Description:

Duration: 5 days / 4 nights.
Cities: Bucharest, Sibiu, Sighisoara, Brasov, Sinaia, Bucharest.

Palace of the Parliament

Day 1. Airport – Bucharest

Departure to Bucharest – arrival at Otopeni Airport, meeting with the guide and transport to the hotel. On the way, we shall make a panoramic tour of the Romanian capital city, where we can admire, among others: Free Press Square (Piaţa Presei Libere), the Arch of Triumph, Victoriei Square (Piaţa Victoriei), Revolution Square (Piaţa Revoluţiei), the Romanian Athenaeum, Constitution Square (Piaţa Constituţiei), Unirii Square (Piaţa Unirii), University Square (Piaţa Universităţii) and Romana Square (Piaţa Romană). Welcome dinner at “Caru cu Bere” restaurant, in the old city. It is built in the German Gothic style and, in the past, this was a brewery where writers and artists used to meet. After the dinner, you can spend time in the historical centre, where there are many bars and terraces. In the old centre you can also find the ruins of the old Court, from the 15th century, built during the rule of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula). Accommodation in 4* or 5* hotel in Bucharest.

Day 2. Bucharest – Sibiu

Breakfast – buffet type. We shall spend all morning discovering Bucharest, continuing the panoramic tour of Cismigiu Park, the Romanian National Opera, Cotroceni Palace, the Military Academy and a visit at the Palace of Parliament a spectacular building, the second largest in the world after the Pentagon in the U.S.A. We also visit the Patriarchal Cathedral, built in 1656. Lunch will be served at the famous restaurant “Jariştea”, in a “Little Paris” ambient. Francis Ford Coppola and other celebrities went here and served a great meal. Then, we shall be heading to Sibiu, European Cultural Capital in 2007 that preserved best all its medieval architecture. Along the way, we shall visit Cozia Monastery (14th century). The most representative element of the monastery is represented by the frescoes outside the narthex, dating back to the 14th century. The byzantine influence is obvious, you only have to look carefully at the alternative strips of stone and brick walls. Accommodation and dinner will take place at the Ramada 4* hotel or at a similar hotel in Sibiu.

Sibiu

Sighisoara

Day 3. Sibiu – Sighişoara – Braşov

Breakfast. We shall start the day with a tour of Sibiu, where everything reminds of the essence of the Middle Ages. We shall visit the Large Square (Piaţa Mare) and the Small Square (Piaţa Mică), the Bridge of Lies, the Evangelical Cathedral (14th – 15th centuries), where the tomb of Mihnea, Vlad the Impaler’s son is, and in the end, we shall visit the Orthodox Cathedral and Brukenthal Museum (optional), which bears one of the largest art galleries in the country. Our departure to Sighişoara will start shortly after that, whereas this town is the only inhabited medieval citadel from Europe, being classified as UNESCO heritage and also being the place where Vlad the Impaler, the ruler of Wallachia was born. He was the inspiration for the character in Bram Stocker’s novel, Dracula. Here, we shall visit the Clock Tower, the Medieval Weapons Hall and the Torture Chamber.

After lunch in Sighişoara, we shall head towards Brasov, one of the most visited cities in Romania, located in the center of the country, at the border of the three historical provinces: Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, at an altitude of 600m. We shall also make a panoramic tour of the beautiful city, walking through the Old Town, in the Schei neighbourhood, through the Schei Gate and by the Synagogue. We shall have dinner at “Şura Dacilor”, where we can listen to traditional songs performed with traditional Romanian instruments and where we can eat game meat (bear, wild boar and deer). This restaurant is located 13 km from Brasov, at an altitude of 1000 meters in Poiana Brasov. Accommodation at Ambient 4* hotel / Braşov or Aro Palace 5* hotel / Braşov.

Brasov

Bran Castle (Dracula)

Day 4. Braşov – Bucharest

Breakfast – buffet type at the hotel. We shall take a guided tour in the picturesque center of Brasov, and then we shall visit the most important tourist attraction, the majestic Black Church, the symbol of Brasov and the largest gothic religious monument in the country. We head to Bran, where we visit the castle with the same name, also known as Dracula Castle, at the old border between Transylvania and Wallachia.

After lunch we head to Sinaia, known as the “Carpathian Pearl”, where we visit Sinaia Monastery, built during the rule of Mihai Cantacuzino, after visiting the Holy Land, on Mount Sinai. We also visit the magnificent Peles Castle, considered by many people one of the most beautiful castles in Europe, an architectural masterpiece, in an eclectic style, which was ordered in the XIXth century, by the first king of Romania – Carol I. He was a member of the German family Hohenzollern de Sigmaringen.

Peleș Castle

Herastrau Park

We head to Bucharest, where we visit the Village Museum, an open-air ethnographic museum, built like a small village with typical rural buildings, from each region. Farewell dinner at “Pescăruş” restaurant, on the bank of Herastrau lake, one of Bucharest’s “green lungs” where we enjoy a show with typical dances from each region of the country. Accommodation at a 4* or 5* hotel / Bucharest.

Day 5. Bucharest – Airport

Breakfast. Transfer to airport and end of our services.

The Triumphal Arch