Caransebes benefits of natural advantages, which could make our area a beautiful tourist attraction.

The transitional tourism is favoured by the railway lines and the roads which link the areas of the Depression of Caransebes with the Plains of Oltenia and the Danube through the “Oriental Gate”, with the Hateg area and the Basin of Transylvania through the “Iron Gates of Transylvania”, and through the wide opening to the Bay of Lugoj, with the Banat Plains.

The railway lines and the roads make Caransebes a very important transit point. Caransebes has also an airport, which connects with the whole world. The mountain tourism has special development conditions, because the surface of the area has over 65% of high relief forms, with wooded mountains and alpine areas of unique beauty.

This kind of tourism has a pretty old tradition, which extends even before the year 1900. We can state that we have a century of tourist activity, period in which tourist marks have been made and shelters and tourist chalets have been built. In 1935, one of the first tourist clubs in the country, the “Clubul Turistic Banatean” from Caransebes was founded.

The cultural tourism, facilitated by the existence of places of unique folklore and ethnography in the country, with numerous annual festivities, exists as a part of the local tourism. The festivities from this area, called “nedei”, which correspond to the celebration of the patrons of the churches, are a special tourist attraction.

The fishing and hunting places are also important in this area. In 1918 there already existed a hunting club, which today is represented by “the Subsidiary of Hunting and Fishing Caransebes”, association which has in use a number of 10 hunting areas with a total surface of 95,000 ha and on which over 250 members can hunt. The bear, the buck, the deer, the capercailzie, the chamois, form real treasures of the local hunting fund. The trout, the grayling, the barbel, the pike and other types of mountain fish populate unique piscatorial places, of great value and interest.

The culinary art is mostly based on dishes from mutton (sheep soup, roasted lamb, roast mutton, specialties from sheep guts). Sausages and dry sausages are the specific pig-dishes. These are often served combined with eggs and cheese (“colesi cu ciganie”, “gaigana”). The sheep-cheese, which is dried in the sun, is prepared from milk. The most important local drink is “rachia” (plum “tuica“).

The balneary tourism is practiced in the Baile Herculane area, which is situated 80 km south from Caransebes, on the E 70 road. The thermal springs and the whole natural beauty, complemented by a special tourist endowment attract many tourists.

On the road to Baile Herculane, near Armenis, at about 27 km from Caransebes, there is the “Piatra Scrisa” small convent. Tradition says that, when the railway network from Caransebes to Orsova was built and the work on a tunnel began, a rock detached because of a dynamite explosion, in front of the workers the icon of the Trinity appeared.

On the same road, at only 20 km from Caransebes, turning right, through the Slatina-Timis commune, we can get to Brebu, Trei Ape, Garana and to the Semenic complex.

At the exit towards Timisoara , near the village belonging to Caransebes, Jupa, you can visit the Tibiscum Archaeological Reservation, which contains, on a surface of 17 ha, the most important vestiges of classical antiquity in Banat. Tibiscum was the most important city of Western Dacia and was founded by the Romans in A.D.106.

On the DN 68 road we can get to Otelu Rosu (and from there to Poiana Marului), then to the former capital of Roman Dacia (at Sarmisegetuza) and to Densus (at 13 km away from Hateg) – where there is a church built in the 13th century with stone taken from the roman ruins from Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetuza – or to Santa Marie Orlea – where the medieval church with the same name has a combination between roman architectural elements and those specific to early gothic (Burgundian) forms.

To the East, on the DJ 608A, at a distance of 37.5 km (25 km until the funicular station) the mountain resort Muntele Mic is located.

The city has a good delimitated road network, with compact edifices, many of them having a great value from a historical and architectural point of view (The Saint Gheorghe Church from the XV-XVIII centuries, the Saint John Church, the Palace of the Fortune Community, the old barracks from the 18th century, the Catholic Church, the Synagogue, the building of the former County, the new Keeping-House, the Town hall, the Traian Doda High School). The visitors of the city can admire, besides these imposing edifices, the statue of general Dragalina, situated in the park with the same name (which became a symbol of Caransebes), made by the sculptor Mihai Onofrei or the statue “Pro patria”, which is situated in the centre of the city, made of white Ruschita marble by the sculptor Horvay, and represents a kneeing young man, backed by his sword, who thanks divinity that gave him the power to defeat the hydra of war.

Caransebes is linked to the European traffic network by the railway on the Orient-Express route, through the European road E 70, through the international Timisoara airport, which is situated approximately 100 km away from Caransebes and through the local airport.

Our city, the centre of an area which contains quite a few tourist and recreation areas (own – Teius, in the immediate vicinity – Muntele Mic and Poiana Marului, at a distance smaller than 60 km – Poiana Rusca, Semenic, Tarcu - Godeanu), areas which will now be described, because they represent a great potential for the development of our region.