TIMISOARA

Timisoara is situated in the South-Western part of Romania, very close to the border with the former Yugoslavia. Timişoara is the city with the most western and cosmopolitan looks of the whole country, and the place where, in 1989, the first bursts of revolution led to the removal of the national communist regime. Testimonies of those events can still be seen today, most notably the bullet marks on the walls of the buildings in the Union Square.
The administrative and cultural center of Banat, Timişoara is a friendly and lively city. During the summers, the city center is full of terraces that show up on small and shadowy streets, and in the bright squares troubled only by the pigeons’ cooing. In the evening, the banks of the Bega river, which crosses the city, animate lovers’ romantic gatherings in little boats whose lights playfully reflect into the water’s waves. Music vibrates in the night around the terraces. In winter, the city’s nightlife moves towards a great variety of clubs and bars, where every weekend visitors can take in jazz and rock concerts, house music, and mixes of people.
The town, more than 1 millennium old, has excellently preserved its city looks; a walk will lead you to the numerous edifices in Baroque style. Among the most remarkable, due to its age and aspect, is the Old City Hall, smart houses from the beginning of the 19th century, older and more recent churches and cathedrals belonging to the different ethnic groups in town, the Castle of the Huniazi, the famous bulwark, and theaters.
A former town of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, nicknamed “The Small Vienna”, Timişoara has been in fashion with Western habits for a long time, it even was the first city in Europe to take advantage of the street-lights (starting with 1884). Obeying its legacy, today Timişoara has a very intense cultural life. At The National Theater –the only theater in Europe where the shows are performed in 3 different languages: Romanian, Hungarian and German – housed in a building of Renaissance style, numerous shows take place, including international theater festivals. It is not said for nothing that “Banat is Romania’s forehead!”

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Craiova is a city that surprises by the building architecture but also by its parks. One of the most impressive buildings is Jean Mihail Palace, built between 1899-1907 by the French architect Paul Gottereau The building raised at the request of Constantin Mihail, one of the richest man of Romania of those times, is a masterpiece of elegance and refinement. Today the building houses The Art Museum, which has among the main attractions some of the works belonging to the great sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi.
Similarily remarkable are some building dating since the beginning of the 20th century: the building of the City Hall – built in Neo-Romanian style, Vorvoreni House – the Headqurters of Oltenia’s Metropolitan Seat, whose architecture presents the late influence of the French Renaissance, the Palace of Prefecture – with elements of folk architecture. Banat’s House, dating since 1699, is the oldest secular construction in town and one of the oldest of this type in the country, and today it houses The Ethnography and Folk Art Section of Oltenia’s Museum.
A place that you must visit, once arrived in Craiova, is "Nicolae Romanescu" Park, made according to a project awarded with the Golden Medal at the International Exhibition of Paris in 1900. the park contains elements that create a space full of romanticism: a draw bridge, a castle in ruins, rock imitations, shelters, kiosks, bridge parapets imitating tree trunks and an island for swans.
The newest tourist atractions are the fontains built in the last three years, and spread all over the city. The most interesting are the ones in the center, which include also a musical fontain. You can fiind pictures and videos from these fontains on the website http://www.musicalfountain.eu, and also a live webcam from the center of Craiova.

CRAIOVA

LOCATION

Craiova is the 5th largest Romanian city, after Bucharest, Constanta, Iasi and Timisoara, the capital of the county of Dolj, situated near the East bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a long time political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians (north) and the Danube (south).

HISTORY

Craiova, which occupied the site of the Dacian and Roman city Pelendava, was formerly the capital of Oltenia. Its ancient bans, the highest ranking boyars of the Wallachian state, initially those of the Craioveşti family. The bans had the right of minting coins stamped with their own effigies - the origin of the Romanian word ban as used for coins. Because of that Craiova is also known today as “Cetatea Banilor” which in a free translation means “The fortress of the money”.


TRANSPORT

The public transportation in Craiova consists of 3 trolley tram lines and 17 bus lines. It is operated by the Regia Autonomă de Transport Craiova (RAT Craiova), a corporation ran by City Hall. A ticket for one travel is around 0.5€.
Craiova is also a major railway center and is connected to all other major Romanian cities, as well as local destinations, through the national Căile Ferate Române network. Check the national railway timetable for an appropriate connection.
The town taxicabs are very cheap. For an usual travel you don't pay more than 2€ (around 0.3€/km).
The city is served by the Craiova Airport.

An amazing city

An unusual mixture of Oriental nuance and Western refinement, Bucharest harmoniously mingles its many contrasts: crowded streets and terraces full of life, cavernous international restaurants and intimate cafes, office buildings of steel and glass beside romantic districts of old houses.

Since 1862, when it became Romania’s capital, Bucharest has undergone perpetual change, turning into the center of artistic and cultural life of the country. At the end of the 19th century, and again at the beginning of the 20th century, impressive buildings appeared in the center of Bucharest: works of French architects by Romanian architects trained in France that harmoniously mingled the neo-classical style with the Roccoco style of the French Renaissance. Examples include The CEC (Savings Bank) building, The Military Circle, The Central Post Office, the present National History Museum, The Palace of Justice, and The Cantacuzino Palace.

Additionally the literary and artistic life from the beginning of the 20th century has earned Bucharest the nickname “Little Paris”.
In Bucharest there is no other place to discover the between war atmosphere of “Little Paris” than The Victory Avenue (Calea Victoriei). The main thoroughfare of the city and one of the oldest in town, the road crosses the capital from the north up to the Dâmboviţa river. It carries the visitor between graceful buildings finely decorated with gables and arches; high attics and roofs plated with metal scales and sometimes with gorgeous cupolas; and, wide squares that make room for some wonderful edifices such as The Romanian Athenaeum, The Central University Library and The Royal Palace.

The period following the fall of Communism, in 1989, introduced a series of changes in Bucharest. During this time, it sought to strike a balance between the preservation of its historical character the impulse toward expansion and modernization imposed by an extremely dynamic economic life. With a certain surprise you will discover, walking through the city center, the famous Parliament Palace and numerous ultra-modern edifices that rise among the houses dating from the beginning of the 20th century.

A true European metropolis, Bucharest offers numerous theaters with a great variety of performances, stages, and shows; art galleries with painting, photography, sculpture exhibitions; book fairs; hospitable libraries, where you can hide from the street commotion; and tea houses – all such unique attractions that you must live them to understand the essence of this truly unique metropolis.

Walk or not. Bucharest, your own little marathon

TRANSPORT
Bucharest's extensive public transport system is the largest in Romania and the third largest in Europe. It is made up of the Bucharest Metro, as well as a surface transport system run by RATB (Regia Autonomă de Transport Bucureşti), which consists of buses, trams, trolleybuses and light rail. In addition, there is a private minibus system.
The city is served by two airports: Henri Coandă International Airport (formerly Otopeni) and Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (formerly Băneasa). Henri Coandă is the largest airport in Romania and the main hub for the national operator TAROM. It is also connected to several international airports by a wide range of international airlines. The smaller Aurel Vlaicu Airport is used for charter flights and low-cost carriers.

Bucharest is the hub of Romania's national railway network, run by Căile Ferate Române (CFR). The main railway station is Gara de Nord, or North Station, which provides connections to all major cities in Romania as well as international destinations such as Budapest, Sofia, Vienna and Prague. The city also has five ther railway stations run by CFR, which are in the process of being integrated in a commuter railway serving Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county.

Bucharest in short

BUCHAREST

LOCATION
Bucharest is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania. It is located in the southeast of the country and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River.

CLIMATE
Bucharest has a continental climate, characterised by hot dry summers and cold winters. Due to its position on the Romanian Plain, the city's winters could get windy, even though some of the winds are mitigated due to urbanisation. Winter temperatures are often below 0 °C (32 °F), even though they rarely drop below −10 °C (14 °F). In summer, the average temperature is approximately 23 °C (73 °F) (the average for July and August), despite the fact that temperatures sometimes reach 35 °C (95 °F) to 40 °C (104 °F) in mid-summer in the city centre. Although average precipitation and humidity during summer is low, there are infrequent yet heavy and often violent storms. During spring and autumn, temperatures vary between 18 °C (64 °F) to 22 °C (72 °F), and precipitation during this time tends to be higher than in summer, with more frequent yet milder periods of rain.

DEMOGRAPHICS
The city's population, according to the 2002 census, is 1,926,334 inhabitants,[12] or 8.9% of the total population of Romania. Additionally, there are about 50,000 people who commute to the city every day, mainly from the surrounding Ilfov county.
Approximately 97% of the population of Bucharest are ethnic Romanians, with the second largest ethnic group being the Roma, which make up 1.4% of the population. Other significant ethnic groups are Hungarians (0.3%), Jews (0.1%), Turks (0,1%) and Germans (0,1%). Some other inhabitants of Bucharest are of Greek, Armenian, Lipovan and Italian descent. The Greeks and the Armenians used to play significant roles in the life of the city at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.
In terms of religion, 96.1% of the population are Romanian Orthodox, 1.2% are Roman Catholic, 0.5% are Muslim and 0.4% are Eastern Rite-Catholic. Despite this, only 24% of the population, of any religion, attend a place of worship once a week or more.