Where to stay in Cluj-napoca

Airport

Avram Iancu International (CLJ), about 9 km by road from Piața Unirii; buses A1E, 5 and 8 take about 26 minutes to the centre. Source

Tourist tax

0.5% of the accommodation price for each day of stay, without VAT, from 1 January 2026 (HCL 760/2025). Source

How the tax is charged

Under the 2018 regulation that created the tax (HCL 1015/2018), guests of accommodation classified by the tourism ministry pay it, rented apartments and rooms included; the accommodation withholds it and shows it as a separate line. Source

Short-term rental rules

Romanian tourism law (OG 58/1998) lets operators use only classified accommodation, with a classification certificate for each unit. Source

Street parking

Zone 1 by SMS: RON 4 for 30 minutes, RON 8 an hour, RON 16 for 2 hours; zone 2: RON 3 an hour, RON 6 for 2 hours, RON 12 for 4 hours, plus the SMS cost. Source

City garages

Moților garage RON 8 an hour, weekdays 07:00 to 19:00; visitor spaces in the district garages RON 12.50 for 8 to 24 hours; Park and Ride RON 16 a day, RON 148 for 7 days, RON 401 for 30 days. Source

Airport parking

Airport-run car parks: 10 minutes free, RON 50 from 3 to 24 hours, RON 200 for 7 days, RON 400 for a month. Source

Road vignette

The rovinieta is required on national roads; whether a rental car carries one was not verified as of October 2026, so ask the desk. Source

Schengen

Romania has been a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025, when checks on persons at its internal land borders were lifted. Source

UK visitors

No visa for up to 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area, which includes Romania. Source

US visitors

On Romania's visa-exempt list for stays of up to 90 days in any 180 (immigration inspectorate list of 2021, no 2026 version found). Source

Entry/Exit System

Fully operational since 10 April 2026; it registers non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay in 29 European countries. Source

Monthly stays

HCL 760/2025 applies the 0.5% to each day of the stay and sets no long-stay exemption. Source

Currency

Romanian leu (RON). Source

Emergency number

112 (ambulance, fire, police) Source

Areas of Cluj-Napoca

Centre around Piața Unirii

One of the oldest squares in the city, watched over by the Matthias Corvinus monument and St Michael's Church, inside the area of the first walled town; three bastions and much of the southern wall of the second enclosure survive. It suits a first visit on foot.

Avram Iancu airport

about 9 km

Car and parking

The streets around the square are in zone 1, RON 8 an hour or RON 16 for 2 hours by SMS. The barrier car park on Piața Unirii takes payment only at its machines, and the Moților garage charges RON 8 an hour on weekdays from 07:00 to 19:00.

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Central Park and Cetățuie

The streets by Parcul Central Simion Bărnuțiu and Cetățuie hill, with the Habsburg citadel, the two places the city tourism site suggests for walks. It suits a stay about 3 km by road from Piața Unirii.

Avram Iancu airport

about 11 km

Piața Unirii

about 3 km

Car and parking

Central streets are split between zone 1 and zone 2 on the city's lists, so check the street against the list; zone 2 costs RON 3 an hour or RON 12 for 4 hours by SMS. Parking Hașdeu, south of the park, has 40 visitor spaces.

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Mănăștur

The district on Calvaria hill, where historians place the oldest medieval fortification of Cluj, the 9th to 10th century Castrum Clus, and where the history of the Calvaria church begins around the 11th century. It suits a longer stay about 4 km by road from Piața Unirii.

Avram Iancu airport

about 12 km

Piața Unirii

about 4 km

Car and parking

The City Hall garages on Strada Primăverii (Primăverii 20, Primăverii 8 and Primăverii F.N.) and on Mogoșoaia keep visitor spaces at RON 3 for an hour and RON 12.50 from 8 to 24 hours, paid at the machines.

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Someșeni, by the airport

The airport district on Strada Traian Vuia, with the city's Park and Ride beside the terminal and buses A1E, 5 and 8 to the centre in about 26 minutes. It suits an early flight or a car left outside the centre.

Avram Iancu airport

under 1 km

Piața Unirii

about 9 km

Car and parking

The Park and Ride Traian Vuia has 756 spaces at RON 16 for a day, RON 148 for 7 days and RON 401 for 30 days. The airport-run car parks charge RON 50 from 3 to 24 hours and RON 400 for a month.

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Guides

Where to stay

Where to stay in Cluj-Napoca with a car: Centre, Central Park, Mănăștur or the airport

In Cluj-Napoca the centre is paid by the half hour and the city garages by the visit. A rental car can sleep in a district garage, at the park and ride by the airport, or in a central car park with a barrier.

Photo: Yerpo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Monthly stay

Renting an apartment in Cluj-Napoca for a month: tax, classification, schengen days and parking

A month in a Cluj-Napoca apartment still pays the 0.5% tourist tax for every day, and a car needs a garage, the park and ride or a monthly pass. The legal limits are the Schengen ones.

Photo: Norbert Csaba, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Questions