Visit Romania!

[Sir Adrian]

[Basileos Leandros I]

Peles Castle during summer.

[Wallachian]

I love Peles during summer it is just magical!

[Darios]

Interesting. I have yet to really explore the Brașov/Argeș area. I have been to the city of Brașov before but that's really it, I tend to spend almost all of my time either in northern Transylvania or Moldova. Starting to feel that traveling itch

[Wallachian]

You telling me you have not been to Sinaia?

[Darios]

You telling me you have not been to Sinaia?

Nope...just never got around to it. I'll try to in the spring though.

[Basileos Leandros I]

Woah woah woah. That's something I haven't heard before.

Shameful display, comrade

[Darios]

Woah woah woah. That's something I haven't heard before.

Shameful display, comrade

Yeah I suck

[Basileos Leandros I]

How could you

This is Sinaia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaia

[Darios]

How could you

This is Sinaia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinaia

What's there to see in Sinaia beyond Peles? I have all the monasteries and mountains I'll ever need in my dear Neamț

[Wallachian]

Well for once there is Peles! There is also the Sinaia Monastery, the Cantacuzino Castle, loads of historical buildings and also amazing mountain landscapes

[Sir Adrian]

I wish more cities did something like this.

[Aquila SPQR]

Anything interesting in north-western Romania? I'm interested in old buildings like castles and medieval churches (the older the better) and nature (parks, waterfalls etc). I'm thinking about a few day trip from southern Poland through Slovakia and northern Hungary. And since Romania is relatively close it'd be nice to add a new country to my "I've been there" list.

[Sir Adrian]

There's Oradea - see video above- which is just on the Border with Hungary (15 km from the border). For historical buildings you can go to Alba Iulia and Sighisoara, which are basically an entire town made of historical buildings (Sighisoara is a genuine medieval town). If you're interested in more traditional buildings (like wooden churches and traditional houses) go to Maramures (the county of Baia Mare)
If you're interested in 18-19th century Austrian architecture then Oradea, Targu Mures and Cluj are your best bet. Top recommendation here the freshly restored Oradea Star Fortress and bastion dating to the 1600s

Cluj also has a very large botanical garden and a decently sized Ethnographic museum as well as a History of Pharmacy and Medicine museum (if you're into that sort of thing) - basically an exhibit of what doctors used to use in ye olden days from the jar of leeches to the much more painful mercury needle used to cure syphilis in men

For waterfalls anf such you have the Apuseni Natural Park and basically entire western and eastern slopes of the Apuseni Mountains which are riddled with caves and waterfalls. Personal recommendation here the Bear Cave in Bihor country. You get to see an actual prehistoric bear frozen in stalagmites


Close to Cluj there's also the Adrenalin park (basically a park with an airborne obstacle course see here http://adrenalinpark.ro/en/ )


Also make sure to visit the Turda salt mine (largest in Europe), the Turda Gorge and the Merry Cemetery at Sapanta


If you go to any major city look for the Tourism Information Center, they provide tours of the city, inform you of any deals (like open museum week, etc) and will guide you to anything you might interested in.

Also Oradea has something called a City Card, for ~4 euros you get 50% discounts on a bunch of stuff like spas, museums, theater, various monuments and tourist spots, a bunch of stores and pubs as well as free transportation throughout the city for 48 hours.


Just be warned this time of year tends to be cold and wet in this part of Europe so expect a lot of rain and grey skies while in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland or Romania.

[Aquila SPQR]

Wow, very informative post, thanks! And I know about the weather, the climate in Poland is probably even worse than in Romania this time of the year (I hate cold ). And I'm not going anywhere right now, I'm currently just gathering info. I have a family living in southern Poland and we visit them every year, so I just decided it'll be a great idea to go and visit Slovakia, Hungary and maybe Romania nex time I visit them - it's much closer from there than from where I live (I live in central Poland).

[Basileos Leandros I]

Settra's post is informative, thank you.

That being said, it is quite cold now.

[Aquila SPQR]

Ok, I checked the map. Bear cave looks very interesting, Turda mine is a "must see" and it's a bit too far than I initially wanted to go but to be a romanophile like me, be so relatively close to Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetuza and skip it - nah, it's impossible. So if I go - I'll try to reach this place too. I know there's Dacian Sarmizegetusa also nearby, but that place I can skip. Roman ruins - I can't Now I only hope I'll be able to make this plan happen next summer and nothing will stand in my way.

[Basileos Leandros I]

You're close enough to the Bridal Veil's Waterfall near Turda - but that might require some trekking as well. Or at least 4x4.

It's a beautiful place to visit.

[Wallachian]

So if I go - I'll try to reach this place too. I know there's Dacian Sarmizegetusa also nearby, but that place I can skip. Roman ruins - I can't

I don't think you should skip Dacian Sarmizegetusa. Roman ruins are everywhere. The ruins of a forgotten and mysterious civilisation that we know precious little about are rare sights. So give it a go if you are in the area.

[Basileos Leandros I]

Wild Carpathia movie - the north of Romania.