Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca is Romania's second city by population but its first by energy. Founded as the Roman Napoca, it became the multilingual Hungarian Kolozsvár, then the Habsburg Klausenburg, then Cluj. The Hungarian language is still everywhere — about a fifth of the city is ethnically Hungarian. Universities anchor the centre; the IT and design scenes anchor everything else. Untold (electronic music) and Jazz in the Park draw crowds in summer. The Apuseni mountains start an hour to the west.

Why come here

The best food in Romania, period — Roata, Baracca, Klausen Burger, Sole, plus a dozen specialty-coffee bars (Meron, Origo). For the Apuseni and the Maramureș, it is the only sensible base. The international airport (CLJ) connects to thirty European cities.

Things to do

• Walk around Piața Unirii under the gothic St. Michael's Church — Cluj's big square.
• Eat at Roata — Transylvanian comfort food with white tablecloths.
• Coffee crawl: Meron (a chain that started here), Origo, Bujole, Klausen Burger's own café.
• Stroll the Botanical Garden — 14 hectares, with a Japanese garden and a Roman section.
• Day-trip to Turda Salt Mine — 30 minutes south, an underground theme park inside a 13th-century salt cave.
• For a deeper trip, drive into the Apuseni to the Scărișoara ice cave and the Padiș plateau.
• In summer, Untold (electronic, early August) or Jazz in the Park (late June) — both major festivals.

When to come

May for blooming chestnut trees on Boulevard Eroilor, September for the harvest in the surrounding Apuseni villages. Avoid Untold weekend (first weekend of August) unless you bought tickets.