Baia Mare is the capital of Maramureș County in northwestern Romania, about 450 km from Budapest. It sits at the foot of the Gutai Mountains, a compact volcanic range that gives the surrounding landscape a dramatic, rugged quality. The city itself is a pleasant regional centre with a well-preserved medieval core, a pair of good museums, and a mining heritage that stretches back to the Middle Ages — the name Baia Mare means "Great Mine."
The old town clusters around Piața Libertății, a handsome baroque square dominated by the 14th-century Stephen's Tower. The Ethnographic Museum of Maramureș and the History and Archaeology Museum are both worth an hour or two: the ethnographic collection is especially good at conveying what makes this part of Romania culturally distinct, from its embroidered costumes to its carved wooden gates.
The real draw, though, is the surrounding Maramureș region — one of the most rewarding rural areas in Eastern Europe. Traditional villages, UNESCO-listed wooden churches, horse-drawn carts, and mountain terrain that rewards walkers and cyclists are all within an hour's drive. The Rodna Mountains and the Pietrosul Massif, the highest peaks in the Oriental Carpathians, lie to the east. Baia Mare is the natural base for exploring the region, with car hire and accommodation options that the villages themselves can't match.