- Duration: 10 days
- Location: Departure from Bucharest
- Available Seat: Please contact us!
- Price: 958 €/person
Ancient citadels and medieval castles to stately palaces. Secluded monasteries and Byzantine churches to Gothic cathedrals. A kaleidoscope of architectural styles – Baroque, Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romanesque, Art Nouveau, Rococo, and so on. We are referencing to the great cultural wealth encapsulated in just one country: Romania. These precious fragments of an unique and rich history as a constant reminder that this was where the Occident traditionally confronted the Orient, a blend of the West and the East in a perfect harmony.
Day 1
Bucharest tour
Arrival at the international airport in Bucharest. Depending on the arrival time, visit the imposing Parliament Palace, the second larger building in the world after the Pentagon. Its construction begun after the earthquake in 1977 and all materials used in the construction are of Romanian origin: marble, oak and beech wood, crystal etc. Today it accommodates Romania’s Parliament. Lunch in restaurant.
Visit the Royal Palace restructured into its present form and look under King Carol II, with architect N. Nenciulescu’s design. The U-shaped building stretches around an official courtyard and has two main entrances: the left was reserved to the king and his guests and the right one for the officials. The palace now houses the Romanian National Art Museum.
Evening tour of the city. Walk on the old merchants’ street Lipscani. Welcome dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel in Bucharest.
Day 2
Bucharest – Mogosoaia – Campina – Sinaia
Breakfast. 15 km far from Bucharest, in Mogosoaia, there is the Brancovan Palace, the best preserved residence of all Constantin Brancoveanu’s ones. It was built in 1702 on the lake shore. On the façade facing the water, there is the most refined architectural element of the palace.
Continue to Campina and visit Julia Hasdeu Palace, famous for the séances held here. It was built by B. P. Hasdeu between 1894 and 1896 in the honor of his only child, Julia Hasdeu, deceased at 18 from tuberculosis. After her death, her father used to contact her in spiritism sessions.
Arrival in Sinaia. Lunch in a restaurant. Visit Peles Castle, the most beautiful residence of Romania’s former Royal Family, where the German Neo-Renaissance perfectly blends with the Italian style. In 1883, when completed, Peles would become Europe’s most modern castle: central heating, mobile ceiling, electricity etc.
Pelisor Castle,the summer residence of Romania’s second king, Ferdinand of the Hohenzollern dynasty. The Castle was built between 1899 and 1902 by Czech architect Karel Liman and decorated by the Viennese Bernhard Ludwing. Ferdinand’s wife, Maria, asserted herself as a prominent personality of the time, earning the surname of Artist Maria.
Free time to relax in the mountain resort Sinaia. Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 3
Sinaia – Bran – Sibiu
Breakfast. Departure to Bran in order to visit the Bran Castle, known to tourists as the castle of Count Dracula. Built between 1377 and 1382 by Brasov county residents, Bran stands 60 m above the surrounding landscape; a position that gave it a strategic military role in the Middle Ages. Lunch in a traditional inn.
Continue to Sibiu in order to visit the Brukenthal Palace, one of the most important baroque monuments in Romania. Built in several stages between 1778 and 1788, it was the official residence of Baron Samuel von Brukenthal, governor of Transylvania. At the end of the building works, the baron brought there his art collection consisting of 800 paintings. According to the Baron’s last will, the palace was opened to the public in 1817, thus being the first museum in the country and among the first ones throughout Europe. The Palace is now the repository of the Brukenthal National Museum collections, the Brukenthal Art Gallery and Library.
Visit the historical center: the Large Square, the Council Tower, the Evangelical Church, the Liar’s Bridge etc.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel in the historical center.
Day 4
Sibiu – Hunedoara – Arad
Breakfast. Drive to Hunedoara and visit the imposing Corvins’ Castle, raised in the 14th century on the site of an old fortification. In terms of architecture, it combines Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. In time, the structure was changed, getting more towers, halls and official lounges. The gallery and the keep – the last defense tower have remained as they were at the time of Iancu de Hunedoara, as has the Capistramo Tower. Lunch in a restaurant.
Departure to Arad. Visit the city and its attractions: The Lutheran Red Church built in 1906 in Neo-Gothic style, The Roman-Catholic Cathedral, the House with Cannon Balls (with 17 cannonballs incorporated in the building), the Old Theatre (the oldest in Romania), etc.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel in Arad.
Day 5
Arad – Sofronea – Macea – Oradea
Breakfast. Visit the Purgly Castle situated close to Sofronea and now transformed in a SPA center. There are tourists coming from all Romania and from abroad in order to relax and enjoy the princely atmosphere.
Lunch in restaurant. Continue to Macea and visit the Macea Castle, with a great park functioning as a university scientific teaching base. The history of The Macea Castle begins in 1724 through its construction by Mihai Csernovics. The building was extended between 1820 and 1866, acquiring architectural features specific to the Secession style. New species or ornamental trees were planted, flower beds were arranged and a pool with an artesian well was built. Since 1990 the park and the castle are a university scientific teaching base, included in the Macea Cultural complex.
Arrival in Oradea. Visit The Baroque Palace, built in pure Baroque style as a replica of the Belvedere Palace of Vienna. It was built between 1762 and 1770. In the beginning, it was meant to be the Seat of the Roman-Catholic Bishopric of Oradea. The palace counts 120 rooms and 365 windows, as many as the days of the year.
Evening tour of the city. Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 6
Oradea – Cluj-Napoca – Targu-Mures
Breakfast. Departure to Cluj-Napoca in order to visit the Banffy Palace, which houses Cluj-Napoca Art Galleries. The palace was built in Baroque style by the architect J.E. Blaumann between 1774 and 1785. The central motif of the main façade is the coat of arms of the Banffy family, held by winged and crowned gryphons.
Visit the city center: The Orthodoc Cathedral, the Theatre, the Mirror Street, St. Michael Catholic Church, etc. Lunch in restaurant.
Continue to Targu-Mures. Visit here the Culture Palace built in Secession style, with very attractive highlights: The façade decorated with mosaics, the elegant roofing is of blue and red ceramic tiles, the Mirror Hall with two large Venetian mirrors adorning its side walls, 12 stained glass windows of rare beauty, the Concert Hall with one of the largest and valuable organs in Romania: 4 463 pipes and 63 registers. The building also shelters the County Library, the Art Museum and the Museum of History and Archaeology, as well as galleries for contemporary art shows.
Evening walk in the city center. Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 7
Targu-Mures – Lazarea – Piatra-Neamt
Breakfast. Departure to the Neamt region. In Lazarea visit the Lazar Castle, built as a residence by the Lazar family in 1532, on the site of earlier structures. The Renaissance influence is found in the architectural elements, the southern walls are adorned with a crenulated and painted cornice. The stronghold was of no strategic importance, being used mainly as a residence. It was devastated and set ablaze by the Habsburgs in 1706, rebuilt and burnt again, 40 years later.
The road leads you through wild landscapes: Lacu Rosu (a red lake formed in 1837 after a landslide which blocked the Bicaz river), Bicaz Gorges (along the 8 km of ravines, often in serpentines between the narrow walls, is one of the most spectacular drives in the country), Lake Izvoru Muntelui (the largest artificial lake on the interior waters of Romania). Lunch in restaurant.
Arrival in Piatra-Neamt town situated at the foot of the Pietricica Mountain. Take the funicular to the top of the hill in order to admire the landscape and the view over the town and its surroundings. Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 8
Piatra-Neamt – Ruginoasa – Iasi
Breakfast. Departure to Iasi. In Ruginoasa, visit the white Palace Ruginoasa, with gothic windows and lines. The palace impresses by its bright white and gothic windows and lines. Built in the first decade of the 19th century by treasurer Sturdza, it was bought in 1862 by the ruler of United Principalities Alexandru Ioan Cuza. Lunch in restaurant.
Visit the recently renovated Culture Palace in Iasi, built in Neo-Gothic style between 1906 and 1925 by the architect I. D. Berindei, on the site of the old princely court. It is a vast museum complex now.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 9
Iasi – Bucharest
Breakfast. Departure to Bucharest, passing through the Moldavian Plain. Despite its name, the Moldavian Plain is not flat, but a region dotted with hills, depressions and lakes. Lunch and wine tasting in Focsani, one of the most important wine regions in Romania.
In Bucharest, visit Sutu Palace, famous for the resplendent balls given three at the time when Bucharest was known as Little Paris. Built in neo-gothic style between 1832 and 1834 for the foreign minister Costache Sutu, the palace was redecorated by sculptor Karl Stork in 1862. He created three arcades, a monumental stairway parted in two and fitted in the front wall, a huge mirror brought from Murano. Since 1959, the building has housed the Bucharest City Museum, being the repository of inestimable values bespeaking the city’s past.
Visit the Cantacuzino Palace, one of the Capital’s most elegant buildings. Using designs of the architect I. D. Berindei, the Cantacuzino Palace was built between 1898 and 1900 as one of the Capital’s most elegant buildings. Known also as the House with Lions, the palace, erected in Eclectic French style, has stone balconies and rectangular windows upstairs. Two stone lions, leaning on their forelegs guard each side of the entrance stairway. The palace houses today the George Enescu National Museum.
Farewell dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 10
Bucharest
Breakfast. Last visits and shopping. Departure.
HIGHLIGHTS
* Parliament Palace in Bucharest
* Royal Palace in Bucharest
* Brancovan Palace in Mogosoaia
* Julia Hasdeu Palace in Campina
* Peles and Pelisor Castles in Sinaia health resort
* Brasov city
* Bran Castle
* Brukenthal Palace and Sibiu medieval city
* Corvins’ Castle in Hunedoara
* Arad town
* Purgly Castle in Sofronea
* Macea Castle
* The Baroc Palace in Oradea
* Banffy Palace in Cluj-Napoca
* Culture Palace in Targu-Mures
* Lazar Castle in Lazarea
* Red Lake, Bicaz Gorges, Izvoru Muntelui Lake
* Ruginoasa Palace
* Culture Palace in Iasi
* Sutu Palace in Bucharest
* Cantacuzino Palace in Bucharest
PRICE:
Organized groups: 958 €/person
Special! Private tour: 1548 €/person
*272 €/person SGL Supplement
Included:
- Accommodation 9 nights in 3* hotels
- Full board (check-in with dinner and check-out with breakfast)
- All transport and round transfers
- Fuel, road and parking taxes
- Entry tickets for the visits in the program
- English speaking attested guide
- Telephonic emergency call and support 24/7
Not included:
- Air tickets
- Taxes for cameras and filming
- Driver for the private tour
- Drinks off the boarding
- Tips
NOTE:
- The program in the present form is available if Day 1 is Tuesday or Friday, according to the opening hours of some visits or activities in the tour. If Day 1 differs, they will be replaced or cancel.
- Rates do not apply during the main holidays (Easter, Christmas and New Year) and during great events (festivals, concerts, fairs).
