Transylvania What to Expect

Wonderful children's philharmonic!!!

Wonderful people!

Great house-made chocolate!

The best tip I can give you for Arad (after having traveled through it for over 30 years myself) is to GO AROUND it !
If you don't have a 4WD, or a car you don't care to destruct, you're well advised to take the new(-ish) ring road around Arad instead of taking your chances on hole-ridden boulder streets with tram rails sticking out at angles in some places.

When coming from the Hungarian border you'll see a new industrial park to your left just before reaching Arad city line. Take a left there and follow the signs to 'Deva'. You'll get back onto the main road AFTER ARAD, on the eastern exit.

Just beware of the gypsy's at the railway crossing. They are extremely annoying, the kid in the wheelchair can run a LOT faster than you can, but they're not dangerous. Just ignore them even when they start banging on your car window.

Watch out for small children around trainstations. While they seem harmless, groups will sometimes gather around unsuspecting tourists to pick their pockets. Keep your money tucked safely away and don't keep anything in your pockets.

Sibiu's astonishingly beautiful old part is nicely renovated, the German name of the town is Herrmannstadt; before the Cheaucescu-Regime there were a lot of German-Speaking Romanians living there. The weather in autumn is mostly moderate, food is cheap, the most expensive part of the trip will be the hotel.

The city is also called "Little Vienna",[citation needed] because it belonged for a very long time to the Habsburg Empire and the entire city center consists of buildings built in the Kaiser era, which is reminiscent of the old Vienna. Timişoara is an important university center with the emphasis on subjects like medicine, mechanics and electro-technology. An industrial city with extensive services, it was the first European city to be lit by electric street lamps in 1884. It was also the second European and the first city in what is now Romania with horse drawn trams in 1867. There are numerous claims that Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built one of Timişoara's footbridges over the Bega.

The old city consists of historic city quarters with several historic squares and proms. These are: Cetate (Belváros in Hungarian, Innere Stadt in German), Iosefin (Józsefváros, Josephstadt), Elisabetin (Erzsébetváros, Elisabethstadt), Fabric (Gyárváros, Fabrikstadt). Numerous bars, clubs and restaurants have opened in the old center in the fine old baroque square.

Small city, very lovely surrounding, reachable by car or by train. The nicest part is the restaurant in the valley below and the old ruins in and arround the city.

1 day is enough. Arrive in the morning and leave that evening. You can only buy your train ticket out of there an hour before the train leaves which is unfortunate when you're train is at 1am!

Dracula commercialism is a plenty! Bran Castle is stunning but there are talks of the owner taking back from the government (or whoever runs it) as the lease is nearly up.

Sibiu's astonishingly beautiful old part is nicely renovated, the German name of the town is Herrmannstadt; before the Cheaucescu-Regime there were a lot of German-Speaking Romanians living there. The weather in autumn is mostly moderate, food is cheap, the most expensive part of the trip will be the hotel.

The city is also called "Little Vienna",[citation needed] because it belonged for a very long time to the Habsburg Empire and the entire city center consists of buildings built in the Kaiser era, which is reminiscent of the old Vienna. Timişoara is an important university center with the emphasis on subjects like medicine, mechanics and electro-technology. An industrial city with extensive services, it was the first European city to be lit by electric street lamps in 1884. It was also the second European and the first city in what is now Romania with horse drawn trams in 1867. There are numerous claims that Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built one of Timişoara's footbridges over the Bega.

The old city consists of historic city quarters with several historic squares and proms. These are: Cetate (Belváros in Hungarian, Innere Stadt in German), Iosefin (Józsefváros, Josephstadt), Elisabetin (Erzsébetváros, Elisabethstadt), Fabric (Gyárváros, Fabrikstadt). Numerous bars, clubs and restaurants have opened in the old center in the fine old baroque square.

Small city, very lovely surrounding, reachable by car or by train. The nicest part is the restaurant in the valley below and the old ruins in and arround the city.

1 day is enough. Arrive in the morning and leave that evening. You can only buy your train ticket out of there an hour before the train leaves which is unfortunate when you're train is at 1am!

Dracula commercialism is a plenty! Bran Castle is stunning but there are talks of the owner taking back from the government (or whoever runs it) as the lease is nearly up.

The best city in the world if you are looking for farmacies and atms. You could better skip this town and go straight to sighisoara or brasov, way more beautiful towns/cities...