I never thought I will make a list like this, but here I go...
As anyone out there, I can honestly say, that the best place in the whole wide world is the place you grew up in. It doesn't matter if it's a god-forsaken village somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or if it's one of the biggest cities that exists.
No matter what, when you were a kid, you probably had enough imagination to feel like you found the best places that exists, the best places to play or just to hide from your parents. The best places to share with a few friends, where you were the king or the queen, where you made the rules.
Well now, here are the places I love the most in Kolozsvár (or Cluj-Napoca, or Klausenburg...).
1. The "Mátyás" (Mathias) statue
If you want to visit Kolozsvár, chances are you will find yourself in the city center. The statue was recently cleaned up and the whole center modernized, so now it is one of the best places to check out. Since it is in the center, you will be able to find your way from here to other interesting places around the city quite easily. Most of the older building that are part of the Hungarian heritage are around this part of the city. You will also find the "Szent Mihály" (Saint Michael) church behind the statue. This is the second largest Gothic style catholic church in Transylvania, so it's worth checking out!
2. Mátyás király szülőháza (Mathias king's home)
This is the place where Mathias was born. The house is very close to the statue, and the little street leading to it is usually full with vendors. They usually sell jewelry, traditional sweets, or any other kind of things you might want to buy as souvenirs. (And thank God, cars are finally not allowed near the place) 3. Farkas utcai templom (church of Wolf street)
This church is again quite close to the city center. It's one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Transylvania. It's a "reformed" church, and it was built around the 16th century. The church is near a few Hungarian High-schools in the city: Apáczai Csere János, and Báthory István, and also the Reformed College. Since I studied at Apáczai, it kinda grew on me. 4. Házsongárdi temető (Házsongárdi cemetary)
Since Halloween and all hollows eve is almost here, I can say that this is one of the best places to learn some history. Tho the cemetery is almost full nowadays, so sometimes people destroy old, unused graves, you can still find a few tombs from the 16th century. A lot of local celebrities and well known figures of our history were buried here, so whenever I have the occasion to walk around this cemetery I can say I always find some new things to marvel at. It's most beautiful around this time of the year, because of the colorful vegetation, and also the lit candles on the graves gives the place a mysterious feeling after the sun goes down. 5. The Tailors Bastion
This is a little part of the old city, still standing. You might find a lot of buildings like this around Transylvania, since it comes with our heritage. This is just one of the most old buildings in the city. It's from the 15th century... It's in the southeast corner of the city, and it got it's name from the tailor's guild, who guarded this part of the city from here. 6. The citadel
The stronghold on the top of the 405 meters high hill was built around 1700, and it was also used as a prison. The only thing that remained out of it to this time tho is the moat that was around the fortification and the eastern gate. The place is nicely cleaned up now, but the best part of it is the beautiful view of the city from here. You can see almost every part of it, since the citadel is way higher than most of the buildings. 7. The Central Park
The biggest park in the city (around 13 hectares). The trees in it are more than a hundred years old (mostly chestnut). The park has a lake, where in the summer you can rent a little boat and spend a few minutes or hours floating, and in the winter, if it's cold enough, the water will freeze and you can ice-skate. The park also had an old casino building - which is almost in shambles nowadays, and a little bandstand, where the local opera choir used to sing in the nights - tho nowadays it's mostly unused. 8. The Botanical Garden
One of the biggest botanical gardens out there, with its 14 hectares. It has around 10000 different kinds of plants, from all around the world. It has different parts, different gardens, and of course a museum. The place is beautiful no matter what season, but in the winter there isn't much you can see outside... most of the plants are inside the green houses. 9. Bánffy Palace
Transylvania's most beautiful baroque building. It was built in the 18th century, and it's just beside the Saint Michael church. The first owner of the building was Bánffy György, but at the moment it houses the National museum of Art. The building's facade is decorated with 7 statues: Mars, Minerva, Apollo, Diana, Hercules, Perseus and the coat of arms of the Banffy family. 10. The two-towered church
Transylvania's biggest classicist reformed church. It's first name was Peripheral Reformed church, since it was located outside of the walls of the city, but because of its two towers it became known as the two towered church. I usually have a smile on my face every time I walk around this place, not because it is the church my family "belongs to", but because it has a quite beautiful garden, where I spent many weekends when I was a kid. I used to go there on "Sunday school". They had programs for kids Saturdays on the afternoon and Sundays in the morning. I kinda distanced myself from the church since then tho. I think the obligatory catechism classes were at fault in this. I was only a teenager after all. Anyways... there are a lot more places you can visit in the city besides these places. And because Kolozsvár is full with good schools and universities, it is full with young people most of the year. So, of course the city isn't lacking in places made for young people...
