Moldavia (Moldova) is for the time being separated in two countries. The larger, eastern part, belongs to Romania, and the territory west of river Prut forms the independent republic of Moldova. As this historic region was split up shortly after the secret pact between the communists and the nazis in 1939, this makes Romania the […]

Not long ago, in the last century, you could positively identify the geographic area of origin of a Romanian by looking at his clothes. The costumes were entirely home-made and it was a matter of great pride to preserve the exact decorations with vegetal, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic motifs. Even today there are several regions of […]

Though the stadium inaugurated in 2011 is not one of the large stadiums on the continent, with its 55.000 seats capacity, it is packed with features. It has a retractable roof, with the stands always covered. The cable system that supports the roof makes it unusable in daylight because of the shadows, but the cables […]

Tineretului Park (The Park of the Youth) has 80 hectares of green land and lake which makes it the second park in Bucharest after Herastrau, which is in the North part of the city. It is not as elegant and as shadowy park as the Cismigiu Gardens, being a younger park, with some trees newly […]

The equestrian statue of King Carol I of Romania was rebuilt and placed once again in the Revolution Square, where it is surrounded by representative buildings of the dynastic era. Behind the statue there is the University Library (former building of the Royal Arts Foundation), in front there is the former Royal Palace (now the […]

In December 1989, Timisoara declared itself the first free city of Romania, after a week of resistance to communist repression. It was the point of no return of the popular movement that soon spread around the country, overthrowing the 25 years dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, together with a communist system that lasted 45 years. Romanian […]

The region Oltenia is the south-eastern part of Romania, situated on the banks of rivers Danube, Jiu and Olt. It is famous for its witty and active people, as well as for its folk traditions. The capital of the region is Craiova, with other major cities as Slatina, Drobeta Turnu Severin or Targu Jiu (where […]

Malaiesti Chalet is one of the last halts when climbing to Omu Peak to see the Sphinx. Of course, this is just one of the many possible routes you can take towards the peaks in the Bucegi National Park. The climbing might be demanding from the physical point of view, but its very rewarding, with […]

Despite its small size, Sighisoara might be the most beautiful Romanian cities. A charming miniature, that makes you feel like a lucky explorer during a discovery. Sighisoara is one of the cities of Transylvania built by German settlers in the Middle Ages, brought by the Hungarian crown here to lift up the economy. Thus its […]

Going on the National Road DN67, between Ramnicu Valcea and Targu Jiu, after Horezu village, famous for its ceramics and monumental monastery, you shouldn’t miss the traffic signs to Polovragi Monastery. It is a humble construction, but with a vast and tranquil domain, sitting in the middle of a gorge between two mountains. The area […]

Built by price Constantin Brancoveanu between 1690 and 1693 at Romanii de Jos, Horezu Monastery may not look as spectacular on the outside as the painted monasteries of Bukovina. But on the inside it displays one of the most elegant and mature Byzantine fresco on the Romanian territory, surpassing even its Moldavian predecessors. The martyr […]

Siriu Lake was formed in 1982 as a result of the building the Siriu dam and of Nehoiasu hydro-electric power plant. The dam connects Siriu and Horse’s Bridge mountains. The area is not yet used for tourism, even though it has a picturesque view over the 11,5 km long lake. It can be admired from […]

Bicaz Lake is the largest artificial lake in Romania. The Bicaz dam, built in 1960, is 127 m high and the total lake surface is over 3.200 hectares. If you take the National Road DN12C, from Piatra Neamt to Gheorgheni, you will see one of the most spectacular landscapes in Romania. There are three main […]

With a documented history of nine centuries, Sibiu is one of the oldest cities in Romania. Situated in the heart of Transylvania, Sibiu was built by German settlers brought here by the Hungarian king. Back then, Transylvania was part of Hungary and the settlers were brought to defend the border of the empire and to […]

Though a very relaxing place, the Botanical Gardens of Bucharest are surpassed in some areas by older parks such as Cismigiu Gardens or Herastrau. But in the 17 hectares of this garden there are some interesting areas that provide nice surprises, like the roses garden, the water-lily lake or the little animals that teem around. […]

An absolute must see if you visit Bucharest, the Cotroceni (pronounced Kotrocheny) has a history of 400 years, a beautiful architecture and a very relaxing surrounding domain. It was first intended as a monastery, with churches and cells. Probably some kind of religious construction existed there prior to 1600. Prince Serban Cantacuzino, who financed the […]

St Anna Lake’s area has a special air purity due to the vast forests surrounding it and the landscape is enchanting at any time. The lake is 30 km away from Baile Tusnad resort, which you can also reach by hiking. Though the region is in the heartland of Romania, this part of Transylvania has […]

Queen Mary loved this magical place so much that she demanded through her testament that her heart should be put to rest here, near the waves of the Black Sea. As Romania was forced to cede this peace of land (known as the Quadrilateral) to Bulgaria, the box containing queen’s heart was moved to Bran […]

Seen from one side and from the front, the Sphinx has a striking resemblance with a human head. But no chisel and hammer have touched this block of stone. The amazing shape is all the work of wind, water and the constant frost and defrost. The place where the Sphinx is found, close to the […]

The conquest of Dacia by the Romans was such an important event for the empire, that Trajan payed for a nonstop party of 123 days at the Colosseum. Following the Latin motto „bread and circus”, the show was on a grandiose scale: 10.000 gladiators fought 11.000 wild animals during it. To put it in today’s […]