Sinaia

Introducing Sinaia

Backed by the Bucegi, Prahova’s shining star is Sinaia (see-ni-ya). Named for Mt Sinai and once home to Romania’s first king, Sinaia boasts many century-old villas and hotels, built to impress the king’s gaze. None outweighs the marvel of King Carol I’s Peleş Castle, one of the region’s highlights, along with the hiking, biking and skiing in the mountains above.

The setting’s superb. Much of the town centre is a bit quiet (not exactly the ‘Pearl of the Carpathians’ it claims to be), but even those without a car can hop in the cable car and head up to 2000m to access brilliant trails and ski runs of the impressive Bucegi Mountains.

The resort earned its biblical moniker when a Romanian nobleman holidayed in Israel in 1695 and founded the Sinaia Monastery here. Sinaia eventually boomed as a major resort when King Carol I made his summer residence here in 1875. Until 1920, the Hungarian–Romanian border ran along Predeal Pass, just north.

For readers’ convenience, this area has been included in Transylvania, even though Sinaia is administratively part of Wallachia.

Last updated: Mar 24, 2009