Salamanca - an ideal Study Abroad city

I would recommend Salamanca 100 times over to any student looking to study abroad in Spain. A smaller, manageable, and less expensive alternative to living in Madrid, this city has a real Castellano feel. The academic program, run by IES and staffed by university professors, was as challenging as it should have been and no more, giving us time to explore the city and the rest of Spain on the weekends. IES also allowed us to take classes at the University (a great experience, but don't expect to make long-lasting friends with Spanish students - they couldn't care less about you).

Most of us lived with wonderful families who had longstanding relationships with IES, and some lived in student housing and did make local friends. My madre took great care of my roommate and me, made the best paella and tortilla I've tasted to this day, and didn't hesitate to correct our Spanish to help us improve. Our IES group went on a few trips to Segovia, Sevilla, Granada, and a bull fight.

Salamanca is full of treasures - the Plaza Mayor and its cafes selling leche helada, tapas on Cafe Van Dyck, the delicious cookies sold by the nuns at Convento de las Duenas, late night churros con chocolate, and the hundreds of bars (gringo and local) along Calle de la Gran Via. I highly recommend going during the school year, when the city is packed to its gills with Spanish students. We arrived in the last two weeks of Summer, and the town completely transformed when the official semester began.