The Orthodox Cathedral, with the statue of Avram Iancu.
Transylvania Hotel with memorial cross monument on Cetatuia Hill.
You should see Matthias Corvinus' mounted statue and the old St. Michael's Church in the Union Square -- right in the middle of the city. This gothic architecture piece is one of the most valuable in Transylvania. Its murals date from the 15th century, and the 50m neogothic tower was built in 1860. The statue is always scaled by tourists, although officially this is not allowed.
The area around the Union Square is also a must see for the visitor, with the Teleki and Banffy Palaces (the former now housing the National Art Museum), the Franciscan Monastery, the first Unitarian Church in the world, the Piarist Churches, the Mirror Street (Iuliu Maniu Street - a unique architectural accomplishment dating back to the late 1800s) and Matthias Corvinus' place of birth, a former 15th Century hotel now home to the Visual Arts Academy.
Smaller streets around the Square can take you into splendid inner courts, old houses and isolated Churches. The Tailors' Bastion and the corresponding section of the medieval wall is very well preserved, South-East of the Union Square.
The Museum Square, a 2 minute walk from the Union Square, is home to the Franciscan Monastery (a combination of baroque and gothic architecture dating back to the 14th Century), the Transylvanian History Museum and the old Obelisk of the City, offered to the City as acknowledgement of its statute by the Austrian Emperor Franz Ferdinand in the 19th Century. You can have a nice coffee right by the Obelisk, as during daytime the surrounding clubs and cafes move out of their inside locations into cool, relaxing terraces.
The Botanical Garden (Republicii no. 42) spreads over 14 hectares and contains among others a small Japanese garden, greenhouses for ecuatorial and tropical plants, a small water course through its middle, and a tower which can be climbed to get a better view of the garden arrangements.
The Central Park is a welcome break from the rush of the city. The middle of the park hosts a small lake and the Chios Casino, from the terrace of which you can rent rowboats and hydrobicycles to circle the small island in the centre of the lake.
The Cetatuia hill (Fortress Hill) used to hold a stronghold, as its name implies. People were also jailed there. Not much of the old fortress remains, but the Transylvania Hotel (also known to the locals as Belvedere) was built on top of the hill, and besides the great view offers a good restaurant as well. The hill can be climbed by stairs from the centre of the city. On the way you will also find a large iron cross monument. A walkway circles the crown of the hill just below the Hotel, offering a nice view to the city.
Other objectives include:
National Theater, Ştefan cel Mare Square nr. 24
Hungarian State Theater, Emil Isac nr. 26-28;
Palace of Justice, Calea Dorobantilor nr. 2
Babeş-Bolyai University, Mihail Kogălniceanu nr. 1B;
The Hazsongardi Cemetery,
Museums:
National Art Museum, Union Square nr. 30
National Museum of the History of Transylvania, Constantin Daicoviciu nr. 2
Emil Isac Memorial House, Emil Isac nr. 23
Etnography Museum of Transylvania, Memorandumului nr. 21;
National Etnography Park "Romulus Vuia", Tăietura Turcului
Zoology Museum, Clinicilor nr. 5-7
You can see many objectives live on the LiveCam on top of a tall building on C. Daicoviciu Str. Cetatuia hill, Transilvania Hotel, the St. Michael Cathedral, the Hungarian State Theatre, as well as most of the city centre, can be seen by rotating and tilting the camera via the webpage controls (you might need to wait to get your turn in controlling it).
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Cluj-Napoca
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Cluj-Napoca - updated May 2024
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Cluj-Napoca Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
