Arad (Romania)

By plane

The nearest commercial airport is Timisoara (Traian Vuia TSR) 40 km south, with 6 or 7 flights a day to Bucharest, and other European destinations.
Budapest (Ferihegy BUD) airport 230 km north-west has extensive connections.

Arad AirportHas only an occasional holiday charter flight.

By bus

Arad is on the main highway E68 between Budapest and Bucharest. There are buses every hour or two to Timisoara (60-90 min); change there for Bucharest. Buses run every 30 min to Budapest, the fastest in only two hours.
For Transylvania, four or five buses run daily to Deva (3 hr), Sibiu (5 hr) and Brasov (8 hr). There are four buses to Cluj Napoca (4-6 hr).
The bus station is in the Atrium Centre on Aurel Vlaicu Bvd, 200 m west of the railway station and 2 km north of city centre.

By train

There are five direct trains a day to Budapest Keleti, taking 4 hr 30 min, fare 100 lei. (This includes an hour waiting at the border; there's also a one-hour time switch between Romania and Hungary.) The last direct train is at 15:30, but there's a 17:00 indirect route taking six hours. The 01:00 train is a through-service to Vienna.
There are only two direct services to Bucharest, both overnight, 11 hr. The best daytime connection is via the midday train to Timișoara.
For Transylvania, take the mid-afternoon train running through Deva (3 hr) and Sibiu (6 hr) to Brasov (10 hr).
There are two direct trains to Iași (one daytime 14 hrs, one overnight 17 hr) via Cluj Napoca. There's one other direct and two indirect services to Cluj Napoca (5-6 hr).
All passenger trains are run by CFR Calatori. (Gara Arad) is 2 km north of the city centre at Piața Gării 8-9. The interior is modernised; few facilities within but lots of fast food places, small supermarkets, currency exchange etc just outside on the main boulevard.

Most sights, eating and accommodation are a short walk from City Hall. Buses and trams run along the main strip here, Bulevard Revolutiei. At its north end this curves west into Calea Aurel Vlaicu, with the bus & railway stations. Taxis and car hire are readily available.

• Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral

  address: Bulevardul Revolutiei
  Built in 1992-2006, the interior was re-plastered & repainted in 2018, with wooden scaffolding filling the northern part near the iconostasis. The murals at the southern part, by the entrance, look very fresh.

• Lutheran Church

  address: Bd. Revoluției 61
  Built in 1906 from red bricks (hence the nickname), Gothic Revival style.

• Administrative Palace

  address: Bd. Revoluției 75
  Impressive city hall, built in 1876 in Renaissance Revival style.

• Neumann Palace

  address: Bd. Revoluției 78/str. Horia
  Representative building created for a very rich industrialist in 1891–92, eclectic style. Today it houses a number of shops as well as the private Vasile Goldiș University. The former ballroom was converted into an auditorium for 200 students.

• Cultural Palace & Museum

  address: Piaţa George Enescu 1
  Imposing cultural complex, dating from 1911-13, in an eclectic style mix of neoclassical, Gothic and Renaissance elements. The museum has three divisions: fine arts, natural sciences, and archaeology/history. The philharmonic orchestra (filarmonia) has regular concerts: the box office is in the Ioan Slavici Theatre.
• Just east of the Palace is the Mures river, with a promenade for strolling, and a children's play-park.

• Moise Nicoară National CollegeStately school building, built from 1869–1873 with Renaissance and Baroque elements. It was thoroughly refurbished after 2010 and made one of Romania's best equipped schools.

• St. Anthony of Padova ChurchRoman Catholic cathedral built in 1904 in neo-Renaissance style.

• Ioan Slavici Classical TheatreElegant neoclassical theatre building, completed in 1874.

• Avram Iancu squareThe city's main square, with a central green space and monument to the Unknown Soldier. Surrounding buildings include the theatre to the north and the Art-Nouveau Nádasdy House to the west.

• House with locked logOne of the oldest secular buildings in the city, built for a Viennese merchant in 1815. The building's distinctive mark, a brass-coated log, was modeled after the famous "Stock-im-Eisen" in central Vienna and used by travelling journeymen to leave a mark of their guild. After being stolen (and recovered) in 1994, the log was moved to the Museum of Art, to protect it from other thieves.

• SynagogueReformed synagogue, built from 1828–1834, neoclassical style with Greek and Tuscan elements.

• Serbian Orthodox Saint Peter and Paul ChurchBaroque church, built around 1700 (the city's oldest church that has survived in its original form), with a high steeple.

• Cathedral of the Nativity of John the BaptistOld Romanian Orthodox cathedral, built from 1862–65 in Baroque revival style.

• Three blocks west of Piața Avram Iancu, Reconciliation Park (Parcul Reconcilierii) with the

  Statue of LibertyA monument to the "13 Martyrs of Arad", rebel generals who were executed by Austrian forces after the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1849.

• Art Nouveau architecture (or Secession style, as it was called in Austro-Hungary): several highly decorative examples of this early 20th-century style, similar to those found in Budapest or other cities of the former Danube Monarchy, with their elaborate floral or geometric ornamentation. However, most of them are in a rather sad state of preservation. Notable instances include (Str. Goldiș Vasile 1-3), (Str. Horia 3-5/Str. Episcopiei 2), (Str. General Vasile Milea 19).

• Trajan BridgeIron bridge over the Mureș river, dating from 1910–13, carrying road and tramway. Rehabilitated in 2010 for the bridge's 100th anniversary.

• East of the river, the is an 18th-century Vauban-style fortification on the site of an earlier Ottoman fort. But it's a military base and closed to the public; you can't even see much of the exterior among the tangled shrubs.

• Ruins of the Franciscan ChurchCannot be visited regularly, as it is in the citadel and therefore part of the restricted military area.

String of cafes, restaurants and bars on Bvd Revolutiei just south of City Hall.

Budget

• Alexander

  phone: +40 257 279 199
  address: 175 Calea Radnei
  2 star.

• Arad

  phone: +40 257 280 894
  address: 9 Bvd Decebal
  Central, with restaurant, cleaning variable.

• Ardealul

  phone: +40 257 280 840
  address: 98 Bvd Revoluţiei
  Nice old building, needs a makeover.

• Lotus

  phone: +40 723 319 313
  address: 8 Str. Nicolae Ştefu
  Good value for 2-star.

• Pensiunea Mioriţa

  phone: +40 257 368 132
  address: 127 Calea Radnei
  Small clean place.

Mid-range

• Best Western Central Hotel

  phone: +40 257 256 636
  address: 8 Str Horia
  3-star, reliable chain choice. The building is set back from the street so it's quiet although central. Big comfy rooms, good breakfast. Mezzanine lift so you always need to go half a flight of stairs to get in, same again to get out.

• Coandi

  phone: +40 257 287 777
  address: 47 Calea Romanilor
  3-star.

• Iris

  phone: +40 257 285 499
  address: 1 Str. Capitan Ignat
  Central, with adjacent restaurant.

• Marem

  phone: +40 257 256 011, +40 257 256 110
  address: 2C Calea Victoriei
  Central, near railway station, clean, has own restaurant.

• Parc

  phone: +40 257 280 820
  address: 25 Bvd General Dragalina
  3-star in ugly 1970s block overlooking river, lukewarm guest reviews.

• President

  phone: +40 257 278 804
  address: 164 Calea Timisorii
  Edge of town, handy if travelling by car.

Splurge

• Continental Forum Arad

  phone: +40 372 578 800
  address: Revolutiei Boulevard 79-81
  With nightclub, spa & bowling.

• Xo Residence

  phone: +40 257 213 163
  address: Strada Ion Rațiu 13
  On central grid 1 km from riverfront.

The main options are to go west towards Budapest, or south via Timișoara towards Bucharest, or east into Transylvania.

• Timișoara, 50 km south (50 min by train), capital of the Banat region and "Little Vienna"
• Sânnicolau Mare, 65 km southwest
• Békéscsaba, 90 km northwest (2 hr by train)
• Lugoj, 100 km southeast (2 hr by train)
• Szeged, 100 km west
• Oradea, 115 km north, city known for its rich Art Nouveau architecture
• Deva, 155 km southeast (3 hr by train)
• Szolnok, 170 km northwest (3 hr by train)
• Hunedoara, 170 km southeast, Corvin Castle, also known as "Dracula's castle"