Transylvania
From the outside, Hărman’s fortified church resembles a bright white layer cake. Enclosed by its mighty walls is a triple-naved basilica, the Church of St…
Must-see attractions in Romania
Braşov
Old Braşov was once enclosed by mighty fortified walls, 12m high and more than 3km-long. Built in stages between 1400 and 1650, these walls and defence…
Sibiu
Thirty-nine towers, each protected by different guilds, watched over medieval Sibiu. See the remaining handful by walking north up Str Cetăţii past the…
Transylvania
Precipitous Turda Gorge (Cheile Turzii) lies 8km west of town (as the crow flies), and it makes a stunning, if leg-stiffening, half-day hike. The canyon…
Curtea de Argeş Cathedral & Monastery
Wallachia
This cathedral and monastery complex is considered one of the country's most important ecclesiastical sights. The church was originally built by…
Romania
If you don't have the time (or the hiking boots) to venture to the Apuseni Mountains' more remote grottoes, visits to this cave allow you a glimpse of the…
Sighişoara
The multicoloured-tiled roof of Sighişoara’s Clock Tower glitters like the scales of a dragon. The tower was built in the 14th century and expanded 200…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Placid Sihla Monastery, inhabited by 30 monks, occupies a solitary wooded plateau about 8km southwest of Agapia Monastery along a marked, partly paved…
Romania
Travelling from Oradea along Hwy 76, Meziad is the first major cave in Apuseni Nature Park. It's about 12km northeast of the town of Beiuş and 3km from…
Sighişoara
Don't miss hiking up the covered stairway to 'School Hill' (418m) to admire this evocative late-Gothic, triple-naved church. Originally a 13th-century…
Braşov
If you've ever wondered how hemp and goat hair were transformed into Transylvania's traditional scarlet and white village-wear, this exhibition space…
Transylvania
Mystery and awe hang thick in the air in Șinca Veche. Natural light pours through an opening in the ceiling of a cave-shrine; the faithful arrive to stand…
Transylvania
Established in 1935 as Romania's first national park, Retezat's snow-streaked mountains and wildflower meadows extend across 380 sq km. One-third of…
Transylvania
In the inner courtyard of Făgăraș Citadel, this excellent museum traces the region’s history from 4000-year-old pottery fragments via medieval suits of…
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca’s oldest pharmacy building holds an intriguing collection of medical miscellany. ‘Crab eyes’, skulls and powdered mummy are just a few of the…
Transylvania
The Gothic spire above Mediaș sprouts from 1488-built St Margaret's Church, which guards 15th-century frescoes and Romania’s second-largest collection of…
Transylvania
Did you know that Bistriţa is the only place in Transylvania where men’s traditional headwear involves a crown of peacock feathers? Inside a former…
Transylvania
If we had a choice of fortresses in which to wait out a siege, we’d opt for Prejmer. This superbly preserved complex has the most powerful fortified walls…
Natural Sciences Museum Complex
Constanţa
The museum complex is more of a zoo than traditional museum, with exhibits on flora and fauna, including live birds and other animals, common to the Black…
Church of the Dominican Monastery
Sighişoara
This late-Gothic church has a spooky air, and guards a trove of baroque finery inside. First mentioned in 1298, the church was rebuilt between 1482 and…
Constanţa
Located just behind and south of the National History & Archaeological Museum, a modern building protects what's left of a Roman floor mosaic dating from…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
The 14th-century Neamţ Monastery is Romania's oldest and largest male monastery. Founded by Petru I Muşat, it doubled as a protective citadel. Ştefan cel…
Transylvania
The Romanesque basilica in Cisnădie dates to roughly 1300, and was kept safe by a double perimeter wall from the 15th century. The Saxon fortification is…
Sibiu
On the site of Sibiu's first documented apothecary, this museum delves into the herb-scented history of medicine. More than 6600 items such as microscopes…
Museum of the Hydroelectric Power Plant
Wallachia
This museum takes you inside the massive hydroelectric power station and gives a good idea of the scale of the plant. Guided tours (in Romanian only) take…
Transylvania
One of the finest fortifications in the region around Mediaș, Moşna’s 14th-century church was rebuilt over subsequent centuries, with impressive defence…
Wallachia
Walk west along the central mall of Târgu Jiu's central park, from the Gate of the Kiss sculpture, to find the Alley of Chairs (Aleea Scaunelor), a series…
Sibiu
Ornate ceilings flanked by moose heads make this Natural History Museum worth a peep for its 19th-century architecture alone, while the dinosaur garden…
Transylvania
Protected by towering crags and dense forests, this glittering lake is popular with vacationing Romanian families. Though guesthouses continue to pop up…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Văratec Monastery is the country's biggest nunnery, inhabited by some 400 to 500 nuns. Founded in 1785, the complex houses an icon museum and small…
Wallachia
The Table of Silence, one of Constantin Brâncuşi's sculptures, stands at the western end of Târgu Jiu's central park on the banks of the Jiu River. The…
Wallachia
This small museum and memorial is dedicated to the country's most famous artist, Nicolae Grigorescu (1838–1907). Grigorescu studied in Paris with Pierre…
Constanţa
This museum offers a fascinating if slightly confusing stroll through 2000 years of maritime history on the Black Sea. The exhibit begins in the Greco…
Transylvania
Standing proud in the whisper-quiet village of Valea Viilor is an 18th-century church with weighty protective walls. It’s necessary to call a caretaker to…
Constanţa
Constanţa's stunning but sadly derelict art-nouveau casino, dating from 1910, was awaiting a long overdue renovation at the time of research and closed to…
Bucharest
Tricky to find, the little Zambaccian Museum is in a restored villa between B-dul Aviatorilor and Calea Dorobanţilor (just north of Piaţa Dorobanţilor)…
Romania
Oradea's fortress dates from the 15th and 16th centuries and played a key role in conflicts between the Turks, Austrians and Hungarians over the years…
Transylvania
Enter this incense-perfumed Orthodox cathedral, built in 1921–22, and gaze upwards at the soaring ceiling, gold decorations and lavish icons. The…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Just north of the Princely Court, this simple wooden synagogue dating from 1766 was built over the foundations of a 1490 predecessor. The tiny interior is…
Constanţa
This airy museum in an atrium is heavy on 19th-century realism and landscapes, including those by Nicolae Grigorescu, whose pointillist and Impressionist…
