UNESCO World Heritage Sites Romania Tour

Welcome to Bucharest!

This day is reserved for your arrival and for giving you some recovery time from your jetlag. Whatever time you land, we’ll arrange a private transfer to take you from the airport directly to your charming hotel.

Accommodations: Lido
Meals: Welcome Dinner

On our first full day, we will travel from Bucharest to Horezu, a town well-known for people who make pottery, with craftsmanship that reflects many generations of traditions, skills, and knowledge.

Horezu ceramics are a unique style of Romanian pottery. Produced by hand, they are included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. We will participate in a workshop held by a master potter and strive to make our own souvenir at the end of it.

Also found here is the Horezu Monastery, which made the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 for its intricate craftsmanship and good depiction of religious compositions in its paintings and sculptures.

We will spend the night in Maldaresti, a nearby village known for its authentic style of semi-fortified houses, named “cule”, which are also currently inscribed on the tentative list for UNESCO.

Accommodations: Conacul lui Maldar
Meals: Breakfast

On the way to our next destination, we will drive along Transalpina, the highest road in the country, cutting right through the mountains. We take our time up on the plateau and sample food and drinks from the traditional vendors. We will also visit a sheep’s pen for a quick snack!

In the evening, we will arrive in Pesteana and check in at Transylvania Log Cabins. Nestled within the woods, it provides amazing panoramic views across the surrounding mountains. Here we can also find Densus – the oldest surviving church in Romania, with a twisted construction history and currently included on the tentative UNESCO list.

Accommodations: Transylvania Log Cabins, Pesteana
Meals: Breakfast

During ancient times, Romania’s territory was known as the province of Dacia and it was eventually conquered by the Romans (hence the name analogy).

Dacians built several fortresses for protection and they have been collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. They represent an eerie and surprising result of religious and military building techniques, letting us take a peek into a rich polytheist civilization with a high standard of living.

We explore the capital of independent Dacia (Sarmizegetusa Regia), so we can compare it later to the former capital of Roman Dacia (Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa). The place has a strong sacred meaning and it is impossible to leave without a surreal feeling.

Accommodations: Conacul Archia, Deva
Meals: Breakfast

On our way to the next UNESCO destinations, we make a few memorable stops to avoid long driving hours.

After we leave Deva in the morning, our next stop is the Vauban Citadel of Alba-Iulia, where we take a guided tour that depicts 2000 years of history, from ancient Roman times up to Romania’s Union Day (hence the name similarity).

People consider it to be the spiritual capital of the country with numerous historical events that have taken place here.

As the journey unfolds, we head to the fastest-growing city in Romania, Cluj-Napoca, where we explore its stylish medieval area, with buzzing restaurants and youthful crowds.

Accommodations: Guest House 1568, Cluj Napoca
Meals: Breakfast

We start our visit with the Wooden Churches of Maramures (also part of UNESCO sites) in the villages of Ieud and Poienile Izei. Here, time seems to have stopped as traditions and local lifestyle remains the same as it was 100 years ago.

We will also stop by the local ethnographic museum, where you can try your hand at weaving and admire colorful traditional rugs and house objects.

We will spend the night in a restored traditional house.

Accommodations: Pensiunea Ileana, Ieud
Meals: Breakfast

We continue our adventure towards Bukovina to visit the Painted Monasteries. But first, on our way there, we will make a stop in Ciocanesti, Bukovina’s Painted Village. Here, the villagers adorn their houses with traditional motifs, normally found on painted eggs.

Later on, we visit the museum of a local artist who is internationally-acclaimed for her talent at painting eggs. Our last stop will be your first Painted Monastery: Moldovita.

Accommodations: Vila Crizantema, Vatra Moldovitei
Meals: Breakfast

Today is a day for deeply appreciating Romania’s world heritage sites. The Painted Monasteries of Bucovina are considered masterpieces of Byzantine art and we visit three more of them today: Arbore, Sucevita, and Voronet.

Their interior and exterior walls are covered in exquisite, vividly-colored mural paintings dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. They are particularly well preserved and represent the quintessence of the Christian-Orthodox religion in Romania through a systematic covering on the facades, an old storytelling format depicting core religious themes.

In the afternoon, we will arrive in Neamt and visit the Citadel – a massive medieval fortress fully restored to its former glory, with epic views of the surrounding areas. We will spend the night in a charming, rural guesthouse.

Accommodations: Popamuseum, Tarpesti
Meals: Breakfast

Welcome to Sighisoara, one of the most beautifully preserved inhabited citadels in the world! Sighisoara is one of Romania’s UNESCO World Heritage Site gems; it is home to medieval buildings, hidden chambers, burgher houses, towers, and ornate churches full of myths and legends. It was here that Vlad the Impaler was born, who served as inspiration for one of the biggest legends in international folklore: Count Dracula.

We take a walking tour of the historical centre — which was founded in the 12th century by German merchants known as the Transylvanian Saxons — and stroll through the winding cobbled streets that haven’t changed in 800 years.

On our way to Sighisoara, we will pass through Bicaz Gorge, known as the gateway between Transylvania and Moldavia. This road is full of ravines built on a former riverbed and is one of the most spectacular rock formations in the country.

We will stay overnight in a restored Saxon house, dating back to the XVI century.

Accommodations: Casa Savri
Meals: Breakfast

The main legacy of the Saxon population living in Transylvania are the villages with fortified churches that served as a defensive system against raids from invaders — one of the many reasons they feature on the list of UNESCO heritage sites in Romania. These are usually centrally located, with multiple layers of protective walls and enough chambers to host the villagers and their goods in case of an attack.

Today, we make our way to the most impressive ones: Saschiz and Viscri. These are considered to be live medieval museums that teach visitors about their specific architecture, old crafts, traditional cuisine, and local heritage.

In the evening, we will spend the night in Brasov. We will visit the Black Church — an important turning point in religious affairs in the Middle Ages — and discover the foundation of the very first Romanian school. We end our day in an excellent traditional restaurant located in the Old Square.

Accommodations: Casa Chitic, Brasov
Meals: Breakfast

In the first part of the day, we will visit Prejmer – known for its mesmerizing Saxon architecture and included in the UNESCO list as part of the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania.

We will then head back to Bucharest and enjoy a walking tour of the Old Town to see the Palace of Parliament, before we stop for our farewell dinner. Alternatively, we can transfer you to the airport if you have an afternoon flight.

Meals: Breakfast