Tourist guide Cluj-Napoca

1. Tourist Info Center

For the city tour stop first at Tourist Info Centerin Bulevardul Eroilor nr. 6-8. Here I found what I would like to find in all the tourist info sisters, i.e. a lot of information, maps, explanations and welcoming people eager to help you. M-am umplutam de documentatie gratuita, care chiar m-a ajutat la parcurgerea ruta pe care v I propose. Come with me!

2. Union Square

300 m. We turn back on Heroes Boulevard in the opposite direction to the one-way direction for car traffic and in two and three movements we are in the most visited and agitated point of the city - Union Squarein the SE corner of the square. In the center of the square, paved with cubic stone and accessible only by foot, thrones St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, an important Cluj and useful landmark due to the high spire. The church was built in the XIV - XV centuries, is a historical monument and is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country with the highest tower in Transylvania.

In front of the church is Matia Corvin Statuary Ensemble or Matias Rex. The sculptor is Fradusz Fradusz, winner of the grand prize at the Paris exhibition in 1900. The statue depicts King Matthias Corvinus on horseback surrounded by 4 regors.

In this perimeter we met a group of high school students accompanied by a Mr. teacher, who were promoting in the public square their own creation, a robot. Halfway along the eastern flank of the square. Street in the Mirror. Also on the east side, we still have a superb building Banffy Palace, which hosts Art Museum. It is an 18th century baroque building erected by the German architect Blaumann. The Art Museum has been housed here for over 50 years and is the second largest in Romania in terms of the diversity of Romanian art objects.

In the NE corner of Union Square on the opposite sidewalk, right on the corner, is the building that houses History of Pharmacy Collection. This collection is found in the oldest documented pharmacy in Cluj, from the 16th century. It is the most important collection of its kind in Romania.
Union Square is also a place with several open terraces on its western side.

3. Matei Corvin House and Museum Square

400 m. We will leave the Union Square through the northwest corner, cross the boulevard and following the pedestrian crossing we will enter the very busy pedestrian street that has straight ahead Matei Corvin House or Matthias House. Here was born Matthias Corvinus Corvinus in 1443, famous king of Hungary, son of John of Hunedoara. The building is a historical monument built in the 15th century. Today, the University of Arts and Design operates in this house.

We have to go around the Matei Corvin House on one side and get behind it in Museum Square, the oldest in Cluj. It is another place very popular with tourists and locals.

On the left is National History Museum of Transylvaniain the center of the square Carolina Obelisk and on the right side Franciscan Church. In the perimeter from Piata Unirii to Piata Muzeului, there are many terraces, their advantage being that they are located in an area not trafficked by cars. Here you react in full, that "Cluj is alive" atmosphere that reaches its peak in the evening. In most intersections you can also orient yourself by the tourist signs, another point to appreciate in Cluj.

4. Horea Bridge and palaces

500 m. We leave Museum Square in the continuation of the direction from which we came, which soon takes us to a small park, where you can rest on a bench or admire the statuary busts. Although we did it, it is not the most pleasant place to rest on the route proposed here. At the park we turn right on George Baritiu street and then left on Regele Ferdinand street, at Horea Bridge over the river Someșul Mic. The bridge is flanked by 4 palaces: Szeki Palace, Babos Palace, Elian Palace and Berde Palace.

5. Neolog Synagogue

300 m. After the bridge, we follow the main boulevard, which is called, on this part, Horia street and on the left we see Neolog Synagogue.

6. Citadel

800 m. This objective is slightly eccentric in our route, which forces us to return to the Horea Bridge on the same road. We don't cross the bridge, but before it we turn right along the river bank until we see some stairs going up the hill on the right. We are at the foot Citadel Hillwhich I suggest we climb. There is a more "tamer" option following the car signs, but also longer. On the stairs we will see a lot of animation, people eager for a walk or even for sport, going up and down the hundreds of stairs here. There are several alleys with stairs, some older, some newer. After a grueling climb (for some) we reach the top of the hill, in Citadel Park. It is located at 405 meters above sea level, more than 50 meters above the valley of the Someșului Mic. The view from the vantage points over the city is superb. You can also come here in the evening, there is also a terrace upstairs, but I have a very bad opinion about it.

7. Elisabeth Bridge and Central Park

1 km. What can come after a climb? Another climb. Or downhill. Bingo! Bingo! Downhill with us. We climb some stairs that go down a little further upstream, but only a little, to have the joy of crossing the Somes Mic on a pedestrian bridge, full of locks, you know, that they practice, things with oaths, happiness, etc. It's Elisabeth Bridge. We cross Splaiul Independentei street and admire on the left, in a curve, the building Hungarian State Opera and Theatre. We are at the entrance to Simion Bărnuțiu Central Park. At the same end of the park is also Anti-communist Resistance Monument.

8. Central Park and Stadium Park

1.3 kilometers. We are at the entrance to the old Central Park. The park originated in the 19th century at the initiative of the Women's Welfare Association. We plan to cross the Central Park on its main path, which in fact ... there are 3 of them, a central one of macadam and 2 parallel to it, asphalted. It's not a big park, but it offers plenty of shade and resting places. This is where I did my daily share of kilometers at the wee hours of the morning. Somewhere a little after halfway through the park, on the left hand side, is Lake Chios and near him Casino Urban Culture Center, a monumental building, in front of which there is a beautiful fountain and a brass band gazebo, where we saw a few outdoor events (weddings). We exit the park at the opposite end and cross George Cosbuc street, after which we follow a smaller park, Stadion Park, which unlike the Central one has a playground.

We are next to the grand and superb modern sports facilities Cluj Arena Stadium, with seating for 30,000 and up to 55,000 for shows, and Multipurpose Hall BT Arena, managed by the city hall, which host the games of the "U" Cluj teams for different sports disciplines. The Polivalent Hall is the largest in Romania.

At the base of these arenas you will find many nice kiosks where you can buy kurtos kalacs, langosi, ice creams, ice creams, salads, coffees, etc.

9. Reformed Church-Calvina with Rooster

700 m. From here we radically change direction. One option is to return to Cosbuc Street, which we follow to the right, over the Mill Canal, and where it ends we turn right on Moților Street. In a few meters we will see Reformed Church-Calvina with Rooster.

10. University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine and Botanical Garden

700 m. If we continue along Calea Motilor we'll reach the courtyard University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine. And this objective is in the far west and quite isolated so if you want you can skip it. But it's in close proximity to a much sought-after destination in Cluj-Napoca. Yes, Botanical Garden in the city is not to be missed. I will present an article about it. Its address is Strada Republicii 42, 1 km from the info center, situated on the hill, somewhere between the student complex and the central cemetery, in the central-southern part of Cluj.

11. Student Complex, Zoological Museum and Clinics

1,2 km. We turn a little on Calea Moților and we turn right and right again, uphill on Piezișă street, which invites us in Hașdeu Student Complex. I wanted to make this detour to take the pulse of the students in Cluj, diagonally crossing the whole assembly among dormitories and faculties. The Faculty of Zoology is located to the right of the Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, which houses a superb museum, which I recommend especially for children, a smaller Antipa, Zoological Museum and Vivarium. I will write about the recently reopened museum separately. The downward path leads us back to the street. We are now in the street of the Clinics, where we are admiring the University Clinics Complex.

12. Lucian Blaga Square

900 m. At the end of this street we are in Lucian Blaga Squarewhere to find them Students' Cultural House and Central University Library "Lucian Blaga".

13. Town Hall Palace

100 m. On the left, Petru Maior street leads us to the Town Hall Palacewhere it meets Calea Moților.

14. Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania

200 m. To the right on Calea Motilor we will have Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania. It is located at 21 Memorandumului Street in the Reduta Palace, a 2-story blue gray building. It displays about 100,000 items of popular culture, as well as a tactile exhibition for the blind.

15. "Bob" Church

200 m. From here we turn a little to Samuel Micu street, which we follow and then turn left on Episcop Ioan Bob street and we will arrive behind the museum where there is a church more hidden, "Bob" Church.

16. Citadel Walls

400 m. From here we have several ways to reach the walls. Right after the church we can follow Ion Ratiu street, cross then a main street, Napoca street, and somehow forward we continue on Fortăreței street until Potaissa street where we can find well preserved Citadel walls. The walls were built as a fortification after the Tatar invasion in the 13th century.

17. Hill Orthodox Church

200 m. We continue on Fortăreței street until it merges into Avram Iancu street, then turn left and immediately right on Orthodox Church street we reach .... Hill Orthodox Church.

18. Central Cemetery

600 m if you enter the hill inside. We go down the same street, we come back to Avram Iancu, we follow to the right and on our right side we see the entrance in Central Cemetery.

19. Roman-Catholic Church of Piariștilor, "Babeș-Bolyai" University and the Reformed Church

800 m. We return once again in Avram Iancu, which we follow a little to the left, cross it and go perpendicular on University Street. And lo and behold, we're in a square Roman-Catholic Church of the Piaristsand to the right on Mihail Kogalniceanu street "Babeș-Bolyai" University. Babes Bolyai is the most famous Transylvanian university with its 21 member faculties and it has several locations in Cluj, one in the student complex and another one on the edge of the central park.

Further down the street is Reformed Church in front of which "St. George slaying the dragon" statue. The church was built with the support of King Matthias Corvinus in the 15th - 16th centuries. It is built in Gothic style and is famous for its acoustics. The statue of St. George is a bronze equestrian bronze statue being a copy of the famous one in Prague.

20. Tailors' Tower and Greek-Catholic Cathedral

500 m. The street we came on leads us to other walls of the fortress, which on the right show us Tailors' Tower, which hosts art exhibitions in the so-called Urban Culture Center. It was erected in the 15th century as a defense tower in the SE of the medieval fortress.

We go around it and see Statue of Baba Novac, but also a large roundabout intersection, Timotei Cipariu Square, in the middle of which a large religious edifice is being built, Greek Catholic Cathedral.

21. National Theater and Palace of Justice

400 m. From here we can go left on any of the one-way boulevards that border the cathedral. We'll pass the Opera Park or Stefan cel Mare Squarewhat's it called, and we're near Lucian Blaga National Theatre and Romanian National Opera, one of the most beautiful buildings in Cluj built in the early 20th century by the Austrian architects Helmer and Fellner. The architecture is neo-baroque. The two famous cultural centers have already passed their second century of existence.

On the opposite sidewalk, next to the theater, all the way to the intersection is Palace of Justice, which hosts the Cluj Court of Appeal.

22. Statue of Avram Iancu and the Orthodox Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral

200 m. We are at the intersection with Bulevardul Eroilor. After having admired the theater from the front, we turn left, on the spot, and we have in front of us the symbol of Cluj, Statue of Avram Iancu and the Orthodox Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral. We cross and pose next to them. The cathedral is dedicated to "The Assumption of the Virgin Mary" and has a Romanesque architecture with Byzantine and Brancovenesti elements. In its treasury there is a monumental iconography realized with the Murano mosaic technique.

And these objectives are framed by the two parallel streets, the area here is called Avram Iancu Square.

23. Calvinist Reformed Church of the Lower Town

300 m. We turn the wheel of the Orthodox cathedral to get in front of it on Heroes. If we want to mark Calvinist Reformed Church in Orașul de JosulWe go to the right, but then we will turn right at the cathedral.

24. Prefecture Palace

300 m. In the north-west corner of Avram Iancu Square, 300 m from the Calvinist Church, is Prefecture Palace.

25. Firefighters Tower

400 m. Cross the very busy street, Eroilor, and follow Cuza Voda and then Tipografilor, which is slightly off to the left of it, be careful not to miss the street tempted to miss the street tempted to stay on the wider street that is Cuza Voda. On Tipografilor street, which is narrow, you will find Fire Tower.

26. Unitarian Church

200 m. Here we turn left on the first street David Ferenc and then continue on a narrower lane that takes us into Eroilor, next to Unitarian Church.

27. Tourist Info Center

400 m. If we continue on Eroilor we will reach the Union Square, and if we cross and continue left on Bolyai Janos and its extension we will reach the right Tourist Info Center, where we started this big loop, but so comprehensive and full of sights.