It suddenly occurred to me that I've never (so far) promoted my home-town and it really has lots of fun stuff to offer tourists :)
So I guess it's time to do this; to try to bring out the best in the area, or what I see as the best means of having some fun in and around Timisoara (yup... time to look it up on Google, I don't plan on adding extra information about it's location :P)
Why 5?
Because it's... round? :D
Because all articles tend to start with numbers "10 ways to ..." or " 20 best vacation locations..."
I guess there's a certain philosophy to choosing the number... you can't just choose any number cause it doesn't feel right :-)
So... my goal is to find 5 fun activities, along the way (nope, I did not make a list in advance, to count them ;;) )
Here goes!
#1 For "breakfast" , the first course of fun - metaphorically speaking - I have in mind a wake-up & energizing activity: a bike ride in the "Green Forest" of Timisoara. It's situated in the north-west city exit. There are multiple bike-trails to follow (actually there are 4 makes trails, just for the sake of completeness ;;) ). So, quite enough to keep you busy for a couple of hours :-)
It you're just visiting and didn't bring the bike, there are several rental options in town. IVelo is one I surely know about. The city has 'evolved' quite much during the past years e.g. bike lanes, rennovation of old town center.
While you are in that area, don't miss a short tour of the Village Museum. During a pleasant walk on the it's alleys you will discover a large variety of old traditional houses from this region [called Banat] , including a wooden Church and a School. Every spring, this place hosts a very nice international music and art festival, called PLAI.
The city Zoo is also located in this area. This is only for your information because personaly I do not encourage visits where animals are caged and animal freedom rights are broken.
#2 As an "appetizer" , after enjoying the forest area (N-E end of the city), I suggest a tour of the Old Town. As you can guess, it's located in the heart of the city. You may read or hear from the locals that Timisoara is also known as 'little Vienna'. This is due to it's specific architecture, baroque style. Right in the heart of the old town, you can find the so called "Baroque Palace", that hosts a permanent art-collection and also temporary collections (Museum of Art). I've never been on an actual guided tour of Timisoara so I can't really recommend anything experience-based. I know there are some travel agencies and also some free-guided tours available. But if you're not really interested in the history and all that, just wondering around (with a map), can be just as fun as a guided tour... You can walk through the Union Square, Opera Place up to the Cathedral while at any point you can stop at a terrace for ice-cream or a cold beer :) the center is "crowded" with options :)
There's an impressive collection of images taken from the air, available via EyeInTheSky page [photo source].
#3 As we've finally reached "lunch", the most important "meal" of the day (still figuratively speaking :P), it's a very very tough battle on what to suggest... I've finally decided to suggest a combination of walking + eating :) Here's what I suggest, exactly... When you come to Timisoara, the Bega shore is an absolute "must see". Bega is a small river (more like a channel) with some very beautiful parks and gardens along it's banks. These are also very close to the city center. The Children's Park was renovated and 'refreshed' not very long ago. As a child, you can choose among the many attractions (most of them for small children). Very close to this park, there is the "Roses Park" that is also worth a walk, along the Bega shore, especially during the warm seasons when the beautiful flowers color the whole park. Walking along the Bega shore, you will find some very nice restaurants where you can enjoy "a lunch with a view" :) Places like "Riviere" or "Gradina Banateana" are just at one side of the "Roses Park", while down the river there is another nice place, "Porto Arte" and on the other shore you can find a nice (and more fancy) restaurant called "Flora".
The bike lane continues down the river, exiting the city and continuing up to the Serbian border.
If you've already got a bike for #1, you can use it to explore the outside of the city, up until you get bored and come back :-) There are about 35km till the border, from what I remember.
#4 It's been a long ride, but "desert" is finally here! What do people think about first, when it comes to a good meal? ...desert (some think about wine though ;;) but I'm gonna go with desert this time)... I knew what this would be, even before the others. Well, if it's fun you're looking for, let's go for the Room Escape Games. When I first discovered the room escape games (I've dedicated some articles also on my blog to this type of fun-activity), there wasn't any available in Timisoara. There were some in Romainia but in different cities.. So it was my dream last year to open a Room-escape game in Timisoara. But, seems that I'm not CEO material :P I just have a lot of ideas but putting them to practice proves to be very very hard :P (apparently that MBA didn't fix me much :P).
Anyways, my point is that a Room Escape Game opened up in Timisoara and I was more that excited to be among the first customers :) or players. Now there are 3 games in total, provided by ExitGamesTimisoara. All 3 scenarios are very interesting and quite hard (I've played over 14 games in the last year in several cities and I can clearly say that the ones in Timisoara are among the best half).
In case you decide this "desert" suits you, let me tell you Bon Appetit! or Good Luck! :)
#5 A beautiful day spent in Timisoara. The sun is preparing to set... and I'm thinking... the last course of fun in Timisoara... what should "dinner" - metaphorically speaking - consist of!? Hmm.. Still so many choices left :) Well, I've give it some thought and I guess it's just fair to go with a "pub crawling" :-) We should start at the Theresia Bastion area, that offers - besides a very nice architecture - several bars, pizza-place, music clubs. The palette goes from Jazz club, to retro music, latin evenings to chill-out bars... And if this doesn't cover it, there are several other options nearby, in the Union Square or City Center. Timisoara has quite a colorful night life, the latin spirit :) I like to say that the locals are genuine party people :D
Have fun!!!
[source EyeInTheSky]
