Just a tip about buying a ticket and recognising the train. This site is ace for planning times reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e.

Worth writing down the journey details and the Romanian for 'first-class ticket' and handing it over - no English spoken at the train station when I was there. But the Lonely Planet guide came to the rescue.

Once you have found the platform watch out. The noticeboard flagged two separate trains - one to Targa Mures and one to Bucharest. The Bucharest train stops at Sighisoara.

But the trains appear to arrive joined as one - late. So it can be confusing.

What seems to happen is that the first-class carriage is always carriage three.

If you are on the same train as me be prepared for 50 year-old rolling stock in first class.

The scenery is fantastic. Ranging from the awesome pollution of Copsa Mica to shepherds and their flocks.

Str. Garii 1-3

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Nice looking restaurant on one of the main streets in Cluj - just up from the cathedral.

Lovely meatball soup - through be warned the meat balls are in fact strips of meat. But the best was to come - hare chop. Strongly recommended.

Washed down with a large bottle of Ursus Black. And all-in including tip at 60 LEI. Awesome.

21 Decembrie 1989 nr. 22

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Friendly and cheap local restaurant. The chicken soup was brilliant. And the wraps of meat with polenta for a main dish were not too bad as well. And with a bottle of beer the whole thing came to less than 40 lei.

Al. Ciura, nr. 6A

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

What a find on the drive from Les Baux de Provence to Tarascon. An ancient city with a triumphal arch and cenotaph. The cenotaph is fantastic - so different from the other Roman relics in the area. You can see these two relics any time but the excavations are not open on a Monday.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glanum
Glanum is around 12 miles from Avignon.
Map: tinyurl.com/2tummh

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The basics are in place in a small way - bar with snacks, Hertz, and a newspaper shop. But nothing much opened until 11:00. Hertz opened eventually to take the keys back. If you are catching RyanAir then turning up 90 minutes before flight time should be fine!

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

There are three fantastic sights in this area - Torre de Belem, Monument to the Discoveries and for me the best was Mosteiro dos Jeronimos.

Get the 15 tram from Praca de Figueira and get off after Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. You need to walk up aways and take the footbridge over the road to get to the Torre de Belem, and the Monument to the Discoveries.

www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/belem.html

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Sintra is awesome - even more for the views than for the fantastic architecture. Get the train from Sete Rios (Rossio was closed at the time of writing) to Sintra. Exit the station and catch a bus or turn left for a taxi to Palácio da Pena. Try going around the battlement running outside this palace. Then taxi it back to Sintra for Palácio Nacional.

www.manorhouses.com/unesco/whsintra.html

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This ancient church is one of the few places where you can see original byzantine iconography. The Haghia Sofia notwithstanding.

It is small but perfect and well worth the treck out to see. May be best combined with seeing the Golden Gate in Yedikule Castle and then taxi up passing the Theodosian walls.

www.guideistanbul.net/chora.htm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Beyoglu District, is the most cosmopolitan area of Istanbul. Full of shops, bars and restaurants. Definitely the best area to stay and then get taxis out to the various sights like the Haghia Sofia and Topkapi Palace.

See this link for a taste of the district www.turkeytravelplanner.com/WhereToGo/Istanbul/Sights/Beyoglu/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends