About Clujnapoca
Transylvania's former capital effortlessly brings together medieval and Baroque architecture, and is home to Romania's second largest Gothic church – St. Michael's. Downtown Cluj-Napoca is somewhat of an open-air museum, one that breathes a nostalgic air of epochs forgone and contains no shortage of actual museums and attractions. Transylvania's notorious historic ruler – Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula – served as inspiration to the figure of Dracula in, first, Bram Stocker's sensational novel, and later the public imaginary and pop culture. Little reminds visitors to today's Cluj (Transylvania's former capital) of the region's sinister past – European Youth Capital of 2015 buzzes with life, much due to its ever-increasing student population, which favors Cluj-Napoca's bohemian cafes, hip bars and – most notably – vibrant nightlife establishments. Due to its relative obscurity, Cluj remains an off-the-beaten path destination with prices that seem too low to be true – food and drink tend to be laughably cheap, and so are accommodation and transportation – at least for the time being. Cluj also plays host to quite a few cultural festivals throughout the year, so timing your trip to coincide with one of those is surely something to consider.
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