Transylvania hotels and tours

Transylvania Destination Guide

Transylvania is a relatively new option for holiday travel among tourists. This is surprising since you can find a wide range of fascinating wildlife, folklore and landscapes in the region. Transylvania is ideal for the tourist looking for a getaway from the usual overcrowded beach or resort. The country has not changed much in the last 50 years and tradition, folklore and culture are still an integral part of the daily life in many Transylvanian villages.

Immerse yourself in the rich history and culture of Transylvania by discovering the relatively untouched towns throughout the region.

Our Transylvania destination guide tells you all the highlights of a trip to this beautiful region. There is a wealth of things to see and do, especially for history and nature buffs. Be sure to also take a look at our Transylvania tours page to book an exciting tour or activity with us. Our Romania Country Guide will provide all the travel information you need to plan your trip.

Things to See & Do in Transylvania

Transylvania transports you back in time to an era where horses plough the field, pull hay carts and drag logs. The untouched Ronda Mountains look down on the spectacular domain that was once Dracula's. The Borgo Pass made unforgettable by Bram Stoker lies to the south. The historic Saxon towns and the renowned painted monasteries of Moldovita, Humor and Voronet are nearby and can be enjoyed before or after the ride. Bears, wolves, lynx and deer live in the surrounding forests and wild flowers fill up the hay fields. These make for a timeless experience.

Follow the links below or scroll further down the page for details on some of the many interesting tourist attractions in Transylvania:

Brasov

The medieval Saxons, with an eye for trade and invasion routes, sited their largest settlements within a day´s journey of the Carpathian passes. Brasov (Kronstadt to the saxons and Brasso to the Hungarians) was one of the best placed and grew prosperous and fortified as a result, and for many centuries the Saxons there constituted an elite whose economic power long outlasted its feudal privileges.

Brasov is parted in two: the largely Baroque old town coiled beneath Mount Tampa and Mount Postavaru and the surrounding sprawl of apartment blocks and factories. Old Brasov - whose Schei quarter, Black Church and medieval ramparts provide a backdrop for the town´s colourful Pageant of Juni is well worth the exploration. The town´s proximity to the alpine resort of Poiana Brasov, the fortified Saxon churches of Harman and Prejmer and "Dracula´s Castle" at Bran, make it an excellent base.

The hub of Brasov´s social and commercial life is the pedestrian Republicii Street, leading from the main square towards the new town and the train station. It´s a popular place for a stroll at lunchtime and in the early evening. At the end of Republicii Street, there lies the Piata Sfatului (Council Square). It is lined with sturdy merchants´ houses, their red roof tiles tilted rakishly, presenting their shop fronts to the Casa Sfatului (Council House) in the center of the square, which was built by 1420, rebuilt in the 18th century and now houses the History Museum. To the southwest, the square is dominated by the pinnacles of the town´s most famous landmark, the Black Church (Biserica Neagra), stabbing upwards like a series of daggers. The church took almost a century to complete (1383 - 1477) and is so-called for its once soot-blackened walls, the result of a great fire, started by the Austrian army that occupied Brasov in 1689.

During the heyday of Saxon rule, the Romanian-speaking population was compelled to live beyond the citadel walls, in the southwestern district of Schei. They could only enter the centre at certain times, and had to pay a toll at the gate for the privilege of selling their produce to their neighbours. The Poarta Schei, the gate on the street of the same name, was built in 1825 by Emperor Franz I, next to the splendid Catherine´s Gate of 1559, which bears the city´s coat of arms.

Sighisoara

Visually archaic, Sighisoara is on UNESCO´s World Heritage List and makes the perfect introduction to Transylvania, especially as the eastbound Dacia and Pannonia express train stops here, making a convenient break in the long journey between Budapest and Bucharest.

The old town or citadel dominates the newer quarters from a rocky massif whose slopes support a jumble of ancient, leaning houses, their windows overlooking the steps leading up from Hermann Oberth Square to the main gateway. Above rises the mighty Clock Tower, where each night as the bell chimes midnight one of seven wooden figures emerges form the belfry to gaze over the lower town. Two figures, representing day and night, face the upper town. The tower was raised in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries when Sighisoara became a free town controlled by craft guilds, each of which had to finance the construction of an eponymous bastion and defend it during wartime.

The main Saxon church dominates the hill at the southern end of the citadel. Aptly named The Church on the Hill, it was founded in 1345 and finished in 1525 and has been beautifully restored, with scraps  of murals and memorial stones surviving in an otherwise bare interior, as well as three Gothic altars. Opposite the Church on the Hill´s door is the main entrance to the Saxon cemetery.

Of the citadel´s original fourteen towers, named after the guilds responsible for their upkeep, nine survive, the most impressive being the hexagonal Shoemakers´ Tower, the Tailors´ Tower and the Tinsmiths´  Tower.

Sibiu

Sibiu, a city surrounded by high-rise suburbs with an old town that  is still a starling sight, with many of its houses painted sky blue, red, apricot or pea green, and home to some of Romania´s best museums. Split into a historic center and a lower new town, Sibiu has many fine old churches, as well as the remains of the original Saxon Bastion that formed the town´s fortifications.

Sibiu, known in German as Hermannstadt and in Hungarian as Nagyszeben, was founded in the 1190s and grew to be the chief city of Transylvanian Saxons.

The old town centers on three squares - the Piata Mare (Grosser Ring), the Piata Mica (Kleiner Ring) and the Piata Huet (Huetplatz). The Piata Mare is the traditional hub of public life. Piata Mare is surrounded by the renovated premises of sixteenth and seventeenth century merchants, whose acumen and thrift were proverbial. Its north side is dominated by a Roman Catholic church, built in 1726 - 33; to its left, at Piata Mare no. 5, the eighteenth century Brukenthal Palace, was the home of Samuel von Brukenthal, the imperial governor of Transylvania from 1777 to 1787. Built in 1778 - 85 by a Vienese architect in a refined late Baroque styl, the Palace now houses Transylvania´s finest art collection, partly assembled by von Brukenthal himself and opened to the public in 1817, three years before the Louvre in Paris.

In the Piata Huet, the massive Evangelical Cathedral, built in three phases between 1320 and 1520, dominates its neighbours, the Saxons´ Bruckenthal Gymnasium and Pfarrhaus, confirming the town´s pre-eminence as a centre of the Lutheran faith. The cathedral houses Romania´s largest church orga, and during the summer you can still go and listen to recitals. The cathedral tower is worth the climb for the expansive views it gives over the city. By the cathedral, an alley leads to the thirteenth century Passage of Stairs, which descends into the lower town overshadowed by arches and the medieval citadel wall.

Alternatively, head north into Piata Mica, where a miniature urban canyon runs down from the northwest corner under the elegant wrought-iron Iron Bridge. Dating from 1859, this bridge is nicknamed the Liars´ Bridge, the story being that if someone tells a lie while standing on it, the bridge will collapse.

By the bridge, at Piata Mica 21, stands the arcaded House of Butchers´ Guild, now the House of Arts, hosting temporary art exhibitions.  Also on the square is the Pharmaceutical Museum at no. 26,  which preserves the fittings of an ancient pharmacy.

Near the train station, the enjoyable Railway Museum is an open-air collection of over thirty steam locomotives, as well as snow ploughs and steam cranes - rail enthusiasts will love it.

Outside the center, in the Dumbrava forest, there is the excellent Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization, one of the best open-air museums in Romania. Set against a mountain backdrop, it offers a fantastic insight into Romania rural life, with authentic wooden houses and churches, all lovingly tended to.

Must See Sights in Transylvania

You must visit the marvellous wooden churches. Some are as tall as 70 metres (200 ft). Don't miss out on the church-castles built by the Transylvanian Germans, the scenic medieval towns of Sighisoara and Sibiu, "Dracula's own" castle at Bran and the ancient church located in Densus.

Do not miss visiting the several wooden churches, monasteries and wooden homesteads that make Transylvania resemble an open air museum.

The environment in the mountains is more or less untouched and the temperature has not been affected by the last glacier. Transylvania has Europe's largest collection of carnivores like the brown bear, wolf and lynx. There is great potential for spelunking as there are over 11,000 unique caves which can be visited with special guides.

Transylvania is the home of the famous Count Dracula or Vlad Tepes, as he is known historically. It offers many castles and towns with Medieval Germany or Hungarian influences. Some of the prominent tourist attractions are Brasov, Sighisoara, Sibiu and Cluj Napoca. If you are an explorer, you will find several other sites that are yet to be discovered and enjoyed.

If you want to relax and get away from it all, head off to one of the many beautiful and untouched beaches (more than 225 km) on the Black Sea. Stay at any one of the world class resorts which are located right on the coastline - go right from main port city of Constanta, south to the border of Bulgaria. Visit the spa and enjoy a mud bath - these were the preferred baths of the Roman Gods in earlier times.

The UNESCO Patrimony Churches

Romania´s abundance of churches testifies to its history of competing faiths, a religious mix that together with the frequency of invasions accounts for the country´s extraordinary diversity of church architecture, ranging from the inspired wooden churches in Maramures villages, to the austere fortified Kirchenburgen raised by the Saxons around Brasov and Sibiu. Common styles for the churches are the Byzantine style adopted in Moldavia and the Brancoveanu style adopted in Wallachia.

The frescoes so characteristic of medieval Orthodox churches achieved their ultimate sophistication in Maramures, at the hands of largely unknown artists, and were boldly executed on the exterior walls of Sucevita, Voronet and the other Painted Montasteries of Bucovina (UNESCO Patrimony), in northern Moldavia. The orthodox church maintains dozens of monasteries, including Snagov, where Vlad the Impaler is buried, and Horez, Brancoveanu´s masterpriece.

Carpathian History and Nature Ride

The Carpathians, a continuation of the Alps, are the most sinuous chain of mountains in Europe, in Romania forming a natural barrier between Transylvania and the old Regat provinces, interrupted by a few narrow passes or wide depressions. Though few of its peaks are higher than 2500 m, with the majority ranging between 1000 m and 2000 m, lack of altitude is more than compensated for by the variety of geological formations and rockscapes, with mighty gorges at Turda and Bicaz and spectacular valleys cut by the Olt and Prahova rivers. Bizarrely-eroded rock formations characterize Mount Ceahlau and karstic areas such as Padis plateau and the "Valley of Hell" in the Apuseni Mountains, while the Bucegi range is famous for the Babele Sphinx, and the sheer walls overhanging Busteni in the Prahova valley. The Bucegi massif is perfect for short hikes within a limited time, for it offers dramatic crags, caves and waterfalls within a few hours´ walk of the cable car, which ascends from the valley just an hour´s train ride from Brasov.  To the southwest, the Fagaras, Retezat and Parang mountains offer the chance of longer hikes crossing several ranges.

The "tuica" and the sheep´s cheese

The best of Romania is its countryside and in particular the wonderful mountain scenery. Fresh from the highland pastures, a sample of tasty sheep´s cheese is a must. The practice of the shepherds spending summer in the high pastures protecting the flocks from bears and wolves and making cheeses for the community´s winter sustenance, has given rise to Measurement of the Milk Festivals (Masura Laptelui), taking place in spring time.

The national drink of Romania is tuica, a tasty, powerful brandy, usually made of plums. In rural areas, home-made tuica can be fearsome, as it is often twice distilled (to over 50 percent strength).

Danube Delta

Bordering the Ukraine, this remote and beautiful landscape has an abundant array of wildlife, and offers some of the finest bird-watching in Europe. Near Tulcea, south of Romania, the Danube splits into three branches, dividing the river into more than 4,000 square kilometres of reeds and marsh. Although fishing communities have lived here for centuries, it's an inhospitable environment for humans: a Siberian wind howls all winter long, while in summer the area is inundated with mosquitoes. Yet it's a paradise for wildlife and was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1990, with over 500 square kilometres strictly protected, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site the following year. The area is particularly important for birds, which pass through, during the spring and autumn migrations, or come from Siberia to winter here, or from Africa to breed in summer. The best time to see birds is from May to early June, the latter being the wettest month of the year.

The Village of Sinca Noua

"New Shinca", the village of Sinca Noua is at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. It is a beautiful village which is home to 2,000 villagers. This village, which declared itself as the first "Ecological Village" of Romania takes you back to a life lived centuries ago where shepherds take their flock to the mountains to graze and cattle return home in the evenings from the pastures. The only sounds you will hear are insects buzzing and swallows and sparrows chirping. Hoopoes, bee-eaters, black storks or lesser spotted eagles are seen often and the place is filled with beautiful flowers. You will start your ride at the base of the newly built riding centre that is a fusion of local traditions and the comforts of the west. The centre has a new, contemporary and stylish guesthouse with private bathrooms. The food served here is primarily organic which is either from its own garden or the nearby farms.

Dracula´s Birthplace - Sighisoara

In around 1431, in or near a three-storey house in Museum Square no. 6, within the shadow of the old town´s Clock Tower, a woman whose name is lost to posterity gave birth to a son called Vlad, who in later life earned the title of "The Impaler". Abroad, he´s better known as Dracula, derived from Dracul or The Devil - reffering to his father, Vlad Dracul, whom the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Hungary made a knight of the Order of the Dragon in 1431. At this point, Vlad Dracul was merely the guard commander of the mountain passes into Wallachia, but in 1436 he secured the princely throne of Wallachia and moved his family to the court at Targoviste. Vlad´s privileged childhood there ended several years later, when he and his brother were sent by their father as hostages to the Turkish Sultan in Anatolia; there, as the brothers lived in daily fear of rape and of the silken cord with which the Ottomans strangled dignitaries. Vlad observed the Turks' use of terror, which he would later turn against them. Nowadays, his birthplace contains a restaurant with typical Romanian fare.

Medieval Cities

Look out for broad Piatas, 12th-15th century buildings, decorative architectural designs, cobble stoned streets and historic monuments throughout Transylvania, especially in Brasov and Sighisoara.

Most of the Transylvanian cities are old communities, some of which were inherited from the Romans. Each city has its own interesting tale to tell. Medieval towns and villages are found all over Transylvania. Although this region has faced tumultuous times, the people will proudly invite you to share their culture and history. Count Dracula fans flock to Transylvania to look for the well known Prince Vladimir or Vlad Tepes - to some a hero and to others a rogue, Vlad Tepes was the Prince of Walachia, who defiantly defended Christian beliefs from the Turks. This history and story of this prince motivated Bram Stoker to write about Count Dracula. Legend about Count Dracula lives on in Transylvania thought it varies from region to region.


Spas and Herculane Baths

Rejuvenate you mind, body, and spirit in the thermal spas and treatment centres located amidst mountains as well as along the Black Sea coast.

One of the most famous spa resort in Romania, is the Baile Herculane. Baile Herculane gets its name from the Roman legend that Hercules cured his wounds inflicted by the Hydra by bathing here, and the nine springs, with their varied mineral content and temperature (38 - 60 degrees C), are used to treat a wide range of disorders. Baile Herculane is split between the old spa area, centred around elegant Hercules Square and the modern satellite spa of Pecinisca.


Villages and the Countryside

As fascinating as the major cities are, Romania´s charm essentially lies in the remoter, less-visited regions. Almost any exploration of the villages of rural Romania will be rewarding, with diverse sights, which reflect a history of competing communities and faiths.

The Szekely Land

In the ethnic patchwork of Transylvania, the eastern Carpathians are traditionally the home of the Szekely, a people-closely related to the Magyars who speak a distinctive Hungarian dialect and cherish a special historical identity. For a long time it was believed that they were the descendants of Attila´s Huns, who had entered the Carpathian basin in the fifth century. Whatever the truth about their origins, the Szekely feel closely akin to the Magyars who, in turn, regards them as embodying the finest aspects of the ancient Magyar race. Today, their traditional costume is close to that of the Romanian peasants, the chief difference being that Szekely men tuck their white shirts in, while the Romanians wear them untucked and belted.

The chief attraction of the region is likely to be the Szekely culture and the scenery. Religion plays an important part in Szekely life, as shown by the fervour displayed at the Whitsun pilgrimage to Miercurea Ciuc, the continuing existence of Szekely mystics, and the prevalence of walled churches (less grimly fortified than the Saxon ones). Traditional Szekely architecture is well represented throughout the Szekely land; it is epitomized by tiny hilltop chapels and blue-painted houses with carved fences and gateways, incorporating a dovecote above, the best examples of which can be found in Corund. The landscape gets increasingly dramatic as you move through Harghita Mountains, particularly around the Tusnad defile and St Anne´s Lake to the south and Lacu Rosu and the Bicaz gorge just before the borders of Moldavia.

Monasteries

Check out the distinctive 13th century monasteries. Some of the exteriors are painted with Byzantine frescoes.

Museums

These give you a chance to witness 2,000 years of history, culture and art.

Transylvanian Famous Philosophers

Rasinari was the bithplace not only of the anti-Semitic prime minister and poet Octavian Goga, but also, in 1911, of the philosopher Emil Cioran. In 1934, he published "On the heights of despair", setting out the nihilist anti-philosophy.

Another philosopher, Constantin Noica (1908 - 1987), spent the last years of his life in nearby Paltinis. In 1949, he was arrested fo writing a study of Goethe and exiled in Campulung Muscel and from 1958 to 1964 he was imprisoned for writing to Cioran, and in effect for Letters to a Distant Friend, which Cioran published as a reply in Paris, this case contributed to to the founding of Amnesty International in 1961. His best works are Romanian Philosophical Speech and The Romanian Sense of Being. In 1974 he settled in a one-room cabin in Paltinis.


Roman Sarmizegetusa

 

Twenty kilometres from Hunedoara is Hateg, the gateway to Transylvania´s greatest Roman remains and one of the most convenient approaches to Retezat Mountains.

In Hateg County, Sarmizegetusa is the site of one of the key Roman settlements. Today, the town´s fame still derives from the Roman ruins east of the centre, whose excavated portions are only part of the original municipality. You can visit the remains of the forum, the palace of the Augustales, and the elliptical brick and stone amphitheatre. A good start will be visiting the museums across the road from the ruins.

 






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Your Local Connection

Welcome to Transylvania!

Transylvania hotels team

Meet your local connection in Transylvania, Melinda, Ioana and the team of Wens Tour Travel Agency! We are very motivated, enthusiastic and delighted to be chosen as a part of whl.travel and are excited to be a part of such a large network that has put interesting countries together with the idea of sustainable tourism. In Transylvania we promote and believe in the raw beauty of Romania. Due to the slow development of the country, the nature kept its freshness unspoiled and its traditions untouched.

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