A guide to the county
Harghita
in five.
A short guide to Harghita 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.
Miercurea CiucThe seat of Harghita County, in the Ciuc Basin, with Mikó Castle in the centre and Șumuleu Ciuc, the site of the Pentecost pilgrimage, on the edge of town.
Băile TușnadA spa town on the Olt, in the gorge between the Ciomatu and Harghita mountains, with mineral springs; it has more tourist arrivals than any other place in the county.
Odorheiu SecuiescThe old centre of Szeklerland on the Târnava Mare: a square of late 19th-century buildings, the ruins of the Székely Támadt fortress and the Seiche baths, where Orbán Balázs is buried.
GheorgheniThe town of the Giurgeu Depression, at 810 m, with a fortified Armenian Catholic church from 1734 and old Armenian merchants' houses.
Lacu RoșuThe resort beside the landslide-dammed lake in the Hășmaș Mountains, with fir trunks rising from the water, at the head of the Bicaz Gorge.
PraidThe salt village of western Harghita: the salt mine has been closed since the 2025 flood, but you can still float in salt water at the Wellness Center, and the potters' village of Corund is 11 km away.
BorsecA spa town at about 900 m, between the Giurgeu, Bistrița and Călimani mountains, where mineral water has been bottled since 1806.Photo: Miercurea Ciuc: Einstein2 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Băile Tușnad: Vámos Sándor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Odorheiu Secuiesc: Andrei Stroe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gheorgheni: Pasztilla aka Attila Terbócs / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lacu Roșu: Curcan ionel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Praid: Márton Ildikó / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Borsec: Elekes Andor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where to start
Places to see, picked by us. The rest are waiting on each town's page.
Franciscan basilica and friaryBazilica și mănăstirea Șumuleu CiucThe Franciscans' Baroque pilgrimage church, built between 1804 and 1876, with a statue of the Virgin and Child carved around 1515.Miercurea Ciuc
Volcanic crater lakeLacul Sfânta AnaRomania's only volcanic crater lake, at 950 m in the crater of Ciomatu Mare, surrounded by forest.Băile Tușnad
Historic squarePiața Primăriei și centrul istoricThe town centre, with the former Udvarhely county hall (now the town hall), the 1781 Reformed church and the Franciscan church, where the shopping street Kossuth Lajos begins.Odorheiu Secuiesc
Fortified churchBiserica armeano-catolicăThe Baroque church of the Armenian community, built between 1730 and 1734 and surrounded by a wall with two watchtowers raised in 1748.GheorgheniPhoto: Bazilica și mănăstirea Șumuleu Ciuc: Mycroshop / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 · Lacul Sfânta Ana: Várkonyi Tibor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Piața Primăriei și centrul istoric: Pavel Sinka / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Biserica armeano-catolică: Nenea hartia / 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.
Neighbouring counties
Guides made the same way for the counties next to Harghita, from the RO-MANIA NETWORK network. All counties in the network →
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.