Arad lies on the banks of the Mures River in western Romania. It is surrounded by plains. The countryside is rich in corn fields, and tobacco plantations, and vineyards.

Today Arad has a population of 173,000, mostly of Hungarian and Romanian descent. It is an important road and railway junction. One of the largest railway factories in Romania is situated at Arad. There are also machine-tool works, textile mills, breweries, and food-canning factories.