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Living here

The rest of daily life, before it catches you out

Where you sleep and eat, how you get around, where you study, what your badge saves you and what a permit lets you earn, and where the people are. Everything has a source, and anything we could only find second-hand says so.

ESU residences

Student residences, and what a bed costs you

ESU, the regional body for student services, runs residences for University of Padova students. Beds go by a yearly call and a ranking, and the rent depends on your scholarship status and the room.

30 residences22 in Padova itself€105 to €420 a month, bills includedCompare every residence by rent, room and distance

How a bed is assigned

You do not rent an ESU room the way you rent a flat. There is one call a year, a ranking, and an offer you have a few days to accept.

  1. Apply in the summer

    One online application in ESU's Student Desk, with SPID or CIE, or a username if you are an international student.

    Closed: 25 August 2026 at 10:00 for first years, 19 August at 10:00 for later years

  2. Your income decides the ranking

    First years are ranked on income alone; later years on credits too. From abroad, that means the ISEE parificato.

    ISEE up to €26,306.25 · ISPE up to €43,125.94

  3. Watch the portal for an offer

    Rankings come out in rounds through September. You may rank the residences, but a bed goes where there is space.

    About 1,400 beds in this year's call

  4. Accept within days

    Pay the deposit through PagoPA before the deadline in the offer, or the bed goes to the next person. There is no second offer.

    €380, paid through PagoPA within a few days of the offer
Choosing a residence:You rank them, but ESU is not bound by your orderMonthly rent in an ESU residence:From about €105 to €420 a month, depending on the building and your statusWhat the regional scholarship pays toward a bed:€1,600 a yearBeds for students who do not qualify:Separate call: applications 26 August 10:00 to 28 August 12:00, offers from 2 September 2026

The rents are ESU's published table for this academic year. They include bills, internet and the concierge. Stays of up to three months at the not-eligible rate cost a little more; the table says how much.

Checked against ESU Padova, ESU Padova, ESU Padova, ESU Padova and ESU Padova on Mon, 19 October 2026.

See every residence on the map

The mensa

The university canteen, and the app that gets you in

ESU runs the canteens. What a meal costs depends on your income and credits, and switching the service on takes a couple of days, so do it in your first week rather than on your first hungry afternoon.

University canteens in and around Padova:7: six in the city, one at AgripolisMensa meal, Tariffa B:€4.70 full · €3.50 reducedMensa meal without the app:€8.50 full · €7.00 reduced

  1. Step 1: Pay your fees

    Enrol and pay. The regional tax that activates the canteen is already inside UNIPD's fees.

  2. Step 2: Log in to ESU

    Sign in to ESU's Sportello Studente with your name exactly as it is on Uniweb. The service switches on a couple of days later.

  3. Step 3: Show the QR

    Link the ESUPd.EAT app and show its QR code at the till. Without it you pay the highest tariff.

Read the full mensa guide

Older guides still list canteens at San Francesco and Marzolo. ESU’s current list does not.

What a meal costs you

Full mealReduced meal

  • Scholarship winners

    First meal of the day

    Free

  • Tariffa A

    Scholarship-eligible students

    €2.70
    €2.00

  • Tariffa BYou, probably

    Every first-year, until 31 December

    €4.70
    €3.50

  • Tariffa C

    No scholarship requirements met, part-time and exchange students

    €5.70
    €4.60

  • Without the app

    Anyone who arrives without ESUPd.EAT

    €8.50
    €7.00

Prices for calendar year 2026. A reduced meal drops the first or the second course, and only some canteens serve it.

Checked against ESU Padova, ESU Padova and Università degli Studi di Padova on Sun, 13 September 2026.

Cooking instead? Supermarkets and halal shops

Food shopping

The weekly shop, and halal meat

Which supermarkets are cheapest for a student budget, and the halal butchers in town. The shops come from public listings rather than institutions, so they are labelled student-reported and need your corrections most.

Supermarkets

Opinion

Cheapest weekly shop

Discount chains: a smaller range at lower prices.

LidlEurospinAldi

Wider range

Bigger stores and more fresh counters. Alì is the local Veneto chain.

AlìDesparConad

Sunday opening varies store by store, so check the branch before you go.

Halal butchers and shops

Student-reported

Taken from business listings, not from visits. Check opening hours on the map before walking over.

Know a centre or a shop we are missing, or one that has closed? Tell us

Find the halal shops on the map

Buses and the tram

A student pass pays for itself fast

Padova's buses and its tram are run by Busitalia Veneto, and students under 26 pay at least a third less for a pass. Tell it how often you ride and it works out which ticket is cheapest for you.

Which one is cheapest for you?

Ten is to class and back, five days a week.

  • Tickets, ten at a time€67.60 a month

    €1.56 a ride

  • Monthly pass€28.60 a month

    €28.60 a month

  • Three-month pass€26.03 a month

    €78.10 every 3 months

  • Yearly passCheapest for you€20.63 a month

    €247.50 once a year

The yearly pass saves you about €564 a year over buying tickets. You pay it all at once, or in 3 or 4 parts online.Any pass also needs the Busitalia card: €10, valid for 3 years.
The orange fare zone is the city of Padova. The blue zone adds 12 towns around it.PadovaZona ArancioVigodarzereCadonegheVigonzaNoventa PadovanaSaonaraPonte San NicolòAlbignasegoAbano TermeSelvazzano DentroRubanoVillafranca PadovanaLimenaZona Azzurra
The cheaper fares cover all of Padova. If you live in or travel to one of the 12 towns in blue, you need the wider zone. Directions are true; distances are squeezed to fit.

The prices, for students under 26

Student pass, one month:€28.60 in Padova · €37.40 with the towns around itStudent pass, three months:€78.10 in Padova · €103.40 with the towns around itStudent pass, one year:€247.50 in Padova · €319.00 with the towns around itA single bus or tram ticket:€1.70 in Padova · €2.00 with the towns around itBusitalia ID card, needed for any pass:€10, valid for 3 years
  1. 1. Buy the Busitalia card once, online or at a Busitalia ticket office.
  2. 2. Buy the pass. Bought online, it lives in the Busitalia Veneto app.
  3. 3. Over 26? The same passes exist at the ordinary price.

Worth watching next summer: in 2026 the Veneto Region gave a voucher of up to €200 towards a yearly public transport pass, and applications closed on 31 August. The university posts each round on its transport page. Home after the last bus? The QuiBus night bus is in the perks below.

Checked against Busitalia Veneto, Busitalia Veneto, Busitalia Veneto and Università degli Studi di Padova on Fri, 25 September 2026.

The apps for tickets, seats and meals

Apps

Install these in your first week

A short list, not a directory: the apps that decide whether you get a library seat, a canteen meal or a bus ticket, and the main platforms for rooms and second-hand things.

 

First week in Padova

0 of 13 installed

University

Getting around

Housing and shopping

Paperwork

University

Affluences

Recommended by Università degli Studi di Padova

Book a seat in a UNIPD library and see how full each one is right now.

Why you need it here: It is how the university's library seats are booked.

Get Affluences

Tap an app on the phone to read about it. What you mark as installed stays on this device only.

Study rooms

Where to study, and until what time

The university keeps a list of study rooms with their own hours. These are the ones in Padova itself. Several of the biggest are open every day, and one stays open until 1 in the morning.

Historic centre

Around Palazzo del Bo, Prato della Valle and the Humanities and Law buildings.

  • Galilei

    Via Galilei 42

    Has a room set aside for group study.

    Every day 8:30-22:00280 seats

  • Marsala

    Via Marsala 15
    Every day 8:30-22:00100 seats

  • Tito Livio

    Galleria Tito Livio 7
    Every day 8:30-22:0096 seats

  • Campagnola

    Via Campagnola 70
    Mon-Fri 7:30-24:00, Sat-Sun 9:00-24:0040 seats

  • Maldura

    Piazza Folena 1

    Opened 19 August 2026.

    Mon-Fri 8:00-19:3051 seats

  • Aula Studentesse, Palazzo del Bo

    Via 8 Febbraio 2

    Set aside for group study.

    Mon-Fri 7:00-22:00, Sat 7:00-18:0020 seats

  • Aula Studenti, Palazzo del Bo

    Via 8 Febbraio 2

    Set aside for group study.

    Mon-Fri 7:00-22:00, Sat 7:00-18:0020 seats
2 smaller rooms inside departments

Piovego and Portello

The science and engineering campus, and the student area on Via Venezia and Via Portello.

8 smaller rooms inside departments

Hospital area

The Policlinico, for medicine and healthcare students.

    2 smaller rooms inside departments

    Partner rooms

    Not run by the university, but recognised by it as study rooms.

    • Aula studio Arcella

      Via Guarnieri 22

      Has a bar area and free Wi-Fi.

      Mon-Fri 9:00-23:00, Sat-Sun 9:00-20:0098 seats

    • Centro Universitario Padovano

      Via Zabarella 82

      Closed at Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Easter and Easter Monday.

      Mon-Fri 8:00-20:00, Sat-Sun 9:00-19:00140 seats

    • Centro culturale Altinate, San Gaetano

      Via Altinate 71

      150 seats in all, 22 of them in the ground-floor study rooms.

      Mon-Sat 8:00-19:00, Sun 10:00-19:00150 seats

    • CUS Padova

      Via Jacopo Corrado 4

      Closed in August.

      Mon-Fri 8:30-22:3030 seats

    Not on this list: the rooms at Agripolis in Legnaro, in Vicenza and in Rovigo, and the 2,500 library seats, which you book in the Affluences app. The university's own page has all of them, and questions go to aulestudio.studenti@unipd.it.

    The university's full list of study rooms

    Hours change around holidays, exams and events. Confirm on the university page before you make a special trip, especially for a room that closes at midnight.

    Checked against Università degli Studi di Padova on Mon, 21 September 2026.

    See these rooms on the map, with what is open right now

    Learn Italian

    Learn Italian, mostly for free

    Lectures may be in English, but the Questura, the landlord and the pharmacy are not. The university teaches Italian free to its own international students, volunteers teach it free to anyone in the evenings, and the state runs cheap courses for any adult living here.

    How far the free university courses take you

    Pre-A1A1A2B1B2C1C2
    Intensive, 2 to 3 weeks

    September, February, July

    Semester, two lessons a week

    Both semesters

    1. The university's language centre (CLA)

      FreeOfficial

      Who: International students enrolled at UNIPD, plus exchange students, visiting researchers and PhD students

      Intensive courses of 30 hours over two or three weeks in September, February and July, from absolute beginner to B2. Semester courses of 30 or 40 hours, two lessons a week, up to C1. An online A2 course for anyone whose study plan requires it.

      How: Registration opens in July, January and June for the intensive courses, and in September and February for the semester ones. Watch the CLA page: places go quickly.

      Via Venezia 16, PadovaTheir page

    2. Liberalaparola, the free school at CSO Pedro

      FreeOfficial

      Who: Mainly people with a migration background, and open to international students too

      A free Italian school run by volunteers at the Pedro social centre in Arcella, with classes split by level. Lessons are in the evening, twice a week, and there are shared dinners and events around them.

      How: No enrolment: turn up on a Monday or Thursday at 19:00, when lessons run until 20:30. News goes out on its Instagram and Facebook pages, both called liberalaparola.

      Via Ticino 5, PadovaTheir page

    3. CPIA di Padova, the state school for adults

      About €20 for the whole yearOfficial

      Who: Adults living in Padova, whatever their nationality

      Italian courses for foreign residents, run by the state rather than the university, with branches around the city. It also hosts the Prefettura's A2 Italian test.

      CPIA Italian courses:€20 for the whole school year

      How: Pre-register online and pick a date for the placement interview and test. Bring an ID and your residence permit or its Questura receipt.

      Via Dorighello 16, PadovaTheir page

    4. Temp agencies, through Forma.Temp

      FreeCompany offer

      Who: People registered with a temp agency such as Randstad, who are between jobs or working through the agency

      Temp agencies run free training funded by the Forma.Temp fund, including languages and courses for foreign workers. What is on offer changes by branch and by month.

      How: Register as a candidate at a branch and ask directly which free courses are coming up.

      Their page

    Checked against Centro Linguistico di Ateneo, Università degli Studi di Padova and CPIA di Padova on Thu, 24 September 2026.

    Checked against Comune di Padova, Padova Per on Sun, 27 September 2026.

    Start with the office words: the glossary

    Perks

    What being a student here is actually worth

    Real, checkable value that comes with your badge, your university login, or simply being under 30. The university's own perks are marked official; offers from companies such as Trenitalia are marked as company offers, because they change.

    Your student badge is also a discount card. The university calls it the Studiare a Padova card: show it before you pay, at the till or the door.

    Perks on this page
    26
    Need only your badge or login
    15

    • Cheap printing and free scanning in every library

      Official

      Black and white pages cost a few cents, and every scan is free, so digitising a document costs nothing.

      Printing, black and white A4:€0.04 a pagePrinting, colour A4:€0.25 a page

      How: Top up your badge on the PaperCut portal with PagoPA, then print or scan from any library self-service machine.

    • Shop and copy-shop discounts around the city

      Official

      Up to 30% off at partner shops, bars and copy shops around Padova. Your student badge is the discount card.

      How: Ask before you pay and show your badge. The full list of partners is in the Studiare a Padova app.

    • Carta Giovani Nazionale

      Official

      Residents of Italy aged 18 to 35, so it opens up once you have residenza

      A free national youth card with discounts on culture, travel and sport from its partners around Italy.

      How: It lives in the IO app, which you sign in to with SPID or CIE.

      Find out more

    • UNiDAYS

      Company offer

      A free app that confirms you are a student once, then unlocks discount codes at a long list of brands, from laptops to clothes to travel.

      How: Sign up and verify with your @studenti.unipd.it address. If it is not recognised, you can verify with your student badge instead, which can take a few days.

      Go to UNiDAYS

    • Student Beans

      Company offer

      The same idea with a different set of brands. Some offers are only on one of the two, so it is worth having both.

      How: Sign up and verify your student status, then use the code at checkout or show the app in the shop.

      Go to Student Beans

    • UniversityBox

      Company offer

      An Italian student app with discount codes and cashback, plus paid short gigs (their "Speed Jobs"), brand-ambassador work and internships.

      How: Join free as a student at any school or university in Italy.

      Go to UniversityBox

    The university keeps a longer list, and an app with every partner shop. See the full list. Found one that stopped working, or one we are missing? Tell us

    Checked against Università degli Studi di Padova, Università degli Studi di Padova, Università degli Studi di Padova and Dipartimento per le Politiche Giovanili, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri on Fri, 25 September 2026.

    Company offers were checked on each company's own page on Fri, 25 September 2026. Prices and percentages change without notice, so confirm before you book.

    Put it together: what a month here costs

    Work

    Work has its own page now

    The hours a study permit allows, the university's own paid work, internships, a CV that works here, and an email to a professor written for you.

    Work allowed on a study permit:20 hours a weekAnd in total:1,040 hours a yearUNIPD student collaborations pay:€8.26 an hour net · €7.02 for study-room supervision
    Work while you study

    Places of prayer

    Friday prayer in Padova

    Venues have moved over the years, so each centre's own prayer times on Mawaqit, which the centres update themselves, are the thing to check before you go.

    Mosques and prayer

    Student-reported

    Know a place of worship we are missing, or one that has moved? Tell us

    Find them on the map

    Groups

    Where the students already are

    Telegram and WhatsApp groups, the student unions and the associations that most students end up using. Only the university's own channels are official, so student-run groups say so.

    From the university

    Run by UNIPD itself, so these are the ones to trust for deadlines.

    • Info Student

      Official

      Announcements and deadlines for the whole student community.

      TelegramWhatsApp channel

    • Eventi Unipd

      Official

      University events, meetings, festivals and exhibitions.

      TelegramWhatsApp channel

    • International Mobility

      Official

      Programmes, deadlines and opportunities for international students.

      Telegram

    Student unions

    Run by students. Free help with paperwork, rights and the freshers' course groups.

    • Studenti Per UDU Padova

      Student-reported

      A student union and association at UNIPD, based at Via Loredan 26. Offers student representation and a Telegram help group for paperwork and student rights.

      WebsiteTelegramHelp groupInstagram

    • First-year WhatsApp groups, by course

      Student-reported

      UDU keeps a WhatsApp group for each degree course, so you can ask the people in your own year. Pick your school, then your course.

      The page is titled for 2026/27 even though its address says 2025-26. UDU also publishes the group rules on it.

      Find your course group

    Finding a room

    Public groups where rooms are advertised. Read the warning below before paying anyone.

    Before you pay anyone: never send a deposit for a room nobody you trust has seen, and insist on a registered contract in your own name. Without one you cannot get residenza. Our housing guide has the details.

    • Cerco/Offro affitto UNIPD

      Student-reported

      A public Telegram group run by UDU for students looking for a room or a flat in Padova, with posted rules.

      Telegram

    • Affitto Studenti Padova

      Student-reported

      A Facebook page for rooms and flats offered to students.

      Facebook

    • Stanze a studenti o studentesse, Padova

      Student-reported

      A Facebook group where rooms are posted for students.

      Facebook

    • Affitti Padova, students and workers

      Student-reported

      A Facebook group for people who live, or want to live, in Padova.

      Facebook

    Other student bodies

    Associations the university lists on its own page.

    • ESN Padova

      Student-reported

      Erasmus Student Network. A volunteer association that helps international students settle in and meet people.

      Website

    • ASU Padova

      Student-reported

      An independent student association active since 1984.

      FacebookInstagram

    The university lists more associations, by subject, on its student associations page. Run a group for students from your country, or know one that is active? Send us the link and we will add it here.

    We confirmed each link belongs to the group named on Mon, 21 September 2026. Groups change, fill up and close, so a link that stops working is worth telling us about.

    Not arrived yet? Read what seniors say

    Events

    What is coming up

    From now to the summer, in order. Events drop off once they are over. Dates checked on Sun, 18 October 2026; where a date is not announced yet, it says so.

    Your year at a glance

     

    1. Jazz festival
    2. Fairs
    3. Christmas
    4. Venice Carnival
    5. Carnival
    6. Sant'Antonio
    7. Pride Village

    1. 22 October to 8 November 2026

      Padova Jazz Festival

      Student-reported

      Teatro Verdi, the Sala dei Giganti at the Liviano, Gran Teatro Geox

      Two and a half weeks of concerts with international names, some in the university's own frescoed hall. Ticketed; check the programme for single nights.

      Where we found it

    2. 30 October to 23 November 2026

      Autumn fairs at PadovaFiere

      Student-reported

      PadovaFiere, a short walk from the station

      Tuttinfiera, hobbies and crafts (30 October to 1 November); the antiques fair (7 to 8 and 12 to 15 November); ArtePadova, modern and contemporary art (13 to 16 November); Gusto Fair, food and wine (21 to 23 November). Each has its own ticket.

      Where we found it

    3. Late November to 6 January. The 2026 programme was not out when we checked.

      Christmas in Padova

      Student-reported

      The centre, Piazza dei Signori, Prato della Valle

      Lights across the old town and Christmas stalls. In 2025 there was a Christmas fair in Piazza dei Signori from 16 to 24 December and extra Sunday markets in Prato della Valle in December.

      Where we found it

    4. Ends on Tuesday 9 February 2027. Venice announces the opening date and programme in the autumn.

      Carnevale di Venezia

      Student-reported

      Venice, a regional train away

      Costumes, masks and events across the whole city. Weekends are very crowded; a weekday visit is calmer.

      Città di Venezia

    5. A Sunday in carnival season, before 9 February 2027. The date is announced in January.

      Carnevale di Padova

      Student-reported

      Prato della Valle

      The city's parade of carnival floats around the Prato. In 2026 it was on Sunday 8 February.

      Comune di Padova

    6. 13 June 2027, with the Transito procession through Arcella on 12 June

      Festa di Sant'Antonio

      Student-reported

      Around the Basilica of Saint Anthony

      Padova's own saint's day: a procession with the saint's statue and relics after the afternoon Mass. The whole of June carries related events under the name Giugno Antoniano.

      Comune di Padova

    7. Early June to mid-September. The 2027 dates are not announced yet; in 2026 it ran from 5 June to 12 September.

      Padova Pride Village

      Student-reported

      Fiera di Padova

      A summer-long run of concerts and evenings across three stages.

      Where we found it
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