Hunedoara is well-positioned for exploring western Transylvania and the southern Carpathian foothills. Deva is the obvious first stop — the town sits 15 km away, its own hilltop citadel visible from the road between the two towns, and makes a natural addition to a Corvin Castle day. Alba Iulia, roughly 60 km northeast, is one of Romania's most important historic cities: the place where the union of Romania was proclaimed in 1918, enclosed by magnificent Vauban-style star fortifications.
For those with a car, the area around Hunedoara opens up further. The Dacian fortress complex at Sarmizegetusa Regia — the political capital of Dacian king Decebalus before the Roman conquest — lies in the mountains to the south and is among the most atmospheric pre-Roman sites in Europe, though it requires a rough mountain road to reach. Retezat National Park, an hour south by car, is the finest mountain wilderness in Romania, with glacial lakes, peaks above 2,500 metres, and good marked hiking trails.
