mimosa from Barcelona, Spain

SimplyWhite

I've been to both and decided to study in Seville.
It's beautiful and nice, although Granada has the friendliest people.

Reda T

When I was high school I studied in Spain and I just loved Seville....it had everything you wanted and so much more.....have fun..Spain is just a dream land.

myspaindelight

Neither of both cities lies on the coast.
Granada is better known for student and young people life.
Granada is probaly colder in Winter, both are very hot in Summer.

Why not Barcelona or Malaga?, both have beach and a lot of night life.

sunny.lightning

I spent a year in Cadiz, a smaller city on the Atlantic. The beaches are beautiful and the climate is great - we were tanning on la playa though Oct and early Nov. In the old town, you're always walking distance away from the beach. And despite the great location, Cadiz not as overrun by tourists as somewhere like Malaga. As far as things to do... the nightlife is definitely alive. There's a lot of clubs, and hole-in-the-wall bars to see free live flamenco. If you're around for Carnaval in February... prepare yourself.

I visited Sevilla a few times, and it was okay, but it seemed to me that there were so many other foreign students there. They kind of traveled in packs and didn't mix with the Spaniards. And Sevilla is miserable in the summer; it gets SO hot. You can take the bus to the beach (the nearest one is Cadiz), but are you really going to want to make that 1.5 hour trip all the time?

Granada is one of my favorite places in Spain. The free tapas with drinks definitely adds to the nightlife. It's closer to the coast than Sevilla, but in the mountains. The mountain climate makes it a bit colder. I didn't meet too many other foreign students in Granada, so it might be easier to meet Spanish people.

In any case, in the south of Spain you will find most people are friendly and accepting of foreigners. My advice to you is that it can be good to go with a study abroad group, but you have to break away from that group to learn anything! Definitely live with a host family if you have the chance.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: