Bologna is Italy’s student capital (Europe’s oldest university, 1088). The city runs on conversation.
Plan this experience →Top schools: ARCA (€200–280/week, Via Santo Stefano), Cultura Italiana (€190–260/week, Via Castiglione), Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Bologna (€210–280/week). Why Bologna: student energy (90,000 university students), the best food in Italy (you’ll learn food vocabulary fast), fewer tourists than Florence/Rome, excellent cultural scene (cinema, music, art), and the Bolognese are famously talkative. Accommodation: the cheapest of the main student cities. Shared apartment: €350–550/month.