• Understand
• Get around
• See
• Learn
• Work
• Buy
• Contact
• Stay safe
• Cope
• Get out

Timişoara [1] is a university city and industrial center in western Romania. It is often described as the most cosmopolitan city in Romania.

Downtown Timisoara

[edit] Understand

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

The city is served by Romania's second-largest airport, Traian Vuia International Airport [2], located 10km away from the city center. It is the hub of the Romania's second-largest airline, Carpatair [3]. There are regular flights from/to numerous major European and domestic destinations:

• Carpatair flies internationally to/from Ancona, Athens, Bergamo, Bari, Bologna, Budapest, Chisinau, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Lviv, Munich, Odessa, Rome, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki, Torino, Venice and Verona; it also has domestic flights to Bacau, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Constanta, Iasi, Oradea, Satu-Mare, Sibiu and Suceava.
• TAROM [4] has several daily flights to Bucharest.
• Austrian Airlines [5] has flights to Vienna.
• MALEV [6] has flights to Budapest.
• Lufthansa [7] has flights to Munich.

Bus line 26 links the airport with downtown Timisoara; car hire is also available.

[edit] By train

There are direct trains daily from Budapest (a 5 hours trip), Belgrade (4 hours), Vienna (8 hours) and Munich (15 hours). Check timetables here. Naturally, there are also numerous trains to Bucharest and most major towns in Romania; check timetables here.

[edit] By car

Belgrade (in Serbia) is 150km away ( a 2 1/2 hours drive).

Budapest (Hungary) is about 320km away ( a 4 hours drive).

[edit] By bus

[edit] Get around

Timisoara has a well developed public transportation network composed of bus, tramway and trolleybus lines, administered by the municipal transport operator RATT [8].

A square in Timisoara

Bus or trolleybus

Buses or trolleybuses can take you to any point of the city in a quite decent time. Sometimes crowded, the fleet is passing trough a modernization process and traveling with public services is getting more and more comfortable.

Taxi

Taxi is inexpensive and you can reach nearly any point of the city for 10 Lei (3 EUR). Several companies are available:

• RADIO Taxi: 0256 940

• CITY Taxi: 0256 949

• TUDO Taxi: 0256 945

• TAXI TIMISOARA: 0256 943

[edit] See

• The Opera Square (Piata) (called The Victory Square (Piata) after the revolution against Comunist regime) with The Roman Orthodox Cathedral and beautiful palaces built at the beginning of 20st century.

The Orthodox Cathedral of Timisoara

• Piata Unirii (Union Square) has some architecturally various fine old buildings (Catholic Dome, Baroque Palace, Serbian Church, Holy Trinity Monument) and outdoor bars (during summer).

Catholic church

• Liberty Square (Piata) with the old City Hall and the beautiful Saint Nepomuk's Statue.
• A part of the old Wauban style fortress called The Bastion (Bastionul)
• Parks of Timisoara: Botanic Park, Rose Park
• Old industrial areas of the city: Fabric (Piata Traian), Iosefin

Buildings in the central area

• Beer factory (Fabrica de bere), established 1718
• The Banat Village Museum (Muzeul Satului Banatean, Aleea CFR nr.1): a bit outside the city, can be reached with tram #2

[edit] Do

[edit] Parks

Bega river flowing through the city

[edit] Learn

• "Politehnica" University of Timisoara: [9]

• Universitatea de Vest Timisoara [10]

[edit] Work

[edit] Buy

The biggest Mall in the Western part of Romania, Iulius Mall, provides you with 210 shops, a cinema, numerous restaurants, etc.

[edit] Eat

Timişoara is not short of places to eat, from McDonalds to top class restaurants such as Casa Cu Flori. You can enjoy good Italian and Romanian food at Restaurant Maestro, at 5 minutes walk from the Opera Square.

A boat restaurant on the Bega river

[edit] Budget

• McDonalds opposite the opera house.
• restaurants in the student campus

[edit] Mid-range

Try Club XXI for traditional Romanian food - 4$ - 10$ / meal. It is located in the Opera Square, looking from the Opera to the Cathedral on the right side.

For a very good pizza but also other Italian specialties try Da Toni (in Student Complex) - 5 - 15$ / usual meal.

[edit] Splurge

• Casa Cu Flori in Alba Iulia for excellent cuisine
• Vivaldi [11] in Piazza Unirii

[edit] Drink

• Timişoreana beer - Locally produced lager and dark beers.
• Ursus beer - The King of Romanian beers.

[edit] Bars

• The Note [12] is a nice hang-out bar, with cool atmosphere and various concerts and events. The cocktails are delicious...

[edit] Sleep

[edit] Budget

• INCA Centrum
• Bierhaus
• Administratia Taberelor (School Camps Administration). Located in the Center, 3 min walk from the Operei Square, it offers rooms with 2-6 beds and common toilets for prices below 10 euro. Tel (0256) 221 347

[edit] Mid-range

• Casa Leone, Bd. Eroilor 67, 0723 329612. Should be around 30 Euros
• Hotel Cina Banatul, Bulevardul Republicii 3-5, Tel 0256/191903, close to the Piata Victorei, easy to reach from the Train Station (Trolleybus No. 11, direction left as you leave the Train Station fot 2 Stops, you are right in front of it), was 140 LEU /double incl. breakfast

[edit] Splurge

• Hotel Continental, [13]. Large concrete hotel in the city center. It has good rooms, which will cost about €90 per night. This is probably not a good place for children, because of the nightclub in the basement. Easy to find on B-dul Revolutiei 1989. As of August 2007 the hotel is being refurbished and the nightclub is closed.
• Excelsior Hotel, [14] in Str. Romulus

[edit] Contact

Free wifi can be found at the BT cafe on the corner of Piata Unirii. If you don't have access to your own wireless device, brave the dark of cafe Java, a few doors down for freely available computers. Wifi is also available for free in Unirii Sqare and airport

[edit] Stay safe

Like in other cities from Romania, it is safe to walk during the day but take care during the night.

[edit] Cope

[edit] Get out