Bánffy Palace in Cluj-Napoca

About Bánffy Palace in Cluj-Napoca

At a glance: Castles and palaces in Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County. Opening hours: Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 10:00 – 17:00. Ticket: 16 lei. Information verified on 30 September 2026.

Bánffy Palace takes up the eastern side of Union Square (Piața Unirii), facing St Michael's Church, and is the most representative Baroque building in Cluj and in the whole of Transylvania. It was built between 1774 and 1785 by Count György Bánffy, later governor of Transylvania, to plans by the German architect Johann Eberhard Blaumann, on the model of Western European town palaces: four two-storey wings around a square courtyard, a mansard roof and palatial façades facing the city. Emperor Francis I stayed here in 1817, and Franz Joseph in 1852 and 1887.

The façade on the square has a central projecting bay with a semicircular balcony on the upper floor, and on the attic the Bánffy coat of arms, held by winged griffins. On either side, between stone urns, stand six statues of classical gods and heroes — Mars, Pallas Athena, Diana, Apollo, Perseus and Hercules — carved by the sculptor Anton Schuchbauer. After the Bánffys, the palace served in turn as an official guest house, a casino, and a block of flats and shops; in 1925 a cinema was even built in the courtyard, and only demolished in 1974.

Since 1956 the palace has belonged to the Cluj-Napoca Art Museum, which moved in in 1962, after part of the restoration work, and opened to the public in 1965. Between 2019 and 2021, Cluj County Council restored the main façade, bringing back its ochre colour and original stone window surrounds, and then the eastern façade, towards Bolyai János Street.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: the palace stands on the eastern side of Union Square (Piața Unirii), the main square of Cluj. The city is reached via the A3/DN1 from Oradea (~150 km) and Turda (~30 km), the DN1 from Alba Iulia (~100 km) and the DN16 from Reghin; Bucharest is ~450 km away. Traffic is restricted in the old centre, so leave the car in a nearby car park and walk.

Public transport: from Cluj-Napoca railway station it is ~2 km to Union Square (~25 minutes on foot, along Strada Horea and over the Horea Bridge, or a few stops on the buses and trolleybuses to the centre). From Cluj International Airport, ~9 km away, bus A1 runs to the centre.

Where to park

The palace has no car park of its own. In central Cluj you park on the street, paying by zone, or in the public car parks around the centre; from there it is a few minutes' walk to Union Square. At weekends and during events spaces in the centre fill up quickly.

Fees & discounts

Permanent exhibition: adults 16 lei, seniors 8 lei, pupils, students, pre-schoolers and adults with moderate or mild disabilities 4 lei, groups of at least 10 people 12 lei per person. Temporary exhibitions have a separate ticket, 12 lei (with the same reductions), and a ticket for three exhibitions of your choice, including the permanent one, costs 28 lei. The amateur photography fee, without flash or tripod, is 20 lei per person. Entry is free on Museum Day and the European Heritage Days, and all year round for pupils and students of fine arts and architecture schools and faculties, members of the Romanian Fine Artists' Union, ICOM card holders and children with disabilities, with their companions. Tickets can also be bought online at bilete.macluj.ro.

Rules

Photography in the permanent exhibition is allowed only with the photo fee, without flash or tripod; group photo shoots need the management's approval, with a request sent at least 72 hours in advance. Guided tours are available for groups of at least 10 people — 7 lei per person in Romanian or Hungarian, 130 lei per group for an hour in English — booked with the museum office at least 24 hours ahead.

Facilities

guided tours in Romanian, Hungarian and English for groups, by appointment · online tickets · museum education programmes and workshops for schools