A guide to the county
Maramureș
in five.
A short guide to Maramureș County: in every town, five places to explore, five to eat and five to stay. 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.
Baia MareThe county seat of Maramureș, a former mining town, with its old centre around Stephen's Tower, a museum of 'mine flowers' and three UNESCO wooden churches less than an hour's drive away.
Ocna ȘugatagThe salt-lake spa between the Mara and Cosău valleys, a few kilometres from the village of Breb and the UNESCO wooden churches of Budești and Desești.
Valea IzeiThe Iza valley, from Vadu Izei through Bârsana, Rozavlea, Ieud, Botiza and Poienile Izei up to Dragomirești, with three UNESCO-listed wooden churches and Bârsana Monastery.
Sighetu MarmațieiThe old centre of historic Maramureș on the Ukrainian border, with the Sighet Memorial in the former political prison, the Village Museum on Dobăieș Hill and, 19 km away, the Merry Cemetery of Săpânța.
Vișeu de SusThe Mocănița town: the steam forest train leaves from here up the Vaser valley, and the Țipțerai quarter and the Roman Catholic church recall the town's Zipser German settlers.
BorșaThe town below the Rodna Mountains, with the Horses' Waterfall above its tourist complex, the road up to the Prislop Pass and, to the west, Moisei with its wooden monastery and the 1944 memorial.Photo: Baia Mare: Nenea hartia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ocna Șugatag: Josep Renalias / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · Valea Izei: DimiTalen / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · Sighetu Marmației: Chainwit. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · Vișeu de Sus: Maramu1976 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Borșa: Code / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Where to start
Places to see, picked by us. The rest are waiting on each town's page.
Historic centre, medieval towerCentrul vechi: Piața Libertății și Turnul ȘtefanThe main square of the medieval town, with 15th- to 18th-century houses and the House of John Hunyadi, and next to it Stephen's Tower, a 15th-century stone bell tower you can climb.Baia Mare
UNESCO wooden churchBiserica de lemn din Budești JosaniThe St Nicholas wooden church in Lower Budești (Josani), built in 1643, with a tall tower ringed by four small turrets and 18th-century paintings inside.Ocna Șugatag
Wooden monasteryMănăstirea BârsanaAn Orthodox convent built of wood in the Maramureș style from 1993 onwards, with a 57-metre church and a museum of icons.Valea Izei
Memorial museumMemorialul SighetThe Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance, in Sighet's former political prison, where 54 inmates died between 1950 and 1955, many of them former ministers and scholars.Sighetu MarmațieiPhoto: Centrul vechi: Piața Libertății și Turnul Ștefan: Nenea hartia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Biserica de lemn din Budești Josani: Josep Renalias / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 · Mănăstirea Bârsana: Stan Ioan Ovidiu / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Memorialul Sighet: Chainwit. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pocket guide
A weekend ahead?
The guide comes along.
Every town in one PDF: all the places in the guide, with opening hours, phone numbers and a town map. It opens without internet too.
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.