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Timişoara was European Capital of Culture in 2021 but it’s relatively undiscovered with plenty to offer visitors. Here’s why you should visit.
Its buildings may be less well recognised than those of its Romanian counterparts Sibiu, Sighişoara and Brasov; but Timişoara’s architecture is fabulous. Baroque and Austro-Hungarian influences are everywhere.
After three days in the city, my own architectural highlights were: The Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral on the southern edge of Victoriei Square; and the colourful Porto-esque buildings of Unirii Square.
And not forgetting the shabby chic edifices at various street corners around town. There’s a whole load of renovation going on – no doubt one of two of these will have been transformed into boutique hotels soon!
With Timişoara’s architecture comes an associated arts and cultural scene – opera at the opera house, open air theatre in the park, and some rather funky sculptures dotted about town.
By December 1989 the Iron Curtain was well and truly buckling. Communism was already on its way out and legislative change on its way in, in countries including Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Romania was next.
The Revolution in Romania started in Timişoara, and you can learn all about it in the worthwhile Museum of the Revolution.
Although clearly underfunded, the museum is well presented, and some English-speaking staff can give you an overview of the different exhibits. Particularly powerful is a 20-minute video (subtitled) showing actual footage from the start of the Romanian Revolution on 16 December 1989 and the days that followed. In some cases it’s pretty brutal – protestors being shot by their own Army as the regime desperately tried to suppress the uprising.
The video, whilst harrowing, made me think about how different my life would’ve been if I’d been a teenager in Timişoara in 1989, instead of in Yorkshire, England.
Around town you can see many of the buildings brought to prominence during the revolution, and there’s also a memorial statue in Victoriei Square.
Like much of the rest of the Balkans, stopping for a coffee at a pavement café is one of the best things to do in Timişoara, and indeed in Romania as a whole.
Café’s are plentiful, particularly on Victoriei Square, Unirii Square and the surrounding streets.
For a bit of a change, though, head down to the Bega Canal for some cool bars with extensive beer and cocktail menus. Honestly, it would be rude not to!
In September 2017, coffees and beers cost around 4-10 lei (£0.80-£2), cocktails around 15 lei (£3).
Timişoara has some domestic tourism and isn’t exactly off the beaten track, but there were very few foreign voices to be heard – a smattering of German speakers, a couple (literally one couple) from either the US or Canada, and that was about it! We were there for three days and heard not a single other English voice. It was bliss.
Stop to take a picture in Timişoara and people will wait patiently for you to finish, so as not to not be in the way of your photo. That’s how unused the city is to mass tourism.
With European Capital of Culture status, word will get out and the world and his dog may well want to visit Timişoara! As the city’s own slogan for 2021 said, “Shine your light – light up your city” … I expect there’ll be many lights shining! My recommendation: visit Timişoara before the crowds do.
Hi, I'm Julie, a York (UK)-based travel blogger and comfort-zone pusher. Join me as I bring you pics and musings from my mildly adventurous travels around the globe. My mission is to hear you say, "I"m so glad I did it!" instead of, "I wish I could, BUT ..."
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4 Responses
Wow! Timişoara seems so charming. I would love to explore it more, Julie! How many days would you recommend staying there to see all the highlights?
Hi Agness – it’s very charming! We were there for three days, which felt about right. We saw plenty, but weren’t rushing about too much! Hope this helps, Julie
Hi Julie,
This town looks awesome. I can see why the place has immense potential for growth, and definitely can be a world renowned city in a few years.
I’ve not heard of Timisoara before this post. All the more reason to go, because as you said, it has not been over run by tourists.
I always prefer those off the beaten path spots anyway, from cities to quieter locales. Gotta go with the chill location to get a more authentic feel because heavily touristed spots often lose their flavor, their texture.
Why?
The places with tons of tourists all become the same town, basically. Lots of restaurants, bars, inflated prices and again, the place loses its culture, its specialness.
Thank goodness Timisoara is not heading in that direction anytime soon.
Thanks for sharing Julie.
Ryan
Thanks Ryan. It was my first trip to Romania, and I’m sure I’ll be returning. We were made to feel very welcome wherever we went. Another relatively untouristed marvel was the citadel city of Alba Iulia, which had city gates that reminded me of Dubrovnik, but with 95% fewer visitors – heaven 🙂 I’m sure I’ll be writing about it soon 🙂