Romania is considered a new entry on the European tourist map. More and more people started to discover this beautiful country located in South Eastern Europe. Visiting Romania, you’ll discover that it is a fairly big country with a lot of interesting places to see. Several regions are mostly visited, such as Transylvania, Bucovina, Maramures, Danube Delta, Walachia (southern Romania), Dobrogea, and the capital Bucharest. Different important tourist sights are spread in these regions but not only, having fairly broad distances and long driving times between them. Therefore, when you plan your visit to Romania, allow a minimum of 3-5 days for a short trip, 7-9 days for a comprehensive tour, and 12-15 days for a grand tour of Romania.
The most visited region is Transylvania, where one can visit history and cultural sites learn and discover old traditions and ways of living, preserved as nowhere else in Europe. For the ones who love nature and wildlife, then, Transylvania is a great place to hike in the mountains, see animals and birds in the natural habitat, and enjoy natural places unspoiled by modern life.
The medieval architecture is still preserved by many of the Transylvania towns and villages. Towns such as Brasov, Sibiu, or Sighisoara are mandatory to be included in your trip. Brasov and Sibiu are larger cities nowadays, but their Old District is very beautiful with old buildings, churches, and fortifications. Sighisoara’s old town, so-called “the citadel”, is the Pearl of Transylvania. It looks like a town from Fairy Tails.
Transylvania was located in a “war zone” between West and East. The locals had always had faith in defending their land. Therefore, there were built powerful castles such as Bran or Corvin’s fortified towns, fortresses and citadels and unique fortified churches. Many of them are well preserved, and you can include some of them in your tour of Transylvania.
Everyone who travels to Transylvania is delighted by the beauty of the scenery and the view over the old villages spread between hills. They enjoy finding out more about the local culture, traditions, and way of life. In Transylvania, the majority of the inhabitants are Romanians, but there are large communities of Hungarians and Germans. Every nation highly influences the local culture, religion, and cuisine.
North of Transylvania, we’ll find the region called Maramures – the land of wooden churches and traditions. In this area, with beautiful rolling hills and charming river valleys, live people who, for the most part, are still following the rural way of life. They have hard work from sunrise to sunset without much-mechanized equipment but rewarding in its simplicity. The local inhabitants preserve their ancient traditions, and they spend their day-by-day life or important events according to their traditions and beliefs. They are very proud of their folk costumes and are happy to wear them. A visitor can enjoy on Sundays or holidays to see these groups of people dressed in their folk costumes. They will be happy if you ask them to take a photo.
The traditional village in the old Maramures was built of wood, including houses, gates, fences, churches, and. Some of the churches are very old, with inside frescoes painted in a naïve iconography. The local people are very good woodworkers and very good carvers. A beauty of Maramures is their massive gates, which are used to show the rank of the family in society. These gates are decorated and carved with traditional and spiritual motifs. The best places to visit in Maramures are the wooden churches from Desesti, Budesti, Bogdan Voda, Rozavlea, Ieud, Barsana; the monasteries from Barsana, Dragomiresti, Moisei or Sapanta Peri; the Sapanta Merry Cemetery; Mocanita – the steam engine train; the Maramuresean Women Museum from Dragomiesti, the town of Sighet with its village museum, the memorial house of Elie Wiesel, the former Communist Prison with its interesting museum related with those times.
Bucovina is famous for the painted monasteries, unique in the World for their colorful exterior frescoes. The frescoes were painted 500 years ago, and some of them are well preserved. Include some of the most important monasteries, such as Voronet, Moldovita, Sucevita, Humor, and Probota, in your tour to Bucovina. Equally well worth visiting are the villages, still leading the traditional way of life, the stunning landscapes, and the visit to some local workshops of pottery or painted eggs. Bucovina is a place where cultural sites combine very well with natural sites with the local traditions and with the tasty cuisine. Explore Bucovina in all its aspects while you have a trip there.
It dates from the 15th century to the time of the famous Vlad Dracula. It became the capital of Romania in 1859. A tour of Bucharest will include the Parliament Palace, the former House of the People - the second largest building in the world; Revolution Square, Athenaeum, Royal Palace, Village Museum, Triumph Arch, and Old District. Known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards, glorious Belle Époque buildings, and a reputation for the high life (which in the 1900s earned its nickname of "Little Paris"), Bucharest, Romania's largest city and capital, is today a bustling metropolis. Usually, Bucharest is the starting and ending point for most tours in Romania.
Danube Delta is a natural reserve, the last wild territory of Europe. It is located in the area where the Danube River flows into the Black Sea. It forms the second largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas: 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes, tree-fringed lakes, and reed islands. The Danube Delta is a wildlife enthusiast's (especially a bird watcher's) paradise.
You can have a glance at the Danube Delta having a one-day boat ride from Tulcea, the main city, and access gate to the canals. Or, if you want to spend more time in nature, stay for 3-5 days sailing with a catamaran boat during the day and stay overnight on the shore in local hotels or guesthouses. Taste the local food having as main ingredient fresh fish from the river.
South of the Delta, the historical city of Constanta serves as a major port on the Black Sea. Featuring several museums, historical monuments, fine mansions, and a grand casino, the city is the focal point of Black Sea coast tourism. A strip of fine-sand beaches dotted with seaside resorts named after women and mythological gods, such as Eforie, Jupiter, Neptun, Olimp, Saturn, Venus, and Mangalia, stretches from Constanta to the Bulgarian border.
Nowadays, one-third of Romania's territory is mountain area, largely forested, where most of the interesting flora and fauna is to be found. Another third of the country territory is hills and plateau areas, with a fair quantity of woodland remaining, and another third is a plain area, mostly intensively farmed. Discover this beautiful natural area through a hiking or trekking tour. Enjoy the beautiful landscapes, unspoiled natural areas, waterfalls, lakes, river valleys, or gorges.
Romania is one of the very few places in Europe where you can still see wild animals in their natural habitat. There are specially designed bear-watching tours or wildlife packages that you can book.
Walachia's unique mix of historical and natural attractions promises a different experience each day.
Discover heritage buildings and museums in Bucharest, Romania's capital city. Enjoy a visit to a royal palace or ancient monastery. Explore the Carpathian Mountains. Admire sculptor Constantin Brancusi's works. The choices are numerous.