Private Day Trip to Timisoara from Belgrade
Description
Spend the day in Romania and get a taste for a different culture on this private day trip. Visit the historic city of Timișoara, one of Romania’s biggest cities, built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress. Hear stories about the 1989 revolution against the Communist regime and take your time to explore on your own and find a nice spot for lunch.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your driver at your accommodation in Belgrade and settle into your private vehicle for the 2.5-hour journey to Timisoara.
This walking tour of Timisoara starts with the downtown quarter of Cetate to see the essential image of Timisoara – many old buildings in the styles of Art Nouveau or Baroque, large pedestrianized squares touched by European history, as well as the multicultural character of the city and the Banat region.
We will start our sightseeing here. The cathedral was built in the late 1930s in the eclectic neo-Moldavian style, which combines Byzantine, Gothic, Ottoman, and Renaissance elements. Inside, notice the fragments of the 18th-century altar, executed in the Baroque style. The basement houses collections of religious objects, including rare books, icons, and paintings. Search for bullet marks on the steps in front of the cathedral, which are part of the story of the people's revolution that started in Timisoara.
We'll continue our tour with a visit to Victory Square, also known as Opera Square. Laid out in 1906, the square features several theaters, a museum, a monument to King Ferdinand, and a memorial to the victims of the 1989 revolution. You'll also find an old artesian well and the sculpture of a Capitoline she-wolf, a gift from the city of Rome. The ground floors of the 19th-century buildings house bookshops, art galleries, cafes, and restaurants.
Next is Liberty Square, which hosts the Old City Hall with the Turkish inscription and shows the mixture of cultures, religions, and civilizations. It's surrounded by important buildings, one of which is the oldest in the city, the Casino Military Museum, as well as the old town hall and the Foreign Ministry. The Sf Ioan Nepomuk Monument (the Catholic Patron in Banat) is in the middle. It was built with sandstone in 1756 by the Viennese sculptor Wasserburger Blim in honor of those who died during the 1738 plague epidemic.
Union Square is the oldest square in Timisoara, and its dominant architecture differentiates from that of the much younger Victory Square. It is flanked by imposing 18th and 19th Centuries buildings of St. George Roman-Catholic Cathedral and Serbian Orthodox Cathedral with a Bishop's Residence. It seems that these two “not-so-in-union” Christian churches (here facing each other in peace) gave the symbolic name to the square - Union. Till 1919 the square was known as “Lasonczy Market”, honoring the 16th-century commandant Stefan (Istvan) Lasonchy, who bravely defended the city from the Turks.
The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral (built between 1745 and 1748) represents the baroque style. The structure of the church beautifully contrasts with the façade of the Bishop’s Residence (Vicariate)standing next to it. Both structures give testimony to the strong Serbian presence in Banat (indeed, in the past, Timisoara was shortly under the control of the Serbian Kingdom, but even today, it is still located very close to the Serbian border).
Viennese architect Emanuel Fisher von Erlach designed the imposing Roman Catholic Cathedral similarly – it represents the baroque style. The construction works started in 1736 and lasted for 18 years. After the death of Fisher von Erlach in 1742, local architects from Timisoara - Theodor Kostka and Alexander Steinlein took the leading role in the project. The painting of St. George on the main altar is a work of Michelangelo Unterberger, while the organ was made by Austrian master - Carl Leopold Wegenstein.
We'll end our sightseeing here. It is an ideal venue to brush up on the December 1989 anti-communist revolution that began here in Timişoara. Displays include documentation, posters, and photography from those fateful days, capped by a graphic 20-minute video (not suitable for young children) with English subtitles. After the Museum, enjoy your free time wandering around the city independently or hitting the shops. For lunch (own expense), enjoy some traditional Romanian cuisine at a local restaurant that our guide will gladly recommend.
After free time, meet up with your guide for the return trip to Belgrade and finish your tour with a drop-off at your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick-up from any hotel, Airbnb, a pension that is up to 10 km from Republic Square, or from Belgrade port is free of charge. Please contact us directly for locations further than 10 km from Republic Square. If you want to start your tour at Belgrade airport, you could do that with a supplement of 15 EUR.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(24)
There is so much to say about our private tour to Timisora from Belgrade with Konstantin from Victor Tours. As 2 ladies in our early 30s a full day tour with a random man in a car was a daunting thought however we shouldnt have worried. From the moment he collected us in his spacious Skoda it felt like a trip out with your cool uncle. He was respectful, chatty, extremely knowledgeable. He made sure we were fully prepared at boarder crossings, had regular stops during the 3 hours drive each way for water and toilet breaks. He was always happy to take photos of us at pretty areas. He showed us around Timisora at a great pace and actually missed his company when we had our 2 hours alone time roaming the town. The only down side was he drove abit too slow in the big roads for my liking, many people were over taking us however he was spending more time teaching us the history of Serbia and Romania and anything else we asked for, so it was a safety thing for him I think then a timing issue. Even after we finished the tour he kept helping us out, he knew we didnt have a good your with another company I Belgrade so he sent over recommendations for where to go for dinner and drinks away from the tourist bohemian quarter. He even checked in with us later that evening to see how it went. I think this will be a working relationship that we will continue growing the next time we visit the region. Hobeslty he is a credit to the company and others he free-lances with
Great to experience a small part of a country that I was not sure i would ever see. Amazing history that occurred in my.
Thank you for sharing your experience. We’re glad the trip left such a strong impression and hope you’ll join us again. Kind regards, VIctor Tours Team
Interesting city with past and history, which in a couple of hours is visited. Sthefan was our English driver and guide. Excellent work you did to us. To put a “but”, it would be in time spent on going back and forth on the same day.
Guide Very profissional ! Good explanation about the region with Very Will to show every interesting place in the city . Friendly and always well informed about the region . I definetely recommend this service
The agency which took care of the trip and details was very organized. They provided all of the details prior to the trip and I felt very comfortable. My driver (Uros) was on time and greeted me with a smile smile and handshake. He was friendly, personally and nice. We had a great driver to Timisoara and he gave me a history lesson as we left Belgrade and another as we entered Timisoara. He gave me ample time to take photos and to explore on my own. The city was beautiful and well worth the trip!!! Uros got me there safe and back to Belgrade on time I could not have asked for a better tour nor a better guide
The tour was fantastic I would 100% recommend the drive between Serbia and Romania is fascinating to see the countryside (For an Australian at least) and the city of Timisoara is stunning from the banks of the river to the main square, the Orthodox Church and the museum of the 1989 revolution. I must recommend to anyone interested in history, and beautiful old towns and historical cities. I also had a fantastic tour guide, who was really well versed in the history of the region.
We did this day trip to Timisoara not knowing exactly what to expect. We loved it! Despite the terrible weather we experienced that day, the city is full of surprises. Its relatively small but the history and architecture are amazing. Our guide (Drazen) could not have been any better. If at all possible, I would recommend requesting him to be your guide. He's polite, punctual, very knowledgeable and speaks English perfectly as he used to live in the US. We visited three countries on this trip to Europe and Timisoara was a nice surprise for us.
I had a fantastic experience in Timisoara, largely thanks to my guide Konstantin, whose expertise and engaging personality truly enhanced the trip. Konstantin impressed me not only with his intelligence but also with his excellent communication skills. Throughout the journey, he consistently sought out my interests and preferences, leading to lively discussions on a variety of topics. It was refreshing to have a guide who was open to discussing a wide range of subjects and provided insightful information about Timisoara. Additionally, I appreciated the company's regular updates on tour details and the weather conditions in Timisoara.
Great trip, and friendly informed guide, made the trip to Timisoara wonderful. We had little free time, and made a good choice to hire guide/driver for this trip.
Radenko arrived at my hotel perfectly on time and was very knowledgeable about the areas of Serbia and Romania that we drove through. The drive is a few hours, but it really flew by quickly and was in a comfortable car. Once we arrived in the city, I was given a tour of all of the major attractions and then he arranged my ticket at the museum of the revolution, gave me an amazing recommendation for lunch at a brewery with fantastic food, and a time to meet back at the car for the drive back across the border and back to my hotel. I was very thankful to have that free time as the official itinerary for this tour only states 30 minutes at the museum and I was able to really take my time and see all of the exhibits.
