Hotel Continental
Timişoara - 300054 B-dul Revolutiei 1989, Nr 2A
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Also called Little Venice or Garden City for its Secessionist architecture similar to Vienna’s, Timișoara is the capital of Banat. Founded in 1212 on the site of an ancient Roman fortress called Castrum Regius Temi, Timișoara is a culturally vibrant city thanks to the many young people who frequent the University, theatres, art galleries and museums.
Crossed by the Bega River, Timișoara has a Cathedral built on a swamp and supported by 5,000 oak logs that prevent it from sinking. The pedestrian centre is particularly beautiful, with buildings featuring sinuous lines, floral decorations and geometric designs.
The city is served by Timișoara airport, Romania’s most important after Bucharest airport, and offers numerous connections with Europe and other major cities. Timișoara is located near the borders with the former Yugoslavia and Hungary, less than 600 kilometres from Bucharest.
Timișoara is located in the western part of Romania in an area with a continental climate, without significant temperature variations between summer and winter; likewise, rainfall remains consistent throughout the year. For this reason, it can be considered a destination for 365 days a year.
To decide when to visit Timișoara, you should know that in summer the average maximum temperature is around 28 degrees, making it pleasant to spend days outdoors – warm but not too hot, with plenty of daylight hours. In contrast, in winter between December and January the average temperature is below freezing, considerably colder than in the UK, and daylight hours are few. However, those who enjoy winter and festive atmospheres can visit Timișoara during this period without any concerns.
Intermediate seasons such as spring and autumn are also excellent for visiting Timișoara, particularly May and September, when days are long, the climate is mild, and prices for flights and accommodation are even lower than usual.
Timișoara is a pleasant city to visit; its historic centre consists largely of buildings dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with several squares that are bustling with life in summer and a number of interesting buildings, churches and parks. Here are the best things to see in the city, so you won’t miss anything.
The Orthodox Cathedral of Timișoara, or Metropolitan Cathedral, is the seat of the Archbishop of Timișoara, dedicated to the “Three Hierarchs” – St Basil, St Gregory the Theologian and St John Chrysostom.
Located in the city centre, it boasts 11 bell towers, the largest being the central one, which stands over 90 metres tall. Listed in the register of Romanian historical monuments, Timișoara’s Orthodox Cathedral was built between 1936 and 1941 in Neo-Moldavian style. The interior is rich with paintings and frescoes created by artist Anastase Demian and also houses a collection of Romanian-language manuscripts dating back to the late medieval period.
The Theresia Bastion is located immediately east of the historic centre. It is the only remaining section of the ancient city walls of Timișoara Fortress, dating from the Austro-Hungarian period, which covered an area of almost 2 hectares and completely enclosed the old city.
The walls were later demolished at the end of the 19th century following an order by Emperor Francis Joseph, but this section remained standing and was completely restored in subsequent years. Today, within them you will find shops, restaurants, bars, a nightclub and a library, as well as two permanent exhibitions of the Banat Museum.
The Castelul Huniade is Timișoara’s oldest monument. It dates back to the mid-1400s, built by John Hunyadi and Paolo Santini de Duccio. The castle was later completely rebuilt twice: by Turkish pashas in the 17th century, and finally by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the following century.
The National Banat Museum was established within Huniade Castle and today houses a section dedicated to history, one to archaeology and one to natural sciences. There is also a restoration laboratory and an entire floor dedicated to the Neolithic Sanctuary of Parta, 6,000 years old, the only neolithic sanctuary in Romania and one of the few in Europe, completely restored.
In front of the museum stand two lightbulbs, commemorating the fact that Timișoara was the first European city to introduce public electric lighting in November 1884.
The Timișoara Zoo, or Grădina Zoologică Timișoara in the local language, is the city’s zoo, located within a park covering over 6 hectares.
Located in the north-east of the city, it opened in 1986 when it housed only 30 animal species, mostly local ones. When the local administration noticed the poor management of the zoo, it acquired the land and closed it to the public to allow for restructuring work. In 2007 the new Timișoara Zoo opened its doors, establishing itself as one of the city’s main attractions.
Today you can see animal species from all continents: moose and brown bears from Europe, black swans, dwarf kangaroos and emus from Oceania, capuchin monkeys and guanacos from the Americas, and ostriches from Africa.
According to some, Piaţa Unirii is the most beautiful square in Romania. Whether you believe it or not, it remains an impressive rectangular square, designed in the 18th century, overlooked by buildings in sumptuous Vienna Baroque style painted in pastel colours.
On the east and west sides of the square stand the Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals, both from the 18th century, whilst among the finest buildings are the Baroque palace, the Catholic canonical house and the Orthodox episcopal palace.
In the centre of Piaţa Unirii is a beautiful lawn bordered by flower beds, at its heart a fountain and the splendid Holy Trinity Column, erected to celebrate the end of the plague epidemic that struck Timișoara in 1730.
To reach Timișoara from the UK, the simplest and fastest way – and in some respects the most economical – is by plane. The city is equipped with an international airport, Romania’s third in terms of passenger throughput, excellently connected to Europe thanks to low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air.
Timișoara Airport is named after Romanian aviator Traian Vuia and is located in the town of Ghiroda, approximately 10 kilometres east of the city centre.
It is also possible to reach Timișoara overland using your own car or one of the many buses that operate connections throughout Europe and Romania. The distance is not excessive, considering that Timișoara is the first city you encounter after entering Romania from the Hungarian border. From London, for example, the distance is around 1,600 kilometres, and the journey by car takes approximately 16–17 hours, whilst by coach it takes roughly twice as long, due to numerous intermediate stops.
However, Timișoara’s (relative) distance from Western Europe makes it somewhat inconvenient to reach if you’re already in Romania. Here are the distances and journey times from Romania’s main cities.
Timișoara is divided into 10 districts, and what is now the centre, called Cetate, is identified as district 1. The area is quite compact, and by choosing to stay in this location you’ll be able to move around on foot to explore the city, with all services within easy reach.
Hotels in the city are of good quality, with prices considerably lower than most other parts of Europe, but there is also the option of staying in apartments or guesthouses run directly by locals, so you can save even more and experience 100% the life of the residents.
Public transport in Timișoara is managed by the STPT company, or Societatea de Transport Public Timișoara, which operates 7 tram lines, 8 trolleybus lines and 10 bus lines, plus water transport by boat along the Bega Canal and the VeloTM bike-sharing system. In total, approximately 90 million passengers travel on STPT services every year.
In addition to STPT public transport, you can also travel by taxi, especially to reach areas of the city that are otherwise inconvenient. Taxis are very affordable, but sometimes taxi drivers might try to increase prices when they realise you’re not local. For this reason, we recommend agreeing on the fare from the outset and negotiating as necessary.
What's the weather at Timişoara? Below are the temperatures and the weather forecast at Timişoara for the next few days.
Timişoara is located in the western part of Romania, in the Banat region, approximately 5 hours' drive from Cluj-Napoca. Thanks to its strategic position, the city plays a vital role in the country's economy: it sits less than 50 minutes from the Serbian border and roughly an hour from the Hungarian frontier. Timişoara is Romania's closest city to Western Europe and represents the first major settlement you'll encounter when travelling towards Bucharest.
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