Streets squares and districts to visit Cluj-Napoca

Surrounding these two long squares, bordered and crossed by major roads, are a number of important administrative buildings, all erected in the ^19th or early ^20th century: prefecture, courthouse, Orthodox theological institute and finance palace. They are also home to the Orthodox cathedral and the opera house, which face each other and between which stands a statue of Avram Iancu, a figure of the Romanian revolution of 1848.

The heart of the city, it's a good place to start your exploration. In addition to the Catholic cathedral and the statue of Matei Corvin, you'll find pleasant terraces to contemplate the local entertainment. You can reach Avram Iancu and Ștefan cel Mare squares via strada Iuliu Maniu, also known as rue Miroir because the two buildings that mark the beginning of the street on either side are perfectly identical. They date back to 1899. Attractive side streets include strada Dávid Ferenc and strada Tipografiei.

The strada Regele Ferdinand, named after Ferdinand, King of Romania between 1914 and 1927, takes you from the city center behind the ^13th-century Franciscan Church of Cluj to the bridge over the Someşul Mic river. The two crossroads facing each other on either bank form a very harmonious whole, with, among other things, the Széki and Babos Palaces, two highlights of this architectural complex, with neo-Gothic and Secession accents, built between the ^19th and ^20th centuries.

Once across the bridge on the north bank, a flight of stairs takes you to the top of the citadel hill, with a superb view of the city and the grand Hotel Belvedere. But the area is also steeped in history: traces of Neolithic and Roman remains have been found here, a Vauban-style fortress was built here as early as 1715 to plans by the Italian architect Visconti, and the Citadel Cross(Crucea de pe Cetățuie) was erected here in 1995, in tribute to the Romanian martyrs of the 1848 revolution.

Still on the north bank, Strada Horea is not a very lively street, with few shops. It features three religious buildings. First, the synagogue and a memorial temple for the Jewish community, which commemorates the 16,700 Cluj Jews deported by the Hungarian government to Nazi Germany. Further on stand the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas (neo-Romanesque, ^20th century) and the Reformed Church, known as Peste Apă ("across the water"), with its pointed bell tower (^20th century).

Starting from the north-east of Piaţa Unirii, this 2 km long commercial boulevard has two churches, including, from the very first metres, the Evangelical Church (1829). Rather narrow, sometimes pedestrian, the surrounding streets, sometimes very lively, are worth a look. Like Strada Dávid Ferenc, near the Hungarian Reformed Church (1796). It leads to the very commercial Piaţa Mihai Viteazul, where the statue of the first prince to have ruled the two Romanian principalities and Transylvania in 1600 is enthroned.

Bounded on one side by the Franciscan church and on the other by the National Museum of Transylvanian History, from which it takes its name, "Museum Square" is the city's oldest square. Particularly pleasant on sunny days, when the cafés spread their terraces around the small Caroline obelisk, it's an ideal starting point for strolling through the narrow streets of the historic center, but also the perfect place to take a break, as the "Petite Place" (its former name) seems protected from the hustle and bustle of the city. A place full of history and life.