Introducing Romania
Travelling in Romania, the EU’s newest member, is like being somewhere between an eternal Halloween and the Led Zeppelin IV cover that features a twig-carrying farmer. Even in cities where Audis zoom across highways under video-camera speed traps, Romanian life is defined by its sweet country heart. Most anywhere, you’ll spot horse-drawn buggies crossing the (often cratered) paved roads – up green mountains, past cone-shaped haystacks and herds of sheep – which bounce along as if the roads themselves are aliens to the land. And then there’s that Dracula thing. Many visitors, lured by bloodcurdling tales, make full trips out of Transylvania’s castles and lovely medieval Saxon towns like Sighişoara, where the ‘real Dracula’ (Vlad Ţepeş) first grew his teeth.
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But travellers limiting themselves to chasing vampires will miss so much. The capital, Bucharest, has its critics, but the blend of grotesque communist monuments and purposefully hidden-away cathedrals makes for fascinating exploring. Excellent hiking, biking and skiing are found all over the Transylvanian Alps (aka the Carpathian Mountains), which curl across central Romania. Farmhouse B&Bs allow guests to soak up some village life, particularly in the bucolic paradises of Maramureş and Southern Bucovina, where cemeteries and monasteries are painted as boldly as pop-art paintings.
Romania’s neighbour Moldova – a trickier place to visit, but equally as fascinating – is no closer to EU consideration than when the Soviet Union collapsed, largely because it lives on as if this had never happened. Russian is spoken commonly here and its renegade province, Transdniestr, still supports a communist government. Adding a few days in this Cold War timewarp on a trip to Romania’s vampire trails and Alp-like ski runs easily makes up one of Europe’s most interesting, and least understood, destinations. Go now, before it changes.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Tips & articles
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Edifice Complex: Bucharest’s Palace of Parliament
26 August 2010
This is an excerpt from Lonely Planet’s guide to Romania.Controversy still rages around this massive edifice. More than a symbol...
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In search of the real Dracula
30 July 2010
Long before Bram Stoker’s literary Dracula sparked a century-long, global obsession with vampires – both the torturing and tortured variety...
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Top 10 sustainable travel experiences
26 July 2010
Ditch modern civilisation and go wild! (Just be responsible about it.) In this excerpt from Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences,...
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Romania
Our Top Picks For Romania
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1 Maramureş
Romania's rural heart and soul, with wooden churches, pop-art cemeteries that tease the deceased and throat-burning tuica
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2 Sighişoara
Transylvania's medieval heart beating in pastels and clanking bells in Vlad Tepeş' birthplace
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3 Braşov
Transylvania's irresistable cobbled hub town, surrounded by medieval mountains, and near ski runs and a fake Dracula castle
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4 Timişoara
Kick-off point for revolution of '89, a welcoming student town near Hercules' favourite spa town
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5 Bucharest
Unmistakable communist makeover of the onetime 'Paris of the East,' with bohemian hangouts, good food and lively parks
Fast Facts about Romania
- Population (millions)
22.3
- Area (sq km)
238, 391
- GDP growth (2005)
4.5%
- Inflation rate (2005)
9%
- Official unemployment rate
5.9%
- Average monthly salary
€320
- Life expectancy (male-female)
68-75
- Number of people bitten by stray dogs in Bucharest (2005)
15, 000
- Price of nice house in wine-rich Prahova Valley
€70,000
Our favourite Romania Blogs (beta)
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The Transfagaran Pass
Blog: Abandon the Cube - 5 September 2010
If you haven’t seen the British TV show “Top Gear” then you probably aren’t alone. I haven’t seen it either. But, apparently everyone on the rally is in love with the show, which features a few men who take on auto-related challenges around the globe in seemingly anything with an engine and a few wheels.
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Day 204: A world cycler in spooky Transylvania
Blog: Diaries of a Vagabonding Couple - 4 September 2010
Transylvania, the birthplace of spooky legends Super excited tonight! Just met Yuji at our hostel in Brasov. He's the first traveler we've met who's on a hellova journey - around the world by bicycle. Exactly like Yusuke's adventure, the Japanese traveler who cycled around the world for 7 years and wrote a book that eventually inspired us to quit our jobs to travel. Clock tower watches over
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Oradea and the First Gypsy
Blog: Abandon the Cube - 3 September 2010
Gypsies, it turns out, do not have a very good reputation in Romania. Having driven from Budapest, we were exhausted by the time we reached the border. The scenery was beautiful, with mountains speckled throughout the landscape that our tiny car wound up and down and small speeds.
