"Targu Mures -- Hungarian heart of Transylvania" Targu-Mures by okiebob

Until WWI, Transylvania was under the Astro-Hungarian empire, and much of central Transylvania is still home to ethnic Hungarians. Friendly and chock full of century-old Hapsburg-style buildings not seen elsewhere in the region, Targu Mures (or Marosvasarhely in Hungarian) is the biggest city of the Hungarian area, called Szekely Land. Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), a budget airline in Europe, is starting service between Budapest and Targu Mures in July 2006, meaning that it may become a new gateway to Romania's most popular destinations in Transylvania.

Targu Mures itself has reason to stick around. Its central Piata Trandafirilor (Trandafirilor Square) is lined with streetside cafes and restaurants, churches and monuments. Looming to the north is a giant walled citadel, with a lovely 15th century church. Targu Mures' top attraction, no doubt, is at the south end of the square: the Culture Palace (Palatul Culturii), a flamboyant early 20th-century city hall with steepled roofs, a few museums, and a superb stained-glass hall you can visit.

Another popular place to see is the Teleki Library (tel 0265-261-857; Str Bolyai 17; admission 1.5 euro; open 10am-6pm Tue-Fri), a couple blocks east of the centre; the collection of 120,000 rare books dates from the 18th century.

Culture Palace, Targu Mures, Romania

Stop by the tourist information centre (tel 0365-404-934; Piata Trandafirilor; open 8am-8pm Tue-Thur, 8am-4pm Mon & Sat) at the ground floor of the Culture Palace. Staff love the town, speak English, offer free maps and all sorts of information on the area. Their website is www.cjmures.ro/turism.

Once in the centre, it's easy to walk around Targu Mures. The bus station is about 1.5km south of the centre (take bus 18), and the train station is 1km south (bus 5).

• Pros:Off-the-beaten track, slice of 'Hungary' in Romania
• Cons:Not many cheap accommodation options
• In a nutshell:Worthy side trip -- for day or two -- from Sighisoara or Cluj-Napoca