Zalau's forest park is a green escape from the town, and the first of its two stops in the Padurea Orasului gives you a sense of how the people of Zalau live with their landscape. The label points to a stretch of woodland on the northern edge of town, with walking paths, a few picnic spots and a view of the roofs. There is no monument here, and nothing needs to be invented. It is a good place to take a break, and the town is a decent place to be.
Zalau has the character of a place that grew fast in the twentieth century and is still working out what it wants to be. Its old core is small, with a Reformed church and a few Austro-Hungarian buildings, and around it spread blocks of flats, a modern shopping area and a new civic centre. The county of Salaj is among the least populous in Romania, and the town's sixty thousand people give it an unhurried feel. The Romanian politician Iuliu Maniu, who was prime minister in the interwar years and a leading figure of Transylvanian politics, was born in a village nearby. Maniu died in a communist prison in 1953.
For riders, the town is a good base, with fuel stations at the main roads, supermarkets and cafes where you can sit and watch the street. The roads into the hills begin almost at the edge of town, and within ten minutes you can be on quiet country lanes. From here, a ride north climbs to the Meses Gate and Porolissum, the Roman frontier site, and is a pleasant afternoon. The roads to the east and west pass through orchards and hill villages, with gentle gradients and moderate bends.
Local food is hearty. Look for tochitura, a stew of pork with polenta and a fried egg, and for cozonac, a sweet bread with walnuts and poppy seeds, which is baked for holidays. Tea and coffee are everywhere. In summer, evenings are warm and cafe terraces are busy until late.
The forest is lovely at any time but is at its best in October, when the oaks turn bronze and the paths are covered with leaves.