Oradea
Romania · Crisana · 130 m
Description
Oradea spent a century as a Habsburg and Hungarian provincial capital and came out of it with one of the densest collections of art nouveau architecture in Europe, almost all of it built between 1900 and 1914 by architects working in the Budapest secession manner. A long restoration has brought the facades back, so Union Square now reads as it was drawn, with the glass passage of the Black Eagle Palace cutting through the block behind it. The fortress is a five pointed star of brick, the thermal water rises hot just outside town, and hardly anybody beyond Romania has heard of any of it.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: May – June or September – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Union Square and the restored secession facades
- Black Eagle Palace and its glass passage
- Nymphaea aquapark and its thermal water
- Baile Felix thermal resort and its pools(Day trip)
- Oradea fortress and its five bastions
- Moon Church and its lunar mechanism
- Roman Catholic basilica, the largest baroque church in Romania
- Bears Cave at Chiscau and its formations(Day trip)
- Art nouveau trail through the city centre
- Crisul Repede promenade and the river bridges
- Zion Neolog Synagogue and its restored dome
- Darvas-La Roche house museum
- Apuseni mountains and the karst plateau(Day trip)
Getting there
- Airports:
- OMR
- Train stations:
- Oradea