Visit Deva in Romania – Things To Do & Restaurants
Deva is a city in western Romania with some interesting things to do, including a fortress. We selected the city of Deva as a launchpad for our return Interrail leg from Romania to the UK.
We chose it as a new place to visit because it had some places of interest and was convenient for travelling overnight with the dog to Vienna. The train was due to depart around 11 pm, with an early-morning arrival in Vienna. So the travel time was not so long for the puppy.
Deva in Romania
Deva is a city in western Transylvania, Romania. It is the capital city of Hunedoara County. The city is on the Mureș River again. This seems to be a common theme among the places we visited in Western Romania, such as Alba Iulia, possibly because the train follows the river.
Deva is the 37th most populous city in Romania, which is possibly why it was never on my radar, except for the convenience factor on this trip. The city has an interesting history, dating back to 1269, and the citadel seems to be the most historically significant place.
Currently, much of the city has communist-era high-rise blocks and is not so easy on the eye.
Getting To Deva in Romania
We arrived in Deva from Brasov late in the evening at about 10:15 pm and, after dark, as planned, headed straight for our apartment. The walk involved a stroll through the city centre, passing a brightly lit blue church.
After walking uphill into the city, we headed right into what was a nicely decorated area where the Christmas market had just closed. The streets were quiet even for a Saturday night. This was the quietest place we had been for a while.
Hotels & Other Accommodation in Deva, Romania
There are options for a variety of accommodation types in the city and surrounding Hunedoara County. These range from guest rooms to hotels, some of which are dog-friendly. We found many options for places to stay within our budget on the Booking.com website.
Pension Subcetate: A Dog-Friendly Place
Our home for one night was Pension Subcetate, a cheap, dog- or pet-friendly place to stay. Our room was part of a larger complex with a few individual chalets for guests to book.
The owner, an older, friendly lady, was very flexible with us, as we wanted to arrive late and leave our bags in the room until the late evening the next day. Nothing was too much trouble, and she seemed to enjoy our company, as there were no other guests.
They kitted out our room for the night with older, more traditional furniture, and it had a visiting-grandma vibe. The bed had ample bedding for the predicted chilly night, heating, and showers. We had a splendid night’s sleep here and had a drink with the owner in the evening, who also made coffee for us in the morning.
This place would have been great in the summer, with a huge gated garden area offering seating in both sunny and shaded spots. We were told to keep the keys for no extra charge and come and go as we pleased until we were ready to go catch the train. The amiable lady was blunt conversationally but had some great recommendations for places to eat after our day exploring Deva.
Things to Do in Deva
We spent little time in Deva in the grand scheme of things; it was a Sunday, thus most things were closed. I also had a run-in with some stray dogs that put us off wandering around with our small dog. We were hoping to visit the Cetatea Devei, a citadel on the hill overlooking the city. I cancelled our visit here because of the stray dogs on the way up and the chairlift’s no-pets policy. This is compounded by the fact that every restaurant in the city that was open was not dog-friendly. Also, a few were open Sunday lunchtime.
We opted to take advice from Twitter and get to Corvin Castle. This was a great call, and after researching public transport, we headed out of the city on a minibus to Corvin Castle. Deva had some interesting buildings and things to do, but we were here on the wrong day; these were included.
Fortress of Deva
The fortress is atop a volcano in the Poiana Ruscă Mountain Range. This is accessible either on foot or by lift to the top. A fortress at this point overlooking the city dates back to the 13th century.
Because of its height above the surrounding terrain, the fortress is a great place to watch sunrise or sunset on a clear day. They chose the fortress location because it has a strong strategic position for defending Transylvania.
The Theatre – Teatrul de Artă
On the main street in the centre is Teatrul de Artă Deva, a theatre. The building is beautiful to look at from the outside. There are regular performances for visitors to attend, including shows and concerts. This is near many of the city’s restaurants, similar to Theatreland in many other places.
Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation
For visitors interested in the region’s history, the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation is an interesting spot. The museum exhibits are about the history of Deva and nearby citadels. It houses some of the most important historical collections in Transylvania. The museum calls the 17th-century Magna Curia Palace home, a pleasant building.
Magna Curia Castle
They also know Magna Curia Castle as Bethlen Castle. It is at the foot of the hill with the fortress at the top. It is near some nice parkland and recreational areas.
Deva Christmas Market
The city had great Christmas decorations, including the bright blue Annunciation Church, or Biserica Buna Vestire. The Christmas market had many stalls selling local produce and gifts. This market is a great way to spend the evening and enjoy some Christmassy food.
Restaurants & Bars in Deva
We needed to eat out a few times on our visit to the city. The lack of outdoor seating in winter made it difficult to eat out with a dog in tow here.
McDonald’s
After a few rebuttals due to the dog’s presence on the way to the minibus. We eventually opted for McDonald’s. Not ideal, but I required food. Not our ideal brunch venue, but it filled the hole in our bellies while sitting outside. The staff here were friendly, and I got the impression they didn’t get many English-speaking customers.
Restaurant Castelo
We got a recommendation from our host to eat at the nearby Restaurant Castelo. She claimed to eat at Restaurant Castelo weekly, so I took her advice. We left the dog to sleep and headed down the street.
Restaurant Castelo was a nice, clean eatery with very comfy seats. There was a welcome, as the castle adventure had tired us out. The staff were friendly, kept our Ursus glasses filled efficiently, and nothing was too much trouble.
The food here was delicious; I had opted for pork ribs after careful consideration of the menu. The pork ribs plate was rather big and impressive, which included chips, pickles and 2 garlic bread buns. The tripe soup and pork steak were also very nice, according to my partner. I certainly would return here for food if in Deva again.
Deva Train Station
The walk to the station was all downhill, which is great when loaded with a rucksack and a lively dog. On arrival at the station, we tried to find out which platform we needed, but the staff seemed pretty clueless.
We got chatting with a couple heading towards Germany on the same train so we could figure it out together. The train, in true Transylvania style, was running late, and it was my turn to need the toilet. The friendly people showed me where it was, just along the platform.
Eventually, those waiting moved behind a train that pulled up as our night train was arriving imminently. The gap where we were standing was not very wide, so I gripped the dog and guessed this would be a moment.
Anyway, the train came hurtling into the station, and this was a pretty scary moment. However, there was not much room between the train tracks, and we were standing very close to the incoming train. Anyway, all’s well that ends well. We got a splendid room on the night train to Vienna.