Top Things To Do For A Fun Weekend In Timișoara, Romania

Can you tour Timișoara in a single day?

With ease, I dare say. Most of the town can be toured on foot in a few hours. Even if you remain here for a few days, you won’t get bored, but one day is more than enough to get to know Timișoara.

Cultural and social life is mostly centered on three of the town’s main squares — Victory (Piata Victoriei), Freedom (Piata Libertatii) and Union (Piata Unirii) Squares, all of which are located in the town center. Additional convenient points of interest for tourists are Botanic Park, Rose Park and Civic Park. If you love to shop, you’ll be perfectly satisfied with the Iulius Shopping Mall, which is the largest of its kind in this part of Romania, even wider. Adidas, Calzedonia, H&M, Lee Cooper and New Yorker are some of the brands you have probably heard of.

Main squares of Timișoara

Victory Square’s main features are diverse architecture, manicured green areas, the Romanian National Opera and the Orthodox Cathedral, perhaps the town’s major landmark. At the far end of Victory Square (in the photo) is the Romanian National Opera, whose repertoire is staged in Romanian, Hungarian and German languages. Although it looks quite plain, it’s said that the interior is much more appealing. A mixture of architectural styles is present on both sides of the square, which are dotted with stores, restaurants and bars.

Freedom Square is the smallest of the three, and in its center you can see a beautiful monument to St. John Nepomuk. The Rococo building is the former City Hall, while the “Military Casino” is easily recognizable — canons in front of it aren’t there by chance.

The expansive Union Square is a favorite meeting place for locals. Bordered by beautiful Baroque mansions (in front of which are restaurants and bars, of course), Union Square features a Roman Catholic Church, a Serbian Orthodox Church, a mineral water fountain and the Holy Trinity Monument.

Timișoara’s parks

It isn’t difficult at all to find an oasis of greenery in Timișoara, but I found Rose Park (in the photo) most engaging. Located next to the Bega River, the one that replaced the Timiș River, it’s featured by tranquility, nicely manicured herbal and floral arrangements and occasional benches where you can enjoy the atmosphere.

Botanic Park, in the vicinity of Union Square, has a variety of tree species, as well as some protected flower species. It’s an especially pleasant area for a peaceful stroll.

The Orthodox Cathedral (Victory Square)

Encircled on three sides by green areas, the cathedral features an unusual combination of colors and style for an Orthodox ecclesiastical structure. The cathedral has 9 towers, ornamented with green, yellow and red patterns, while the opulent interior seems larger than it really is. Since the upper part of the interior is scarcely illuminated, the gilded chandeliers seem like they are floating in the air. Vivid frescoes and gilded iconostasis are other main decorative elements of the Orthodox Cathedral.