"The academic town" a Cluj-Napoca Travel Page by Andraf

There's always something I find charming about a university town. I like the student atmosphere and all that comes with it. The time in life when you're poor but you don't care about it because love is in the air :) A university town is always full of energy, young and animated, open to ideas and ready to party. I find Cluj to be one of these kind of towns. Home to Babes-Bolyai University, the second largest Romanian university, and to a few smaller universities, Cluj draws its vitality from a mixture of old and new, from tradition and novelty. The large population of students in town brings with it lots of cultural events, bars, cafes, clubs, something for all tastes. Located in the heart of Transylvania, Cluj has roots that go back to the 2nd century AD when Roman emperor Trajan established a legion base here in a settlement known as Napoca. Following the Romans, Romanian, Hungarian and Saxon populations called this place home for nearly two centuries.

Downtown Cluj offers plenty of things to see and explore. Beautiful buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries in a multitude of architectural styles line the streets. Churches of different denominations attest to Cluj's multiethnic history. The most notable examples are the 14th century St. Michael's Church considered to be one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Romania and the 15th century Franciscan Church with its beautiful decorations. Cluj is also home to some small and interesting museums. The beautiful Botanical Garden, probably the most visited tourist attraction in Cluj, makes for the perfect place to take a stroll and bask in the afternoon sun.

The surroundings of Cluj also offer plenty of tourist attractions like the Apuseni mountains with their many caves or the Turda Gorge.