The journey
Dracula's castle, the Palace of Parliament, and the most ornate painted monasteries in Christendom.
Romania is the most overlooked country in Eastern Europe. Bucharest, once called "the Paris of the East," has architecture that rivals Vienna. Transylvania has more intact medieval towns than anywhere in Europe. The Bucovina monasteries — covered inside and out with 15th-century frescoes — are among the finest examples of Byzantine art in existence.
Five nights gives a concentrated introduction: the capital, the castles, one Transylvanian city, and time in the countryside that most Romanian visitors never find.
Day by day
The itinerary
Bucharest
Bucharest — Little Paris, Big Palace
Bucharest: the city that Ceaușescu tried to rebuild in his own image by demolishing a third of the old town to construct the Palace of Parliament — the second-largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. The palace is extraordinary and horrifying simultaneously. Then the old Lipscani neighbourhood, which survived.
Transylvania
Bran & Peleș — The Castles
Bran Castle: the fortress associated (loosely) with Vlad the Impaler and (very loosely) with Bram Stoker's Dracula. Then Peleș Castle: the summer residence of the Romanian kings, built 1873–1914, in a style that combines neo-Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque elements with extraordinary lavishness. Arguably the most beautiful castle in Europe.
Transylvania
Brașov — The Black Church
Brașov: the medieval Saxon city in the Carpathian foothills, its old town intact since the 14th century. The Black Church — named for the smoke damage from the 1689 fire, now home to the largest collection of Anatolian carpets outside Turkey. Council Square. The city walls.
Transylvania
Sighișoara — The Walled Citadel
Sighișoara: the best-preserved medieval citadel in Europe, inhabited continuously since the 13th century, birthplace of Vlad the Impaler. The clock tower, the covered staircase, the Church on the Hill with its 15th-century frescoes. A UNESCO World Heritage Site that you may have entirely to yourselves.
Bucharest
Bucharest — Farewell
Return to Bucharest. The Atheneum concert hall — one of the most beautiful in the world. The Village Museum in Herăstrău Park. A farewell dinner in the old city.
