Yet another Transylvanian gem on the courses of the winding Mures River, Targu Mures is a place of forgotten palaces and haunting castles. It's dominated by a muscular fortress that rises with red-tiled turrets and bulwarks above the domes and painted facades that line Piata Trandafirilor, the historic heart of town. Between them is the Palace of Culture, a flamboyant city hall whose interiors are even more opulently decorated that the exteriors, packing in stained-glass art, mirror halls, and grand dining rooms with fine art flurries.

Once you're done exploring the local culture and history in the lively centre now lined with street side cafes, you can look to the outskirts and the natural wonders that abound there. Targu Mures tour guides welcome travelers to the very beating heart of Transylvania where soft hills clad in woodland lead up to the foothills of the rising Carpathian Mountains, and the slow-moving Mures wiggles past time-stood-still villages.