Transylvania
Not enough time to join a bear hide excursion to see these impressive carnivores lumbering through their natural habitat? Libearty Sanctuary is the next…
Must-see attractions in Romania
Bucovina
Suceviţa Monastery (built 1582–1601) is the largest Bucovina monastery, and some regard it as the finest. It's perhaps best known for its exterior Ladder…
Transylvania
Commonly paired with Bran Castle on day trips from Braşov, Râşnov Fortress might just be the more enchanting of the two. The medieval citadel, built by…
Memorial Museum to the Victims of Communism & to the Resistance
Maramureş
A prison for political prisoners right up to 1974 has reopened as the Memorial Museum to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance. Photographs and…
Transylvania
Biertan’s late-Gothic church, ringed by concentric walls and flanked by towers, is among the largest and most impressive in Transylvania. The triple-naved…
Braşov
Romania’s largest Gothic church rises triumphantly over Braşov’s old town. Built between 1385 and 1477, this German Lutheran church was named for its…
Transylvania
Wondrously decorated with carved columns, apocalyptic frescoes and gardens with barely a petal out of place, Brâncoveanu Monastery is as pristine as its…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Agapia Monastery is an active nunnery, housing 300 to 400 nuns in two locations. The main monastery, Agapia din Vale, stands at the western end of Agapia…
Wallachia
While the museum houses an ethnographic and natural-sciences section, as well as an aquarium displaying Danubian species, the highlight is a scale model…
Romania
Oradea's Orthodox synagogue dates from 1890 and was the main house of worship for around a third of the city's Jewish residents before WWII. It survived…
Bucharest
Housed in the 19th-century Royal Palace, this massive, multipart museum – all signed in English – houses two permanent galleries: one for National Art and…
Wallachia
The Princely Court was built in the 14th century for Mircea cel Bătrân (Mircea the Old) and remained a formal residence for Wallachia’s princes, including…
Transylvania
The meadowlands and chalky hills surrounding Turda have a secret underworld: a salt mine so impressive, it could be a supervillain’s lair. Walking along…
Bucovina
Built in 1532, Moldoviţa Monastery occupies a fortified quadrangular enclosure with tower, gates and well-tended lawns. The central painted church has…
Transylvania
The whitewashed and tile-roofed fortified church in Viscri is a splendidly restored feat of medieval engineering. Its outbuildings display decorated…
Iaşi
This beautiful late Renaissance–style monastery is guarded by thick walls and the 30m-high Golia tower, which you can climb (120 steps) for views out over…
Bucharest
This important synagogue dates from the mid-19th century and was established by migrating Polish Jews; entry is free, but a donation (10 lei) is expected…
Sibiu
This impressive museum begins with re-enactments of cave dwellers squatting in the gloom and dioramas of Dacian life. Out of these shadowy corridors, the…
Parcul Etnografic Romulus Vuia
Cluj-Napoca
Traditional architecture from around Romania has been faithfully reassembled at this open-air museum, 5km northwest of central Cluj. Most impressive is…
Romania
The most famous cave in Apuseni Nature Park, Ice (or Glacier) Cave houses one of the largest underground glaciers in Europe – one of just 10 – and is…
Sinaia
It’s hard to believe that Carol I’s nephew Ferdinand (1865–1927) could have been unsatisfied with lavish Peleş Castle; nonetheless, Pelişor Palace was…
Maramureş
This enormous all-wooden Orthodox monastic complex counts some 10 massive buildings atop a steep hill, including a beautiful church built in 1993, and is…
Romania
This delightful Secession-style burgher house (1912) designed by brothers József and László Vágó, who also built Oradea's stunning Moskovits Palace, has…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Medieval Neamţ Citadel had already long been considered Moldavia’s finest fortress before recent renovations improved it again. It was built in 1359 by…
Transylvania
Resembling a gnome village, the Castelul de Lut complex has been created from clay, sand and pure whimsy. The self-styled 'clay castle of pixie valley'…
Braşov
With forested hills rising behind its prickly Gothic spires, St Nicholas’ Cathedral is one of Braşov's most spectacular views. First built in wood in 1392…
Transylvania
Completed in 1291, this is Romania's most venerable Roman Catholic cathedral as well as the country's longest, at slightly over 89m. Royal tombs,…
Bucharest
Sprawling over a large area north of Piaţa Victoriei, this 200-hectare park surrounding a large lake is (arguably) Bucharest’s nicest park, with plenty of…
Iaşi
Iaşi's Botanical Gardens are Romania’s first (1856) and largest (100 hectares). They sprawl across Parcul Exposiţiei's western side and offer 21km of…
Maramureş
The late Jewish writer and 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) was born in and later deported from this house on the corner of Str…
Transylvania
In September 2016 the ribbon was cut on fresh restoration works in Alma Vii, and this charismatic village and centrepiece fortified church have never…
Timişoara
This museum houses an odd collection of pre-1989 consumer goods manufactured in Romania. It fills to the point of overflowing three rooms and a hallway…
Romania
Of the reformist Conservative (as opposed to Orthodox) branch of Judaism and dating from 1878, this synagogue, with its graceful dome, is one of the most…
Romania
Arad's modest history museum housed in the Palace of Culture is a good primer for anyone interested in the city's complex origins, including 150 years of…
Bucharest
Elegant Cotroceni Palace dates from the late 19th century and is the official residence of the Romanian president. Many rooms are open to visitors, but…
Székely Land
This lacey-looking building, 1900-built Haberstumpf cottage, seems slightly lost, standing next to the roaring main road through town. But the gallery…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
This is by far the city's best museum, with three floors of well-done displays on the Cucutenians, a neolithic culture with advanced pottery skills that…
Iaşi
The art museum occupies much of the Palace of Culture's 1st floor, with some 24 chambers of paintings organised according to category: Romanian modern art…
Moldavian Metropolitan Cathedral
Iaşi
This cavernous cathedral, built between 1833 and 1839, was designed by architect Alexandru Orascu and decorated by painter Gheorghe Tattarescu. Since 1889…
Timişoara
Built in 1865 by Viennese architect Ignatz Schuhmann, the synagogue acts as an important keynote in Jewish history – Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire…
