A guide to the county
Hunedoara
in five.
A short guide to Hunedoara County: in every town, five places to stay, five to eat and five to explore. Chosen by people, not algorithms.
Towns
We started with the towns where we found good places in all three categories. More will follow as we check them.
The county seat at the foot of Citadel Hill, with a medieval fortress on a volcanic cone and the Magna Curia palace in the park below.
SimeriaA railway town on the Mureș, with an arboretum over 250 years old and a volcanic hill above the river.
HunedoaraThe former steel town on the Cerna, with Corvin Castle on a limestone rock and small museums around it.
CălanAn ironworks town in the Strei valley, with two of Transylvania's oldest stone churches, at Streisângeorgiu and Strei, and the Roman pool at Aquae.
OrăștieThe old Saxon town of Broos, with a medieval citadel restored in 2025 and the road to the Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains.
GeoagiuA town on the Mureș with the Geoagiu-Băi spa, where thermal water flows beside the Roman baths of Germisara, and the home village of Aurel Vlaicu.
BradThe gold town of the Zarand area, with the Gold Museum, old streets built by the mining company and the narrow-gauge train to Crișcior.
HațegThe town at the heart of the Hațeg Country, with Prislop Monastery, the wisent reserve and the dinosaur Geopark house a few kilometres apart.
VulcanA Jiu Valley mining town below Vâlcan Mountain, with a cable car up to the Vâlcan Pass ski runs.
PetrilaA former mining town on the East Jiu, with its old mine turned into a cultural site and the DN7A climbing through the Jieț Gorge towards the Parâng and Șureanu mountains.
PetroșaniThe main town of the Jiu Valley, built around its coal mines, with the chairlift to Parâng resort starting at its edge.
LupeniA mining town in the west of the Jiu Valley, with Straja ski resort above it and a gondola that climbs from town to the slopes.
Why only five?
- Five helps you choose.A list of 40 restaurants leaves the searching to you. Five means we already chose.
- Every place has a reason.Each entry says in one line why it made the list.
- Different places, not clones.We pick places that are not alike, so everyone finds what suits them.
- The list changes, it doesn't grow.When a place comes in, another goes out. We review the selection regularly.