Being designated as the European Capital of Culture, the city situated on the Bega River is set to host over a thousand events by the end of the year. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend.

Elizabeth and Christian are from Germany. They have traveled for a week through cities in Romania and Timișoara is their last stop. Typically, they don't rely on guides, making the information panels incredibly helpful for them.

Christian: "It's always a good idea to have a panel to read about important things in the city".

Using an application developed by the National Museum of Banat and the Politehnica University of Timișoara, curious individuals can access information about the city's 80 most significant buildings.

Assoc. Prof. Silviu Vert, Politehnica University of Timișoara: "As a tourist approaches one of these street panels, they can scan the QR code, access the app and see more information about the building in front of them, learning about the city's past residents' stories".

Marius Cornea, a museum curator at the National Museum of Banat: "There's information about the inhabitants of the city during the 19th century".

But some information is missing, says a young woman from Slovenia.

Masha: "Not everything we wanted to see was open. The panels are a wonderful idea, but we would have preferred to also see the visiting hours on these panels".

What's also important is what's happening in Timișoara, where cultural events are unfolding at every turn this year.

As soon as tourists reach the central area, they are greeted by several panels displaying the events scheduled for the month. For instance, foreign tourists need to scan a QR code, which then allows them to view a list of events in English on their phones, detailing the activities they can engage in during the upcoming period.

Even the restaurants have adapted to the influx of tourists.

Luke Iacobescu, a restaurant representative: "The staff is trained and speaks English. We also have a hostess who speaks three working languages, French, Spanish and English".

And local police officers and controllers on trams and buses are prepared to provide information.

Cosmin Bradu, spokesperson for the Timișoara Public Transport Company: "The training lasted six weeks. These courses were divided into two modules, for beginners and intermediates".

Over 500,000 tourists are expected in Timișoara this year.

Source: https://stirileprotv.ro/stiri/tm-2023/turistii-din-timisoara-au-prin-tot-orasul-coduri-qr-prin-care-pot-afla-ce-viziteaza-in-capitala-europeana-a-culturii.html