Arad, Romania - about the city
History
Arad is the most western city of Romania. It's a very peaceful city with 200.000 inhabitants. It's nickname is "Little Wien" because was built mostly in the 19th century, when it was part of the Habsburg Empire, and was built to resemble the capital. The Center, built in secessional style, is large and impressive. There are a lot of remarkable buildings in Arad, like the City Hall, the Catholic Church, the Old Water Tower and the Palace of Culture.
Entertainment
In the Center you can find many clubs, restaurants, terraces and also the business center of Arad. Being the most western city of Romania, near the border with Hungary, Arad is situated on one of the most important trade route of the country, so there are a lot of hotels and restaurants in Arad that welcome visitors. For a more active night life you can go to Timisoara, a bigger city that can be reached in one hour by car (only 50 km away).
Arad is a green city
The "Faleza" is the favorite strolling and jogging place in the city. It's a long pedestrian lane which takes like an hour of walking. The beautiful view, having the river on one side and the park on the other, is very relaxing. Along the lane you can find tennis courts, restaurants and terraces where you can site and enjoy the sun and the clean air.
Summer time
For a more active life you only have to cross the bridge to find the biggest lido complex in Romania. Besides the swimming pools there are endless terraces, pubs, beer gardens and discos. In the summer time everybody comes here to party, and I mean everybody, not only from Arad, but also from Timisoara and other neighboring cities. Also there are concerts here in the summer, and three-days events like "The Beer Festival" or "The Days Of Arad". The lido is called "Neptun", after the god of the sea, and everybody refers to it as strand (pronounced "shtrand" - that's lido in Romanian).
Food and traditional cuisine
The local food you got to try is called "mititei" or "mici" (pronounced mitch) - literally meaning 'very small things'-, grilled minced meet that goes great with mustard and beer. Romanian beer is not only great, but very cheap. The best local brands of beer are "Ursus Premium" and "Silva", and they are some of the best beers the Eastern Europe has to offer.
Local traditional cuisine is very rustic and tasty, with great meals like "sarmale", "mamaliga", "ciorba" and even "slanina" - they are great and deserve a lot of attention. Unfortunately, this type of food is not part of the modern city life any more and can be find only in the country side and maybe in a couple of restaurants. It's best to ask a Romanian where you can find good quality traditional Romanian food.
Wineries
Other sites around the city that you can visit are the vineyards of "Minis" (Romanians make great wine), the "Bodrog" or "Bezdin" monasteries (which are emblematic about the religiousness of the people).