Are you going to spend one day in Timisoara? It’s a short stay, but the downtown would anyway group the city’s major attractions. In other words, everything is walking distance. Catch a glimpse of the city’s charm by checking the places on this list.
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Union Square
Most of the people say this is the most beautiful place in Timisoara. This baroque square dates back to 1733 and follows the architectural plans of the Habsburg administration of that time.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral, also known as Dome, is the oldest building in the square (1736-1774). On the opposite side, was later built the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. The Plague Column in the cener (1740) reminds people of the plague epidemic that devastated the region of Banat, between 1731 and 1738.
The name of the square comes from the popular assembly that took place here in 1919, when the union of Banat with Romania was established.
Restaurants, bars, coffee shops
Get lost walking the streets between the Union Square and the city center. They are car-free and full of restaurants, bars and coffee shops. The perfect spots to relax or to have fun.
Iulius Town
Take a fifteen minutes walk from the Union Square and head to the largest Mall in Timisoara. With 450 shops, office buildings, apartment buildings, restaurants, parking and a park, Iulius Town often hosts fairs, exhibitions and concerts.
Foto source: Facebook, Iulius Town Timișoara
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Victory Square
This is the largest square in Timisoara and it is considered the center of the city. The place was once covered by the walls of the Habsburg fort. From the existing buildings, only the Opera House dates back from 1875. The rest of the constructions were erected after 1912, when the defensive walls were completely demolished. The Romanian Orthodox Cathedral, the second tallest church in Romania, was built between 1936-1941.
The name of the square is related to the events that took place here in 1989. On the 20th of December 1989, the city was already counting the first martyrs of the Romanian Revolution. Thousands of people gathered in the center, listening to the liberation speeches given from the Opera balcony. The city was declared free of communism. Facing the Cathedral, the assembly then started praying in one voice. This is inarguably one of the most impressive moments in the city history.
A night out at the theatre
This will make you raise your eyebrows, but Timișoara is the only European city to have national theatres in three different languages: Romanian, German and Hungarian. The three institutions are hosted by The Palace of Culture in Victory Square.
The Huniade Castle
Check out this massive building that will transport you back to the Medieval times. Even if its current appearance is relatively new (1856), it stands on the print of the Medieval castle of Carol Robert de Anjou. The building is under renovation and can only be admired from outside.
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The Bega Canal
The history of the Bega Canal starts in 1728. The first Governor of Banat, Florimund Mercy ordered for a canal to be dug to collect the waters of the swamps surrounding the city. It took a few decades of manual hard work to finish the 114 km long canal that runs on the territories of nowadays Romania and Serbia.
The Bega Canal is also responsible for two of the records held by the city of Timișoara. It is the first navigation canal built on the present-day territory of Romania and the first one used for the public transport on water (1869).
Bike tours
Try the bike trails along the Bega Canal. A bike ride along the two banks will take you through some of the oldest parks in Timișoara: Scudier Park, Justice Park, Roses Park, Children’s Park, Queen Mary Park and Water House Park.