Bucovina
About 10km north of Suceava in Mitocul Dragomirnei, the 60-nun-strong Dragomirna Monastery was founded between 1602 and 1609 by scholar, calligrapher,…
Must-see attractions in Romania
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…
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…
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…
Maramureş
Sighet’s only remaining synagogue is north of Piaţa Libertăţii. It was built in the Moorish-Renaissance style in 1904. You can look around for free, but…
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…
Székely Land
About 200m south of Parcul Elisabeta, this wide-ranging museum has exhibitions on natural history, local history, Székely crafts and costumes, plus…
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…
Iaşi
Built by Prince Vasile Lupu between 1637 and 1639, and restored between 1882 and 1904, this is one of Iaşi's most beautiful churches. Its exterior stone…
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…
St John of Nepomuk & Virgin Mary Statue
Timişoara
The statue of St John of Nepomuk and the Virgin Mary, located in the centre of Piaţa Libertăţii, was made in 1756 in Vienna and brought to Romania in…
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…
Danube Delta
The town cemetery, 2km east of the centre along the road to the beach, reflects the diversity of Sulina's early inhabitants. You'll find Romanian and…
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…
Maramureş
Looming above newly created Piaţa Cetăţii, this 40m-high Gothic-style tower dating from the mid-15th century once served as the belfry for an adjoining…
Székely Land
Learn the secrets of Miercurea Ciuc's beloved brew at this factory tour, 12km south of Miercurea Ciuc, through tastings and traditional Hungarian beer…
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…
Székely Land
Miercurea Ciuc’s centrepiece, and the proud source of the Ciuc beer logo, is Mikó Castle. Today it houses the impressive Csíki Székely Múzeum, which hosts…
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…
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Iaşi
This is the impressive headquarters of Romania's first university, founded in 1860. The building dates from around the turn of the 20th century and the…
Maramureş
Many of the 53 political and religious prisoners executed in the prison that now houses the Memorial Museum to the Victims of Communism and to the…
Târgu Mureş
Next door to the Culture Palace is the County Council Building (1905–7), also secessionist in style. Its decorative orange and green tiled roof and ornate…
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…
Bucovina
This monastery off Str Mitropoliei, built between 1514 and 1554, remains an important pilgrimage destination: in a decorated silver casket it houses the…
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…
