Highlights of Romania
Bucovina is by far one of the most attractive and most visited tourist areas in Romania. The region is proud to have received the Pomme d’Or international prize by The International Federation of Travel Writers and Tourism Journalists in 1975. Its painted churches, with their fine exterior and interior frescoes preserved from medieval times, are part of the World Cultural Heritage List.
Our proposed itinerary would start in "The Little Paris of the East", Bucharest and departure toward Sinaia to visit the Peles and Pelisor Castles, which are considered ones of the most beautiful castles in all Europe.
Situated in a breathtaking mountain scenery, Sinaia is located at 120 km distance from Bucharest and 49 km from Brasov, on the Prahova Valley. Sinaia takes its name from the 17th-century monastery built by a Romanian nobleman after undertaking a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai, Egypt. Sinaia is one of the most famous and oldest mountain tourist resorts in Romania, known as “The Carpathian Pearl”. It is best known for being the summer residence of the Romanian Royal family.
Peles Castle was built in the final quarter of the last century for Romania's King Carol and decorated throughout by Carol's eccentric wife Carmen Sylva.
Almost adjacent to Peles Castle is Pelisor ("Little Peles"). King Ferdinand, who succeeded Carol I, intended to use Peles Castle as a summer residence. Pelisor's 70 rooms feature a unique collection of turn-of-the century Viennese furniture and Tiffany and Lalique glassware, and were mostly decorated in the Art-Nouveau style by Queen Maria.
The trip will continue with Bran and Bran Castle, built in 1377 to protect nearby Brasov from
invaders but known better as Dracula’s castle.
Having the opportunity to wander the corridors of Bran Castle, believed by some to once have
been the home to the infamous Count Dracula, is not a usual kind of opportunity we would
have during a typical vacation.
Sighisoara, the only inhabited Middle Ages city in Europe, will be the next stop on our route. With its narrow winding streets, houses with thick walls and huge portals painted in vivid colours, towers, and churches, all old and very old (13th-16th centuries) it’s a truly marvellous city. It’s worth visiting the History Museum located in the former Town Hall, the Clock Tower, dated from the 14th Century which reveals a marvelous view over Sighisoara, as well as the house where Vlad Tepes once lived.
Next stop should be in Biertan, a former Saxon village housing a fortified church from 15th century, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage.Surrounded by impressive defense walls and towers, the church was never breached by invaders. And it worth visiting as well Sibiu (Hermannstadt in German), which was the most important of the 12th century Saxon settlements in Transylvania. Its houses with immense roofs built within the fortifications give Sibiu its medieval aspect.
Not far from Sighisoara, Praid Salt Mine is one of the biggest salt mines in Europe and could be the next stop. 120 m below the surface you can find an underground city. The air is ionized and it is believed to have therapeutic qualities for those suffereing from respiratory ailments. Treatments are given under the supervision of a medical team that organizes gym programs and breathing exercises. Tourists have everything they need: treatment places, coffee shops, billiards, libraries, entertainment and even a place where people can pray.
After a break in Praid, the journey will continue towards Gura Humorului via Bistrita, founded in the early 13th century by German settlers and mentioned as well in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula
Gura Humorului is the perfect base for exploring the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina.
The monasteries have been declared as UNESCO protected cultural sites, the art historians comparing their artistic value with the mural paintings of the San Marco church of Venice. It’s still a mistery how the Moldavian painters prepared the colors and the techniques that made the paintings incredibly resistant over the time.
Voronet, a nun monastery consecrated to St George is probably the most accomplished sample of artistic achievement in Moldavian architecture and painting. Humor Monastery, as well as Sucevita Monastery are also on the list but on the way tourists can enjoy as well the famous Marginea black ceramics centre. Depending on time, there are a lot of other monateries or touristic attractions to be visited.
For return, from Gura Humorului tourists can enjoy the beauty of the Bicaz Canyon (Cheile Bicazului), the road that slices through the Bicaz Gorges being among Romania's most spectacular. The gorge twists and turns steeply uphill for 5km, cutting through sheer, 300-meter high limestone rocks. At one point, the narrow mountain road runs beneath the overhanging rocks in a section known as the 'neck of hell'. This stretch of road is protected as part of the Hasmas-Bicaz Gorges National Park.
A few kilometers west you will cross into Transylvania's Harghita County and immediately come to the resort area of Lacu Rosu or Red Lake. The alpine resort in this region sprang up in the 1970's and is still a magnet for hikers from both Transylvania and Moldavia.
A tour of Brasov will complete the trip. The Old Town lies between two mountains, surrounded like a halo by the Carpathians. In Brasov it worth visiting the Black Church and Museum of First Romanian School of Schei.
When arriving in Bucharest, the sightseeing program of this "The Little Paris of the East" should include the Cotroceni Palace and the 6,000 room Parliament Palace, but also the Bucharest Village Museum. Situated in a picturesque environment on a lakeshore, this is one of the largest and oldest outdoors museums in Europe. Its exhibits, including houses, churches, water and windmills are of great historic and artistic value.
Despite the massive reconstructions of the 1980's, Bucharest remains a 'Garden City', leafy and pleasant, with many sidewalk cafes.
Why not take part in an adventure that offers so many experiences that don't come by often?
