Overview of Romania

Greeted at the airport in Bucharest by an English speaking guide, transfer to the city and check-in at the hotel. Discover this strange city, romantic and disconcerting, which is the Romanian capital, mixture of the Orient and Western civilisations, with its stone buildings, long avenues : a true ‘city-garden’ which has always attracted the sympathy of its visitors, because of its greenness, architecture, courtesy of its inhabitants and exuberance, it has gained the name ‘The Little Paris of the Balkans’. Visit the charming ‘Village Museum’, quintessence of Romanian traditional art, which constitutes as a good introduction to the circuit. Dinner and accommodation at a hotel in Bucharest.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Curtea de Argeş, chic city and ancient residence of Walachia princes. Discover this fortress-city, power of Wallachia princes in the 14th century, veritable museum of feudal art, with its principial palace foundations, its monastery complex with the Domneasca church built in the Byzantine style and the Episcopal Church, which holds the tombs of the Romanian kings. After lunch, visit the Horezu Monastery, unique ensemble of medieval Wallachian art in Oltenia and representative of the Brancovean style. Route towards Sibiu, through the secular Olt Valley, which goes across the Carpathians. Visit on the way Cozia Monastery, built in 1388 in the Byzantine style. Arrival at Sibiu, ancient Hermannstadt, walk through the beautiful town centre, which holds in its architecture the footprint of the strongest Saxon minorities of Transylvania, with its beautiful corporate houses. Installation at the hotel. Traditional dinner among the inhabitants, in order to share an unforgettable experience in the Sibiel village, known for its reputable glass painted icons. Night at the hotel in Sibiu.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Central Transylvania. Visit on the way Biertan fortified church, refurbished in 1524, a model of its kind. Discover the charming city of Sighişoara, of Germanic influences, with its superb medieval citadel, one of the last preserved in Europe. We will see among others, the Clock Tower, the place of birth of Vlad the Impeller, whose legend has been made famous under the name of ‘Dracula’. Lunch and continue to Targu Mureş, old fortified bourg with its beautiful residences in secession style. Dinner and accommodation at a hotel in Targu Mureş.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the Bucovina region, to the North of the country, towards Câmpulung Moldovenesc. Stop at Bistrita, to visit its 15th century boutiques and the gothic cathedral. Lunch at the ‘Dracula Castle’ Restaurant in the Tihuta Pass, next to a splendid view of the mountains. In entering Bucovina, visit Voronet Monastery, the ‘Sistine Chapel of the Orient’, known for its extraordinary blue colour of its frescoes, afterwards visit to Humor Monastery, whose compositions are dominated by a beautiful spectrum of red. Traditional night and accommodation at a hotel in Câmpulung Moldovenesc.

Breakfast at the hotel. Pursuit to discover the joyful Moldavian art , its famous monasteries with exterior frescoes, which Stephan the Great and his successors built between the 15th and 16th centuries in order to stimulate the passing and patriotism of its people, the ‘fighting-peasants’. Visit Moldovita Monastery, always in activity, with its fortifications and its famous ‘Constantinople Capture’ and Sucevita Monastery, richly ornated with coloured scenes of the Old and New Testament. Lunch in an inn on the way. Continue to Piatra Neamt with a stop at Targu Neamt to visit the citadel. Dinner and accommodation at a hotel in Piatra Neamt.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the Danube Delta across the Moldavian landscape and the wine area along the Siret River. Lunch along the way. Cross the Danube on a tray to Galați. Continue to Tulcea, city situated at the mouth of the Danube. Dinner and accommodation at a hotel in Tulcea.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to an excursion on a boat through the Danube Delta, natural reserve, part of the UNESCO heritage site: it is here where the ‘Blue’ River, after a 2800 km peaceful journey through Central Europe, an aquatic flow is installed to the Black Sea and is divided into three arms. This fascinating and fragile ensemble is exceptional through its biodiversity: Europe’s last savage frontier, the Danube Delta is the realm of the pelicans and the lily (‘nuferi’). Lunch with fish specialities during the excursion. Return to Tulcea and visit the Danube Delta Museum. Discover the city of Tulcea, which despite its modern constructions, has conserved together with his old and small houses, its Oriental aspect. Built in an amphitheatre shape, shadowed by its small hills, this fishermen’s port has a rich past, becoming an important port for journeys and merchandise, where multiple and diverse nations have left their imprint over the ages. Dinner and accommodation at a hotel in Tulcea.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Constanța along the Danube and its lakes. Discover Constanța, ancient Greek colony known under the name of Tomis, home in an equal manner to Roman civilizations and after Byzantine. Today, it is the 3rd city of Romania and famous balneal resort, Constanța shows a modern face of its beautiful buildings in front of the sea and its immense hotels, but it has managed to protect the atmosphere of its old and historic city centre. Visit to the National History and Archaeology Museum. Lunch in front of the Black Sea and afterwards return to Bucharest. Check-in at the hotel. Farewell dinner in a typical restaurant. Accommodation in Bucharest.

Breakfast at the hotel. Free time and transfer to the airport for the return flight.